MHI Interviews and Articles

Activities of the Imam and the Noorani family.
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Article - ‘A Life in the Service of Development’ published in Politique Internationale (Paris, France)

http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10062/

http://www.akdn.org/a_life_in_the_servi ... opment.asp
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

NanoWisdoms Webinar Presentations
[Printer friendly format]

NanoWisdoms Archive webinar presentations introduce you to the Archive and help you get the most from it. In these one hour presentations, we take you on a tour of the Archive, demonstrate its various features as well as offer you tips on using it effectively.
We also offer private webinars for BUI classes, book clubs, ITREB staff, jamatkhana seminars, private gatherings, etc. Please e-mail us to schedule a webinar for your group.
Click here to e-mail NanoWisdoms.

Agenda
Introductions and genesis of the NanoWisdoms Archive.
What is the NanoWisdoms Archive, its mission and why is it needed.
Organisation, searching and other features.
Services: Quotes and Suggested Readings.
NanoWisdoms’ Summary Documents.
Contribute and support the Archive in your jamat.
Questions.

http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/about ... entations/
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

As received:

Dear Friends,

Yesterday, Le Parisien published a brief interview with His Highness the Aga Khan in which he touched on his efforts to preserve the Chantilly race track and also his stud operations.

To read the interview at NanoWisdoms, click below:
nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10073/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats. We thank you for your support and assistance.

Kind regards,

Mohib Ebrahim
Publisher and Editor
NanoWisdoms.org

PS
This interview was conducted in French and presently we only have a Google machine translation of it available. We invite our bilingual visitors to help us by contributing a translation.
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Dear Friends,

On 12 December 1965, The Sunday Times of London published Nicholas Tomalin's extensive and candid interview of His Highness the Aga Khan. Although widely read and regarded by some as one of the Aga Khan's most important interviews, what is not generally known is that a week later, on 19 December 1965, The Sunday Times published, under the title "Our Future in Africa," the second part of that interview. The NanoWisdoms Archive is pleased to now bring you that second part.

In this riveting instalment, the Aga Khan talks extensively, and candidly, about the Ismaili community in Africa: its challenges, its history, its relations with Africans and governments, highlighting, for example, the situation the community faced during the middle of the last century in South Africa.

To read the interview at NanoWisdoms, click below:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10176/

NOTE: We would like to thank the persistence of one of our visitors in helping us obtain this important interview -- which the Archive has sought for many years -- from his local public library. It is through the assistance of such visitors, the NanoWisdoms Archive is able to continually uncover lost or forgotten interviews, such as this one from 1965, for the benefit of all. We kindly urge all our visitors to review our lists of material known to be missing or incomplete in the Archive and help us obtain it from the local public and ITREB libraries.
More information and the lists can be found here.

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats. We thank you for your support and assistance.

Kind regards,

Mohib Ebrahim
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

New on NanoWisdom​s: His Highness the Aga Khan ’s preface to the book ‘Architect​ure in Islamic Arts’ (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore; St. Petersburg​, Russia)

Dear Friends,

In this short piece the Aga Khan explains how, in Islamic thought, "beauty and mystery are not separated from the intellect."

He also draws attention to the lack of public debate of Islamic art and architecture noting, for example, that the "consequences for the Muslim world have been a one-way flow of scholarship and popular culture from the West."

Click to read the full article at NanoWisdoms:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10224/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats. We thank you for your support and assistance.

Kind regards,

Mohib Ebrahim
Publisher and Editor
NanoWisdoms.org

Please visit the NanoWisdoms Archive of Imamat speeches, interviews and writings:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org
http://www.facebook.com/NanoWisdoms
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Dear Friends,

Earlier this week, His Highness the Aga Khan was presented with the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award for having "leveraged the social conscience of Islam in ways that benefit people of all faiths; promoting tolerance, pluralism, and broad-based development."

Following his acceptance remarks, Peggy Dulany, Founder and Chair of the Synergos Institute -- which hosted the event, engaged in a short but extremely thought provoking and insightful interview with the Aga Khan in which he succinctly and forcefully explains the fundamental principles that underwrite the development ethic and strategies of the Aga Khan Development Network. We at NanoWisdoms highly recommend this short, but weighty interview, to all.

Click to read the full interview at NanoWisdoms:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10256/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats. We thank you for your support and assistance.

Kind regards,

Mohib Ebrahim
Publisher and Editor
NanoWisdoms.org
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Interview 9 days prior to the first Takht Nashini (Enthronement) Ceremony in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (London, United Kingdom?) ·· incomplete

http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10260/
Admin
Posts: 6687
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:37 am
Contact:

Post by Admin »

It's a good thing nano has done the transcript. The Youtube version does not have the transcript

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db6I8u-W ... video_user
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Dear Friends,

Over the past two years the NanoWisdoms Twitter quote service has broadcast several hundred quotes from His Highness the Aga Khan's speeches, interviews and writings. We are pleased to announce this collection of short quotes is now available on-line at NanoWisdoms, catalogued and organised by theme together with all sources as shown below.

Combined with our extended quotes, published on Facebook, and our thematic charts, our compilation of over 750 quotes by the Aga Khan is the largest available on-line and the only collection organised by theme and topic. New quotes are added to the collection each week via Twitter and Facebook. If you are not a Twitter or Facebook user you can subscribe to and receive both quote services by e-mail.

