Prince Rahim Aga Khan: How Muslims Can Harness the Creativity of Our Knowledge Society to Impact Humanity

“Unfortunately, in some parts of the Muslim world today, hostility to diverse interpretations of Islam, and lack of religious tolerance, have become chronic, and worsening, problems. Sometimes these attitudes have led to hatred and violence. At the root of the problem is an artificial notion amongst some Muslims, and other people, that there is, or could ever be, a restricted, monolithic reality called Islam.”….More

Prince Rahim Aga Khan“Without an acceptance of diversity, without the ability to harness the creativity that stems from pluralism, the very spirit of the Knowledge Society is stifled. We must encourage, I believe, that Muslims of all communities come together, working collaboratively to tap into the vast endowment of knowledge available today, and without which progress is, if not halted, at least deferred. This cannot be done in the absence of open-mindedness and tolerance” — Prince Rahim Aga Khan….More

“Mubarak…Khushamadeed” – A Poem for Prince Rahim Aga Khan and Ms. Kendra Spears as their Engagement is Announced by His Highness the Aga Khan

PRINCE RAHIM AGA KHAN – A BRIEF PROFILE

His Highness the Aga Khan and Prince Rahim touring the Sosuco sugar factory in Banfora, Burkina Faso. - Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

His Highness the Aga Khan and his oldest son Prince Rahim touring the Sosuco sugar factory in Banfora, Burkina Faso. – Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

Date and place of birth: October 12, 1971, Geneva, Switzerland.

Relationship to His Highness the Aga Khan, 49th Ismaili Imam: Prince Rahim Aga Khan is His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan’s second of four children, the others being older sister Princess Zahra and younger brothers Prince Hussain Aga Khan (all three born to Begum Salimah Aga Khan) and Prince Aly Muhammad (born to Princess Inaara Aga Khan).

Post Secondary Education and Specialization:

(1) 1996 – Bachelor of Arts, Comparative Literature, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island;
(2) 2006 – Executive Development Programme, Management and Administration, University of Navarra IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain.

Current Responsibilities: Executive Director of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED); Executive Director at the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance(AKAM).

His Highness the Aga Khan presents Prince Rahim Aga Khan to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Foundation Ceremony of the Aga Khan Museum and the Ismaili Centre being constructed in Toronto. Photo: Gary Otte. Aha Khan Development Network.

His Highness the Aga Khan presents Prince Rahim Aga Khan to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Foundation Ceremony of the Aga Khan Museum and the Ismaili Centre being constructed in Toronto.   Prince Hussain Aga Khan is seen at left. Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte.

Based at the Secretariat of His Highness the Aga Khan at Aiglemont, north of Paris, France, Prince Rahim is an executive Director of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) — the economic development arm of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). He also serves as an Executive Director at the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM).

His Highness the Aga Khan presents his brother Prince Amyn and his son Prince Rahim to Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, who welcomed them to Buckingham Palace during the Golden Jubilee of His Highness. Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

His Highness the Aga Khan presents his brother Prince Amyn and his son Prince Rahim to Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, who welcomed them to Buckingham Palace during the Golden Jubilee of His Highness. Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

A graduate of Brown University, Rhode Island, USA with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Comparative Literature awarded in 1996, Prince Rahim received his secondary education at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. In 2006, Prince Rahim completed an executive development programme in Management and Administration at the University of Navarra IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. Prince Rahim travels regularly to Asia and Africa to oversee the industrial plants, hotel properties and financial institutions, including microfinance programmes, of the Aga Khan Development Network.

His Highness the Aga Khan, center, with his son Prince Rahim and daughter Princess Zahra overlooking the entrance hall of the Ismaili Centre Dubai from the balcony above on the opening day on March 26, 2008. Photo: akdn/Gary Otte.

His Highness the Aga Khan, center, with his son Prince Rahim and daughter Princess Zahra overlooking the entrance hall of the Ismaili Centre Dubai from the balcony above on the opening day on March 26, 2008. Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte.

The engagement of Prince Rahim to  Ms Kendra Spears, of Seattle, Washington USA, was announced on Friday, April 26, 2013, to the joy of Ismailis around the world, who celebrated the news with sherbet and cake.

