Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

CBC: Your words are that the most preoccupying global threat is the failure of democracy. What do you mean?

Recalling how Canada welcomed thousands of dispossessed Ismaili Muslims from Uganda in the 1970s, the Aga Khan expressed his gratitude yesterday by holding a foundation ceremony for a distinctive new building on Sussex Drive.

The new building, designed by world-renowned Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, will be the Aga Khan's first official representational building in the world. It will be known as the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat.

Your Highness, you are aware that John Ralston Saul and I have paid two visits to Kabul, Afghanistan to visit the Canadian troops deployed there. On our first visit, in December of 2003, we found a city that was practically flattened, and a people that seemed to be in disbelief that they were no longer in the midst of total war. One year later, we returned and immediately sensed that there was new hope. There were more people going about their business in the streets, a wider selection of food in the markets, and increased availability of practical goods like bicycle tires and oil cans.

Hon. Mobina S.B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, this week Canada has hosted His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, the forty-ninth hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.
His Highness the Aga Khan is well known to many in Canada as a champion of international development through the Aga Khan Development Network, which he launched in 1967. His work is well known, not only by his followers but also by many Canadians involved in the work to promote peace in the world and eliminate poverty and suffering.