We invite all our visitors to share with us their personal collections of quotes -- from the Aga Khan, prior Ismaili Imams (pbut), the Prophet (pbuh) or Qur'an -- so we may share them with the Jamat and public at large.

Click here for the Twitter Thematic Quote Browser of short quotes
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/twitt ... e-browser/
Click here for the Facebook Thematic Quote Browser of extended quotes
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/faceb ... e-browser/

Please do forward this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats. We thank you for your support and assistance.

Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Publisher and Editor
NanoWisdoms.org

Please visit the NanoWisdoms Archive of Imamat speeches, interviews and writings:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org
http://www.facebook.com/NanoWisdoms
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

"A Man of the World," the little known 1967 documentary video and interview with His Highness the Aga Khan

Dear Friends,
Salgirah Mubarak (card Attached).
May Allah grant you and your family peace and happiness.
To commemorate Salgirah, I am pleased to bring this important documentary for all to enjoy and learn from.

During the 1960s His Highness the Aga Khan, then a young man in his 20s, led a consortium of private investors in the transformation of some 35 miles of desolate, untouched Sardinian coast line at Costa Smeralda, into a world class tourist destination. At an estimated 1969 cost of £70 million (approximately $200 million then, or £1.1 billion ($1.7 billion) today), the development was among the largest private construction projects of its time and put up some 9,000 buildings.

In 1986 the Aga Khan characterised the Costa Smeralda project as an enterprise “that probably one day will ... come to be an important prop for our development efforts in the Third World,” (1). Indeed, Costa Smeralda is an invaluable case study (2), pioneering principles of environmentalism in the leisure industry and also impact investment -- a concept the Aga Khan today considers as “one of the most important ... in the last 50 years” (3) and a fundamental precept of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED).

"A Man of the World" is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the Sardinian development as well as the Aga Khan's private and public life as Imam of the Ismaili Muslims. The programme, which features extensive excerpts from his interview, highlights his roles, objectives, principles and ethics which guided his vision and strategy in Sardinia.
Click to view the full documentary (or read the transcript) at NanoWisdoms:
Documentary and Interview: 'Pacemakers: A Man of the World - The Aga Khan' (London, United Kingdom)
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10214/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats and I thank you for your support and assistance.
Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher
Refs: (1) CBC, Man Alive interview, 1986, (2) Philip Jodidio interview, 2007, (3) Synergos Foundation interview, 2012.

P.S.
NOTE: We would like to thank one of our visitors for providing us with this important documentary and interview. It is through the assistance of you, our visitors, the NanoWisdoms Archive is able to continually uncover lost or forgotten interviews, such as this one from 1967, for the benefit of all. We kindly urge all our visitors to review our lists of material known to be missing or incomplete in the Archive and help us obtain it from the local public and ITREB libraries.
Click here for more information and the lists
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10159.

P.P.S.
We suggest you add our e-mail address, nanowisdoms@sent.com, to your address book so that future emails from us are not accidentally removed by your spam filter.
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

His Highness the Aga Khan’s preface to the 2011 book ‘The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme: Strategies for Urban Regeneration’ edited by Philip Jodidio (Aiglemont)

In this weighty preface, to the 2011 book The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme: Strategies for Urban Regeneration, His Highness the Aga Khan explains his rational and vision behind the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, highlighting four key principles behind his "effort to defend the value of culture."

In contrast to "conventional thinking suggests that there is a sequence that must be followed in every instance -- first addressing humanitarian and social needs, then economic challenges and finally, perhaps, culture," the Aga Khan forcefully argues, however, "that the equation is not so simple, [and] culture itself can be the catalyst for social and economic development."

Click to read the full article at NanoWisdoms:

Preface to the book The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme: Strategies for Urban Regeneration edited by Philip Jodidio
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10371/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats and I thank you for your support and assistance.

Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher
www.nanowisdoms.org
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

His Highness the Aga Khan's the little known September 1957 MovieTone interview (London, United Kingdom), just 3 months after becoming the Imam

Dear Friends,

In September 1957, just three months after ascending the throne of the Ismaili Imamat, His Highness the Aga Khan gave a short interview to MovieTone in which he discussed the Ismaili community, the type of community and family leader his grandfather was as well as his educational plans.

Click to the watch interview or read the transcript at NanoWisdoms:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10380/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats and I thank you for your support and assistance.

Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

His Highness the Aga Khan's 2012 Paris Match Interview (5th) with Caroline Pigozzi (Paris, France)

Dear Friends,
In July this year His Highness the Aga Khan granted a short interview with Paris Match where he discussed his efforts to restore cultural assets in his neighbourhood of Chantilly.

Click to the interview at NanoWisdoms:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10319/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats and I thank you for your support and assistance.
Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher

********
The Aga Khan’s Earthly Kingdom: Vanity Fair Feature

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2013/0 ... ilimail%29
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

His Highness the Aga Khan's 2013 interview with Vanity Fair (USA)

Dear Friends,

This month, Vanity Fair published an extensive article about His Highness the Aga Khan and his efforts to restore cultural assets in his neighbourhood of Chantilly. Excerpts from their interview with the Aga Khan, included in the article, touched on his feelings when he learned he was appointed the Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, his role as Imam and the Chantilly development.