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“Mubarak…Khushamadeed”

On 26 April 2013, His Highness the Aga Khan announced the engagement of his eldest son, Prince Rahim, to Ms Kendra Spears of Seattle, Washington, the United States. Photo: Gary Otte/The Ismail

On 26 April 2013, His Highness the Aga Khan announced the engagement of his eldest son, Prince Rahim, to Ms Kendra Spears of Seattle, Washington, the United States. Photo: The Ismaili/Gary Otte.

By Navyn Naran

there is an expectant joy in the air
as we welcome the news our Mawla has shared
and He is happy for a love of two
a new beginning for all, here paired.
this joy paralleled e’en by the spring
the breeze gently caressing the face of each
we share in their love and welcome the new
an understanding and acknowledgement in this niche.

our Prince has met a partner in life
and Benevolent the Grace enveloping this match
how happy we feel for that special bond and trust
and pray this development manifest strong in latch.
the sacred Truth as once was shared,
and Knowledge beckoned Adam and Hawa in this life
so meeting in mind, heart and soul in twain
is Blessed by the Creator as man takes wife

Prince Rahim Aga Khan and Ms. Kendra Spears

there is joy in our community for the Noorani family
sherbet and cake to enjoy for all
and cherry blossom beckon another fresh day
as brother and sister welcome this Call.
for the arduous tasks You take under Your wing
shall flourish and strengthen as this Bond to be
 and mighty as Zulfiqar, the sword,
in Trust and Respect always between.

Khushamadeed Ms. Spears, Mubarak O Prince,
Mubarak! our hearts smile, Mubarak! and since
a Unity weaving as Iman does hope
we welcome you Kendra to this lineage’s rope.

our Mawla, Mubarak! devotedly we serve
Your happiness is ours also, let us not bend nor swerve
a nikkah is called, a love unending for two
Khushamadeed Kendra, a most respectful welcome to you.

Date posted: Sunday, April 28, 2013
Date updated: Monday, April 29, 2013 (typo)

Copyright.

For a contrasting style/format of this same piece, please click on the following:
“Mubarak…Khushamadeed”: A Poem for Prince Rahim Aga Khan and Ms. Kendra Spears

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Please visit http://www.theismaili.org to view more photos of Prince Rahim Aga Khan and his fiance, Ms. Kendra Spears. Please click on http://www.akdn.org for a press release, with photo.

Photo Essay: Street Foods of India by Muslim Harji @Simergphotos

Simerphotos, the companion photo blog for this literary website,  launches a series about India through the lens of Muslim Harji of Montreal, PQ, Canada. His previous photo essays on Iran, Syria and Jerusalem have been widely acclaimed by readers of Simerg and Simergphotos. The India series commences with a splendid photo essay about its street foods.

PLEASE CLICK: India’s Street Foods

Please click for Street Foods of India

Please click for Street Foods of India

Gujarati Communities Across the Globe: Memory, Identity and Continuity

BOOK REVIEW BY NIZAR MOTANI

This latest addition to the expanding frontier of Gujarati studies offers eleven masterly chapters written by thirteen scholars representing several disciplines…..Out of the eleven chapters three of them focus on the current Ismaili Imam’s leadership style and the geet and ginanic traditions of his followers of Gujarati origin….Read More

Please click for book review by Nizar Motani

Please click for book review by Nizar Motani

Farouk Verjee, Former President of the Aga Khan Ismaili Council for Canada, Remembers Baroness Margaret Thatcher

By Malik Merchant, Editor

Recently, I had the immense pleasure of meeting and having a delightful lunch at Vancouver’s well-known Jambo Grill with (Itmadi) Farouk B.K.S. Verjee who was the President of His Highness the Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Canada during the 1980’s. During his term of office, he witnessed the opening of two major Ismaili Centres in the Western World, including one in his own jurisdiction in Canada, the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre located in Burnaby, British Columbia. He was, as Canada’s President, very much involved in every phase of the planning, construction, completion and opening of the magnificent Burnaby icon which was designed by Canadian architect Bruno Freschi.

Presidents of National Ismaili Councils around the globe are often invited to major functions and projects related to the Ismailis and the Ismaili Imamat, as community representatives for their respective countries, and Farouk Verjee was present for the historic opening of the London Ismaili Centre from which the following anecdote, with photo,  is published.