Click to the interview at NanoWisdoms:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10388/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats and I thank you for your support and assistance.

Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Admin
Posts: 6687
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:37 am
Contact:

Post by Admin »

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

His Highness the Aga Khan's 2008 book 'Where Hope Takes Root – Democracy and Pluralism in an interdependent World’ (Canada)

Dear Friends,

NanoWisdoms' Suggested Readings series highlights important selections from our Archive of Imamat speeches, interviews and writings. This installment's selection is His Highness the Aga Khan's 2008 book Where Hope Takes Root – Democracy and Pluralism in an interdependent World.
Published in 2008, Where Hope Takes Root is a collection of 13 of the Aga Khan's principal speeches, made between 2002 and 2006, along with his important 2006 interview with the CBC's Peter Mansbridge. Focused on the theme "democracy and pluralism in an interdependent world," the book -- which deserves to be read repeatedly -- could arguably be subtitled as "The Essential Aga Khan."

The NanoWisdoms Archive is pleased to make this seminal collection available at the link below for those who have not had the opportunity to read it.
Click here for this NanoWisdoms' Suggested Reading:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10404/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats and we thank you for your support and assistance.
Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

New Interview Transcript: His Highness the Aga Khan's 2008 Syrian TV Interview (Aleppo, Syria)

Dear Friends,
In August 2008, following the Opening Ceremony of the Aleppo and Masyaf Citadels and the Castle of Salah ad-Din, His Highness the Aga Khan gave Syrian TV a wide-ranging and important interview. The NanoWisdoms Archive is pleased to make available the interview's transcript for all to study and reflect over at these critical times.
Among the many topics covered, the Aga Khan discusses AKDN's extensive development plans for Syria, the role of culture as a development strategy and his firm belief in employing public-private partnerships to meet societal needs. The interview ends with the Aga Khan's message to the Syrian people and the Ummah, setting out Syria's unique place in Islam's history and informing the Ummah, twice, that "progress does not mean occidentalisation" and that Muslim "values systems are massively important for the future.

Click for the interview transcript and video at NanoWisdoms:
His Highness the Aga Khan's 2008 Syrian TV Interview (Aleppo, Syria)
www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/9004/
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

The Age Interview, Geoffry Barker, ‘Aga Khan: Enigma of East and West’ (Melbourne, Australia; Nairobi, Kenya)

http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10329/
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III's 1946 lecture at the Dar es Salaam Cultural Society, 'World Peace and Its Problems' (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)

Dear Friends,
Almost 70 years ago -- within a year of the Allies' World War II victory, the establishment of the United Nations and the partition of India -- Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III, noting that 'what is history except on rare occasions one long, long story of war and warfare?', delivered this sweeping, global assessment outlining out potential contributions the major actors on the world stage -- the United States, Europe, Russia and China -- could offer to ensure world peace.

While Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah singles out the United States and Britain as the linchpins for a peaceful, post World War II world -- explaining that "without a common peace policy of these two central world powers ... we will be building on the sands of the seashore" -- he also issues a cautionary note that it was also essential to draw the curtain on the era of "plantation" colonialism, lest the colonies themselves become "apples of discord" and "breeding grounds for future world warfare."

Particularly noteworthy from his assessments are, firstly, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah's observation that China has "from time immemorial [been] essentially peaceful ... and has for thousands of years never shown any spirit of aggression and has been one of the bastions of moral peace and live and let live in the world." And secondly -- particularly in light the present Aga Khan's call for nations to cooperate with one another on common issues through regional alliances -- was his retrospection that "the absence of proper provisions for regional alliances organised under the League [of Nations] itself, for the maintenance of peace, was another, and perhaps the most serious, of the causes of its break-down when it came up against the realities of power politics."
Notwithstanding that, given more recent events, informed observers are of the opinion that the United States has forgone the nobler role of peacekeeper it had assumed in the years immediately following World War II, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah's global assessment, remains as relevant in today's troubled times of as it was some 70 years ago.

Click here for this NanoWisdoms' Suggested Reading:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10454/
Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats and we thank you for your support and assistance.
Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III's 1925 article 'How to live long' (London, United Kingdom)
Dear Friends,

Almost 90 years ago -- decades before the more recent interest in health, diet and exercise -- Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III, wrote this short but lovely article on keeping healthy opening it with the remark that "all my life I have been keenly interested in the kindred subjects of exercise and diet, and their influence on the general health and fitness of the human body."

His advice -- which could have been written today with little if any change -- is concise, practical, at least half a century ahead of its time and worthy of everyone's attention.

Click here for this NanoWisdoms' Suggested Reading:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10497/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats and we thank you for your support and assistance.

Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Dear Friends,
His Highness the Aga Khan has been the driving force behind an ambitious project to revitalise his home town neighbourhood of Chantilly. The Fondation de Chantilly — established by the Aga Khan in 2005 — "seeks to leverage the area’s cultural assets to create a sustainable model for heritage preservation and contribute towards social, cultural and economic development in the region."

As part of the effort a new museum, The Museum of The Horse, was developed and opens this weekend. Francesca Cumani, whose father trained horses for the Aga Khan, talks with him as they walk through the museum.

Click for the interview transcript at NanoWisdoms:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10536/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats and I thank you for your support and assistance.
Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

NEW INTERVIEW: The Aga Khan's little known 1966 Radio Tanzania Interview

Dear Friend,

In late 1966, His Highness the Aga Khan made an extensive 54 day tour of East Africa, visiting Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malagasy Republic (now Republic of Madagascar) and the Comoros Islands. During his tour he delivered many speeches and granted several interviews, all of which are now very hard to locate. It is, therefore, our great pleasure that we are able to bring to you his full Radio Tanzania interview from a rare copy of the transcript that was kindly made available to us by a member of the Jamat.

There are many such little known speeches and interviews, especially from the Aga Khan's early years, which we are constantly trying to locate. Both we and the Jamat, would be most grateful if those of you with archives and memorabilia from these times would search through your collections for any speeches and interviews you may have, particularly from this 1966 East Africa visit.

Click here to read His Highness the Aga Khan's little known 1966 Radio Tanzania Interview:
http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/1422/

Please do share this e-mail with your family, friends and jamats and we thank you for your support and assistance.

Kind regards,
Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

His Highness Aga Khan interview for Portugal TV

In English

VIDEO:
http://www.rebirthofportugal.com/news-p ... rtugal-tv/

This is not a recent one.
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Wordfest presents Governor General David Johnston – FREE

Join Wordfest and the Calgary Public Library for an evening with His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, who presents his new book, The Idea of Canada: Letters to a Nation. A book signing will follow the event.

Governor General David Johnston offers a spirited and inspiring exploration of the moments, virtues, habits and decisions that have made Canada unique in the world. Written as a series of letters to characters and individuals living and dead, eminent and unknown, The Idea of Canada is a record of the social forces that have shaped, consumed and inspired the author to think of Canada as an idea long worthy of expression and now searching for refinement.

The author sets his thoughts out to friends and icons as disparate as singer Céline Dion, astronaut Chris Hadfield, His Highness the Aga Khan, the Unknown Soldier, Olympian Clara Hughes, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, lawyer Purdy Crawford, author John Buchan, former Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, Quebec mayor Régis Labeaume, and a 10-year old Inuit boy who asked simply, “Who are you, anyway?”

More...
http://wordfest.com/session/wordfest-pr ... -johnston/
kmaherali
Posts: 25106
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:01 pm

Post by kmaherali »

Aga Khan, « Prince » du développement

http://www.jeuneafrique.com/mag/465397/ ... loppement/

English Translation:

Translation from the original French version published on August 24, 2017 at 10:47
By Marion Douet – Special Envoy to Abidjan

Aga Khan “Prince” of Development | Jeune Afrique

“He has a very good understanding of Africa, Asia of course, but also of the globality of the world.


He is at one and the same time an extremely courteous and well-balanced person, who never boasts, and very intelligent, with very geo-strategic reflection.”


– Jean-Michel Severino, Development Specialist,

French Development Agency

His Highness the Aga Khan, spiritual leader to millions of Muslim, delivers the Jodidi Lecture, at Harvard University, on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015in Cambridge, Mass. The Aga Khan spoke about the challenges to a pluralistic society. (Image via Jeune Afrique)

Chemical industry, luxury hotels, media, but also social works … This royalty without a kingdom is on all fronts. In six decades, he has built an empire dedicated to the fight against poverty, with a strong presence in West Africa. Investigation of a man as discreet yet powerful.

He is Imam, and it is with the honors reserved to the heads of state that the Aga Khan will be welcomed, on the occasion of his sixtieth anniversary as spiritual leader of the Ismailis, in each of the twenty countries. He will visit during this year during the festivities of his diamond jubilee, launched on July 11 in the French domain of Chantilly, north of Paris. Prince Aga Khan will travel the world to meet ihis 15 million faithfuls, scattered between the cradle of Central Asia and four other continents.

The list of countries visited is still secret, but each stage will be an opportunity to fulfill the three missions which he considers to be indivisible:
•that of spiritual guide of the Ismaili community;
•Philanthropist, one of the most active on the planet; and finally
•that of a prolific investor.



A strong relationship with West Africa

While the Aga Khan is very attached to East Africa, he also maintains a strong relationship with the west of the continent. The latter was born in 1963, on the occasion of a call for help from Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d’Ivoire’s first president.

The father of Ivorian independence wanted a factory in Abidjan to manufacture jute bags that was required to transport the precious cocoa. He knew that the Aga Khan had interests in this industry in Bangladesh, where the natural fiber used to produce this packaging comes from.


“His [Aga Khan’s] vision was to bring Côte d’Ivoire to become the world’s largest cocoa producer.”

– Ibrahim Charles Amadou,

CEO of Filtisac, part of IPS group of companies of AKFED

Prince Aga Khan accepted and launched the construction of Filtisac, which was inaugurated two years later, becoming the first asset of the industrial holding company IPS in Africa.

With this investment, the Aga Khan intended to help the empowerment of the new nations “by substituting a local industry for imports,” said his collaborators.

“His vision was to get Côte d’Ivoire to become the world’s largest producer of cocoa,” said Nigerian Ibrahim Charles Amadou, a native of Nigeria, who receives us in his office as Chief Executive Officer of Filtisac. The walls, old newspaper covers traces the visits to the premises of illustrious figures, from the American president Richard Nixon to the current head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde.

Even today, Filtisac is the emblem of the Aga Khan network in West Africa.