Farouk Verjee, left, with Baroness Margaret Thatcher (1925 - 2013) at the opening of the iconic Ismaili Centre in London, England, on April 24, 1985. Looking on in the centre is Anil Ishani, then President of the Ismaili Council for the UK. Photo: Farouk Verjee Collection, Vancouver, Canada.

Farouk Verjee, left, with Baroness Margaret Thatcher (1925 – 2013) at the opening of the iconic Ismaili Centre in London, England, on April 24, 1985. Looking on in the centre is Anil Ishani, then President of the Ismaili Council for the UK. Photo: Farouk Verjee Collection, Vancouver, Canada.

After being introduced to the late Baroness Margaret Thatcher by His Highness the Aga Khan, Verjee told her that the Ismaili Centre in Burnaby was nearing completion and that it would be opening in the coming summer, and he hoped she would visit it on her next visit to British Columbia. She asked,  “Which is the better building?” Farouk replied that one was a Cadillac and the other a Rolls! In a typical British fashion, the Baroness quickly responded, “I hope this one is the Rolls!.” Verjee found the Baroness to be a very amicable person.

The Ismaili Centre and Jamatkhana  in Burnaby was opened a few months later in the same year on August 23 by the then Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in the presence of His Highness, Premier Bill Bennett of the Province of British Columbia and other dignitaries including members of the Aga Khan’s family. Mawlana Hazar Imam, as His Highness is addressed by members of his community, designated the new Ismaili Jamatkhana as the Darkhana of Canada at a gathering of some 20,000 Ismailis on the same day at BC Place.

It may be of interest to note that Itmadi Farouk Verjee’s father was Kamadia of the London Jamat with Janmohamed Verjee as Mukhi. They were appointed to their positions in a talika (a written message) from Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah, His Highness the Aga Khan III (1877 – 1957), the 48th Imam of Ismaili Muslims, which is dated April 10, 1936. The newly appointed Mukhi and Kamadia were law students in the U.K. at that time. Janmohamed Verjee was the father of Amir Bhurio a well-known personality in the UK Ismaili community.

A Story: The Fish Who Dreamed to See the Forest

Once upon a time, a little fish lived in a pond. But she wanted to go to the forest. The pond was deep, and high banks hid the surrounding forest from her view. Wanting to see the forest, the fish would leap out of water now and then, reaching higher over the pond with the strength of her tail….Read the Complete Story

Journey Towards the Nur (Light) – An Ismaili Reflection on the Prophetic Tradition “Die Before You Die”

PLEASE CLICK: “Die Before You Die” – Journey Towards the Nur by Shiraz Pradhan

Please click for article "Journey Towards the Nur". Photo: Muslim Harji, Montreal, Copyright.

Please click for article “Journey Towards the Nur”. Photo: Muslim Harji, Montreal, Copyright.

Amidst all this greatness,
this splendour
this glory of Your Majesty
I feel like a poor peasant
as I follow my inadequacy!
I see these Times
and Your Magnanimity
 and look at my humble affordings —
In this phase
and to this Light
all the World’s treasures
 would be a trifling

(From a poem by Laila Lokhandwalla) 

Simergphotos – Where You Will Find A Collection of Stunning Images and Informative Photo Essays

During the  past six months, this (literary) website’s companion blog, Simergphotos,  has featured  hundreds of beautiful images and stories covering people (His Highness the Aga Khan, President Barack Obama, Prince Amyn Aga Khan, Ibn Sina, the Maasai, Thomas Jefferson), places (Alamut, Zanzibar, Jerusalem, Bagamoyo, Tashkorgan), arts of the book (the Fatimid Blue Qur’an, the American Declaration of Independence), and calligraphy (Naade Ali).