AKDN - AKFED companies - Jeune Afrique - Aga Khan Prince of Development
AKDN – AKFED companies (image credit: Jeune Afrique)



Great knowledge of Africa

It was in Kenya that Karim, born in Geneva in 1936, grandson of the previous Aga Khan, Mahomed Shah, spent his childhood. And it was in Tanzania, in Dar es Salaam, that he was against all expectations enthroned forty-ninth Imam of the Ismailis in 1957.

Jean-Michel Severino, who regularly met the Prince during the years 2000 when he was head of the French Development Agency (one of his main partners in Africa), “modernity” is precisely one of the features The most salient of this man, about whom he does not cease to praise: “He is at one and the same time an extremely courteous and well-balanced person, who never boasts, and very intelligent, with very geo-strategic reflection . He has a very good understanding of Africa, Asia of course, but also of the globality of the world, “says the development specialist.



Non-profit activities

At the turn of the 1960s, in the midst of euphoria of independence, one of the first decisions of the new Imam was to place development at the heart of its action.


A huge machine with 80,000 employees, its network [AKDN] spends $925 million annually.

“Prior to 1957, there were already schools, hospitals, banks and insurance companies in Asia and East Africa, but it is the present Aga Khan who created, organized and expanded the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), “said Malagasy representative Ferid Nandjee, a diplomatic representative of the Aga Khan in West Africa.

An enormous machine, AKDN employing 80,000 people worldwide, the “network” spends $925 million annually (€788 million).

The AKDN mainly focuses on non-profit activities in the fields of culture (Cairo Al-Azhar Park, Mopti and Timbuktu Mosques) and education (from early childhood to university), and the network has also invested in no fewer than ninety companies, through its Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). Established in Switzerland, it is divided into poles: industry (IPS), tourism (TPS), aviation, finance, etc.

In eastern Africa, Kenya is both a strong place for the community and for AKFED, which has full swathes of the economy: banks and insurance (including Diamond Trust Bank), the Frigoken canning factory , The media empire Nation Media Group (publisher of the Daily Nation, the country’s first daily newspaper) and the luxury hotel chain Serena.

Difficult to evaluate, its economic weight makes the media quick to depict the Aga Khan as a “wealthy businessman”, to the dismay of his diplomatic representatives, who insists on the humanist vocation of all his action, even economic . “He is a profound benefactor,” says a business lawyer who knows AKFED well.

“Not only are companies used to finance the works, but note that they did a lot in West Africa, where there was not a single Ismaili on their arrival. They were both pioneers of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and private equity, at a time when neither of them existed in the region. ”

AKFED is a UFO in the economic world. Halfway between patronage, investment fund and development agency.

For most of the sources we interviewed, the latter is the closest to its philosophy (IFC and DEG are shareholders of IPS WA while the Aga Khan owns some shares of Proparco). But if AKFED is able to wait a long time for a return on investment, he also dares riskier bets.




“If a member is a business banker in New York and AKFED asks him to come, he will be there overnight”



“The fund is involved in operations that do not attract anyone,” says a financier who rubbed shoulders with his teams, praising “people of great capacity”. Another singularity, the Imamat is able to attract the best skills of his community. “If a member is a business banker in New York and AKFED asks him to come, he will be there overnight,” said one partner who praised the seriousness and dedication of his team members.

“We are long-term partners for these countries and, whatever the crises they are going through, we do not abandon them,” said Ferid Nandjee.

Read the complete story at the source http://www.jeuneafrique.com/mag/465397/ ... loppement/

https://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2017/ ... e-afrique/
Admin
Posts: 6687
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:37 am
Contact:

Post by Admin »

http://www.jeuneafrique.com/mag/465397/ ... loppement/

[Notes from Admin: Hospitals and Schools are missing from this summary]



Aga Khan, « Prince » du développement
Publié le 24 août 2017 à 10h47 — Mis à jour le 24 août 2017 à 18h14
Par Marion Douet et Nadoun Coulibaly



Image

Industrie chimique, hôtellerie de luxe, médias, mais aussi œuvres sociales... Cette altesse sans royaume est sur tous les fronts. En six décennies, il a bâti un empire consacré à la lutte contre la pauvreté, avec une forte présence en Afrique de l'Ouest. Enquête sur un homme aussi discret que puissant.

Il est imam, mais c’est avec les honneurs réservés aux chefs d’État que l’Aga Khan sera accueilli, à l’occasion de son soixantième anniversaire en tant que chef spirituel des ismaéliens, dans chacun des vingt-cinq pays qu’il visitera au cours de cette année. Les festivités de ce jubilé de diamant, lancées le 11 juillet dans son domaine français de Chantilly, au nord de Paris, l’amèneront ainsi à parcourir le monde à la rencontre de ses 15 millions de fidèles, éparpillés entre leur berceau d’Asie centrale et les quatre autres continents.

La liste des pays visités est encore secrète, mais chaque étape sera l’occasion de remplir les trois missions qui lui sont assignées et qu’il considère comme indivisibles : celle de guide spirituel de la communauté ismaélienne, une branche minoritaire du chiisme ; celle de philanthrope, l’un des plus actifs de la planète à l’instar du magnat de l’informatique Bill Gates ; et, enfin, celle d’investisseur prolifique.

Comme lors des précédents jubilés se succéderont processions religieuses, réceptions mondaines et annonces de projets à plusieurs dizaines de millions de dollars.

Il y a dix ans, à l’occasion de son jubilé d’or, le « prince », comme le désignent ses interlocuteurs (les fidèles préférant « Son Altesse »), avait lancé en Ouganda le barrage hydraulique de Bujagali, au bord du lac Victoria, devenu depuis son inauguration, en 2012, l’épine dorsale de la production électrique du pays.

« C’est un moment spécial pour moi », déclarait alors au cours d’un banquet organisé à Kampala cet homme qui parle aussi bien l’anglais que le français et l’arabe, à propos du voyage qu’il venait d’achever en l’Afrique de l’Est. Cette région a « une signification particulière pour la communauté ismaélienne, pour les institutions du réseau Aga Khan et pour moi, personnellement, depuis un demi-siècle », ajoutait-il.
Une grande connaissance de l’Afrique

C’est au Kenya que Karim, né à Genève en 1936, petit-fils du précédent Aga Khan, Mahomed Shah, a passé son enfance. Et c’est en Tanzanie, à Dar es-Salaam, qu’il sera contre toute attente intronisé quarante-neuvième imam des ismaéliens en 1957.

À la surprise générale, c’est lui, l’étudiant de Harvard âgé de 20 ans, que l’Aga Khan désigne à sa mort pour lui succéder, et non, comme le veut la tradition, son père, Ali.

Ce dernier, d’après l’auteur français Yann Kerlau dans son livre Les Aga Khans, bien plus attiré par « les lumières de Hollywood » (son mariage tumultueux avec l’actrice américaine Rita Hayworth a fait pendant des années la une des tabloïds) que par l’imamat, ne faisait en effet pas figure de candidat idéal.

Il possède une très bonne compréhension de l’Afrique, de l’Asie bien sûr, mais aussi de la globalité du monde

« Cette décision était une première en mille trois cents ans d’histoire, souligne l’une de nos sources. C’était la guerre froide, le monde était bousculé, il y avait l’avènement de la menace nucléaire. L’Aga Khan a voulu quelqu’un de jeune, d’inscrit dans la modernité pour lui succéder. » L’aïeul ne s’est, semble-t-il, pas trompé.

Pour Jean-Michel Severino, qui a régulièrement rencontré le prince au cours des années 2000 lorsqu’il dirigeait l’Agence française de développement (l’un de ses principaux partenaires en Afrique), la « modernité » est justement l’un des traits les plus saillants de cet homme à propos duquel il ne tarit pas d’éloges : « C’est à la fois quelqu’un d’extrêmement courtois et pondéré, qui ne se glorifie jamais, et de très intelligent, à la réflexion très géostratégique. Il possède une très bonne compréhension de l’Afrique, de l’Asie bien sûr, mais aussi de la globalité du monde », égrène le spécialiste du développement. Avant d’ajouter : « C’est un profond démocrate, peut-être parce que sa communauté, systématiquement minoritaire là où elle vit, a besoin de la démocratie pour s’en sortir. »
Des activités non lucratives

Au tournant des années 1960, en pleine euphorie des indépendances, l’une des premières décisions du nouvel imam est de placer le développement au cœur de son action.

Énorme machine de 80 000 employés, son réseau dépense chaque année 925 millions de dollars.

« Avant 1957, il existait déjà des écoles, des hôpitaux, des banques et des compagnies d’assurances en Asie et en Afrique de l’Est, mais c’est l’Aga Khan actuel qui va créer, organiser et étendre l’Aga Khan Development Network [AKDN, Réseau Aga Khan pour le développement] », explique le Malgache Ferid Nandjee, représentant diplomatique de l’Aga Khan en Afrique de l’Ouest.

Énorme machine employant 80 000 personnes dans le monde, le « réseau » dépense chaque année 925 millions de dollars (soit 788 millions d’euros, provenant notamment des dons de la communauté, dont ne sont connus ni les montants ni la traçabilité).

L’AKDN se consacre principalement à des activités non lucratives dans les domaines de la culture (parc Al-Azhar du Caire, mosquées de Mopti et de Tombouctou) et de l’éducation (depuis la petite enfance jusqu’à l’université), mais le réseau a également investi dans pas moins de quatre-vingt-dix entreprises, à travers son Fonds Aga Khan pour le développement économique (Akfed). Établi en Suisse, celui-ci est divisé en pôles : industrie (IPS), tourisme (TPS), aviation, finance, etc.

En Afrique de l’Est, le Kenya est à la fois une place forte pour la communauté et pour Akfed, qui y possède des pans entiers de l’économie : banques et assurances (notamment Diamond Trust Bank), l’usine de conserves Frigoken, l’empire de la presse Nation Media Group (éditeur du Daily Nation, premier quotidien du pays) ou encore la luxueuse chaîne hôtelière Serena.

Difficile à évaluer, son poids économique rend les médias prompts à dépeindre l’Aga Khan en « richissime homme d’affaires », au grand dam de son représentant diplomatique, qui insiste sur la vocation humaniste de l’ensemble de son action, même économique. « C’est un profond bienfaiteur », abonde un avocat d’affaires qui connaît bien l’Akfed.

Si l’Aga Khan est très attaché à l’Afrique de l’Est, il entretient aussi avec l’ouest du continent une relation forte.