The shrinking ice fields of Mount Kilimanjaro

The shrinking ice fields of Mount Kilimanjaro

Newcomers to this website as well as readers who may have missed or overlooked some of the thirty stunning and informative photo pieces will welcome the following links. We invite you to share this post with your family and friends:

  1. Peaceful Times and Fond Memories of Salamiyya, Syria….Then Terror Strikes Violating the Qur’anic Injunctions on the Sanctity of Life
  2. Photo Flashback: His Highness the Aga Khan at NATO Headquarters in January 2007
  3. Exclusive Photos and Story: The Investiture Ceremony of Prince Amyn Mohamed as Chief of Ismaili Scouts
  4. Historical Images: The Naad-e-Ali, “Call Upon Ali….oh Ali, oh Ali, oh Ali,” in Ottoman Calligraphy, and Other Shia Inscriptions in the British Museum’s Islamic Collection
  5. Historical Images: The Blue Qur’an from the Fatimid Period, “A Very Spiritual Piece”
  6. Historical Images: Ibn Sina and His Canon of Medicine
  7. Historical Images: President Thomas Jefferson’s Copy of the Qur’an
  8. The Executive Jets of His Highness the Aga Khan
  9. Historical Images: The American Declaration of Independence Illustrated
  10. A Tribute to President Barack Obama on His Re-election: Endearing Photos from the White House
  11. His Highness the Aga Khan with Ismaili Leaders and Volunteers at the London Ismaili Centre’s Rooftop Garden
  12. Beautiful People and Places of Zanzibar and Tanganyika: Photos from 1936
  13. Photo Essay: The Historical Jubilees of His Highness the Aga Khan (1877-1957), the Imam of the Socio-Economic Revolution
  14. Photo Essay: Historic Signing of Agreement in Alberta Between His Highness the Aga Khan and Premier Alison Redford
  15. From John F. Kennedy to Pierre E. Trudeau to Stephen E. Harper – A Selection of Photos and Videos of His Highness the Aga Khan with USA Presidents and Canadian Prime Ministers
  16. Magnificent Photos of Chateau de Chantilly and His Highness the Aga Khan’s Visit to the Jewel of French Culture
  17. The Nairobi Aga Khan Hospital’s Kitengela Sculptures
  18. Rare Photos of His Highness the Aga Khan’s Visits to Kenya and Pemba
  19. 5 Colossal Faces in the Black Hills of South Dakota
  20. His Highness the Aga Khan’s Work at a Glance
  21. A Journey to the Bagamoyo Jamatkhana
  22. An Ismaili Jamatkhana in China
  23. The Mausoleums of Ismaili Pir Sadardin and His Son Pir Hasan Kabirdin
  24. The Ismaili Journal “Rahe Rast” – A Legacy of the Iconic Karim Master
  25. Iran and Alamut Like You Have Not Seen Before
  26. His Highness the Aga Khan and the Ismailis
  27. Discovery of Fatimid Glass in a Byzantine Shipwreck
  28. My Journey to Alamut Where Every Stone Tells a Story
  29. Jerusalem – A Photo Essay of the Holy City

The Mevlud/Mawlid Tradition by Omid Safi

Nativity of the Prophet Muhammad

….The birth of Muhammad is told first through the experience of his mother, and the wonders that she beheld. A light fills her heart, and her house is circumambulated. Her house becomes like the Ka‘ba, as it were, and the various mentions of “opening” are reminiscent of the Qur’an’s recalling of the need to have one’s heart opened….

Please click on image to read Omid Safi's piece on Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s)

Please click on image to read Omid Safi’s piece on Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s)

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See also:

Readings on Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.): Ismaili Ginanic Literature, Two Songs and a Maulid in Lamu

The Verses of the ‘Immaculate Conception’ of Jesus in the Qur’an and their Impression on a Christian Emperor by Barnaby Rogerson

Muhammad, who could do nothing to alleviate the suffering of his small embattled community of believers, at last advised some of his followers to leave sacred Mecca and take refuge elsewhere. He said to them: “If you were to go to Abyssinia, it would be better for you until such time as God shall relieve you from your distress.” The Quraysh of Mecca, rather than celebrate their departure, grew irritated by this development. They dispatched a delegation to the ruler of Axsum where the Quraysh delegation planned to slander the new faith in the eyes of a Christian king, and so expedite their expulsion….Read More

The Altar of the Nativity, beneath which is the star marking the spot where tradition says the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus. Photo: Muslim Harji, Montreal, PQ. Copyright. Please click on image for Barnaby Rogerson's piece.

The Altar of the Nativity, beneath which is the star marking the spot where tradition says the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus. Photo: Muslim Harji, Montreal, PQ. Copyright. Please click on image for Barnaby Rogerson’s piece.