« Non seulement les entreprises servent à financer les œuvres, mais remarquez qu’ils ont beaucoup fait en Afrique de l’Ouest, où il n’y avait pas un seul ismaélien à leur arrivée. Ils y ont été à la fois des pionniers de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE) et de la private equity, à une époque où ni l’une ni l’autre n’existaient dans la région. »
Une relation solide avec l’Afrique de l’ouest

Si l’Aga Khan est très attaché à l’Afrique de l’Est, il entretient aussi avec l’ouest du continent une relation forte. Cette dernière naît en 1963, à l’occasion d’un appel à l’aide de Félix Houphouët-Boigny.

Le père de l’indépendance ivoirienne veut une usine à Abidjan pour fabriquer les sacs de jute qu’il doit importer pour transporter le précieux cacao. Il sait que l’Aga Khan possède des participations dans ce domaine au Bangladesh, d’où provient la fibre naturelle utilisée pour produire cet emballage.

Sa vision était d’amener la Côte d’Ivoire à devenir le premier producteur mondial de cacao

Le prince accepte et lance dans la foulée la construction de Filtisac, qui, inauguré deux ans plus tard, sera le premier actif du holding industriel IPS en Afrique.

Par cet investissement, l’Aga Khan entend justement apporter son aide à l’autonomisation des nouvelles nations « en substituant aux importations une industrie locale », racontent avec respect ses collaborateurs.

« Sa vision était d’amener la Côte d’Ivoire à devenir le premier producteur mondial de cacao », confirme d’un hochement de tête le Nigérien Ibrahim Charles Amadou, qui nous reçoit dans son bureau de directeur général de Filtisac, où, sur les murs, des anciennes couvertures de journaux retracent les visites dans les locaux de personnages illustres, depuis le président américain Richard Nixon jusqu’à l’actuelle directrice du FMI, Christine Lagarde.
Akfed prospère dans cette région d’Afrique

Aujourd’hui encore, Filtisac est l’emblème du réseau Aga Khan en Afrique de l’Ouest. Dans le bâtiment principal, les fibres de jute sont toujours triées, lavées, étirées par de gigantesques métiers à tisser puis assemblées en sacs, dans un air saturé de poussières et de bruits.

Malgré son influence, l’imam a essuyé des déconvenues dans les secteurs de l’énergie et du transports aérien.

Mais l’entreprise a aussi su évoluer pour accompagner la diversification de l’économie ivoirienne : au sein du complexe de plusieurs hectares qui s’étale le long de l’autoroute d’Abobo, à Abidjan, on fabrique désormais des emballages en polypropylène et en polyéthylène (stockage du coton, des engrais et de la farine), mais aussi des bouteilles en plastique rigide et des bidons (notamment pour les boissons et l’industrie oléagineuse).

Employant 1 100 permanents et disposant de ses propres infrastructures sociales, Filtisac est une société florissante dont les bénéfices (2,5 milliards de F CFA de résultat net en 2016, soit 3,8 millions d’euros) ont été au fil du temps réinvestis à travers la région pour y créer des filiales ou pour en racheter : EmbalMali au Mali, Fasoplast au Burkina Faso et Cofisac-Fumoa au Sénégal. Un schéma systématique au sein d’Akfed (4,1 milliards de dollars de chiffre d’affaires en 2016).

« Nous sommes une entreprise comme les autres, qui veut faire des profits et développer des projets, mais l’ensemble des dividendes destinés à l’Akfed sont réinvestis, les actionnaires minoritaires étant, eux, rémunérés », détaille l’Ivoirien Mahamadou Sylla, directeur général d’IPS West Africa (380 millions de dollars de chiffre d’affaires en 2016), en recevant Jeune Afrique dans ses locaux ultramodernes situés dans un écrin de verdure à deux pas du fastueux Hôtel Ivoire.

L’Aga Khan va dès lors se focaliser dans cette région sur deux grands domaines. L’agroalimentaire, tout d’abord, considéré comme source d’emplois dans les zones rurales.

Ainsi, en Côte d’Ivoire, épicentre de son action régionale, IPS s’est développé tous azimuts jusque dans les années 1980, profitant des occasions de substitution aux importations autant que des situations de monopoles, rachetant ici la tôle de Pechiney, là une usine de filets de pêche.

« Mais, dans les années 1990, une réflexion a été menée sur la vocation réelle d’IPS, le développement. À partir de là, le portefeuille a été revu de fond en comble, et les filiales ayant une contribution limitée au développement ont été cédées », poursuit l’ancien cadre de Coca-Cola.
Agroalimentaire et l’énergie

L’Aga Khan va dès lors se focaliser dans cette région sur deux grands domaines. L’agroalimentaire, tout d’abord, considéré comme source d’emplois dans les zones rurales.

En pleine vague de libéralisations consécutive aux programmes d’ajustements structurels du FMI en Afrique, l’Akfed s’implante dans le sucre (Sosuco, au Burkina), le coton (Ivoire Coton, puis Faso Coton), l’huile de palme (avec Oleatech, qui fermera rapidement ses portes) et plus récemment l’anacarde (Cajou des savanes).

Il mise ensuite sur l’énergie, fondamentale à tout développement économique, notamment avec la centrale d’Azito, opérée en partenariat avec Globeleq, l’une des premières centrales privées du continent, qui représente aujourd’hui 20 % de l’électricité produite en Côte d’Ivoire.

Cette concentration sur deux secteurs est moins marquée en Afrique de l’Est, où le réseau est beaucoup plus diversifié. On y retrouve néanmoins la même préoccupation pour le défi énergétique.

Outre la centrale Kipevu II au Kenya, datant de 2001, l’Aga Khan vient de lancer en avril avec l’institution britannique de développement CDC, une structure d’investissement consacrée aux projets africains d’énergie, dont la première réalisation sera le barrage hydraulique de Ruzizi III, un chantier aussi capital que délicat pour la région des Grands Lacs, située aux frontières du Rwanda, du Burundi et de la RD Congo.

« Nous sommes pour ces pays des partenaires de long terme, et, quelles que soient les crises qu’ils traversent, nous ne les abandonnons pas »

Impliqué dans des secteurs politiquement sensibles, confronté à une compétition économique de plus en plus rude sur le continent avec l’arrivée de nouveaux investisseurs, l’Aga Khan a, malgré son influence, essuyé des déconvenues.

Au début de 2016, la presse relatait que Nation Media Group était menacé de perdre ses subventions publiques pour avoir couvert au Kenya le scandale British American Tobacco, qui impliquait une agence de l’État.

L’une de ses plus rudes aventures africaines fut sûrement celle qu’il a connue avec Énergie du Mali (EDM). Au début des années 2000, il s’allie à Bouygues pour acheter respectivement 21 % et 39 % de ce distributeur d’électricité. Le géant des infrastructures abandonnera l’aventure en raison de conflits avec l’État sur les tarifs appliqués.

Refusant de quitter le navire, IPS rachète en 2005 une partie des parts du groupe français, devenant l’actionnaire de référence d’une société active dans un secteur sensible qu’il maîtrise mal. Une expérience amère, aggravée par la crise qui plonge le Mali dans le chaos à partir de 2012.

« Nous sommes pour ces pays des partenaires de long terme, et, quelles que soient les crises qu’ils traversent, nous ne les abandonnons pas », souligne non sans fierté Ferid Nandjee, assis à la terrasse d’un grand hôtel de l’Ouest parisien.

L’Aga Khan patientera jusqu’aujourd’hui pour se retirer d’EDM (une cession est, selon nos informations, en cours), mais il a retenu la leçon : fini la distribution d’énergie en Afrique.
Échec dans le transport aérien

Même conclusion pour le transport aérien. Fonder une compagnie africaine, comme il l’avait fait en Méditerranée avec Meridiana, située dans son fief sarde d’Olbia, était pourtant le grand rêve de ce passionné d’avions.

Mais ses quatre tentatives dans des compagnies nationales (Air Mali, Air Ouganda, Air Côte d’Ivoire et Air Burkina), qu’il voulait à terme réunir, se sont soldées par autant d’échecs. Un cadre du réseau s’étonne encore que, « après avoir injecté 60 milliards de F CFA dans Air Burkina sans jamais rien récolter », l’Aga Khan ait décidé en mai de céder, presque sans broncher, ses participations à l’État pour 1 franc symbolique.

« Si un membre est banquier d’affaires à New York et qu’Akfed lui demande de venir, il sera là du jour au lendemain »

Akfed est un ovni dans le monde économique. À mi-chemin entre le mécénat, le fonds d’investissement et l’agence de développement.

Pour la plupart des sources que nous avons interrogées, cette dernière est la plus proche de sa philosophie (IFC et la DEG sont d’ailleurs actionnaires d’IPS WA tandis que l’Aga Khan possède quelques parts de Proparco). Mais, si Akfed est capable d’attendre très longtemps un retour sur investissement, il ose aussi des paris plus risqués.

« Le fonds intervient dans des opérations qui n’attirent personne », explique une financière qui a côtoyé ses équipes, saluant « des gens de grande capacité ». Autre singularité, l’imamat est en mesure d’attirer à lui les meilleures compétences de sa communauté.

« Ils sont d’une extrême dureté en affaires ! Ils ont des objectifs de gentils, mais ce ne sont pas vraiment des gentils »

« Si un membre est banquier d’affaires à New York et qu’Akfed lui demande de venir, il sera là du jour au lendemain », s’émerveille un partenaire, qui salue le sérieux et le dévouement des membres de ses équipes. « Ils sont d’une extrême dureté en affaires ! Ils ont des objectifs de gentils, mais ce ne sont pas vraiment des gentils », se remémore de son côté un ancien client, soulignant que rares sont les exemples de défection au sein du réseau, comme l’ancien directeur d’IPS WA, Nizar Hassam, qui a monté sa propre affaire, Envol Afrique, au milieu des années 2000.

Pour certains, tant d’opiniâtreté est presque contre-productif. « Ils ont une telle crainte du chef qu’ils négocient chacun des termes au-delà du raisonnable. Et comme la hiérarchisation est extrême, faire une opération avec eux peut prendre énormément de temps, parfois trop », poursuit un investisseur.

Quelques exemples : le fonds s’est intéressé à Atlantique Telecom (un domaine qu’il connaît en Asie) et à la clinique abidjanaise Pisam (un secteur où Akfed est très présent à l’Est) sans finalement boucler ces investissements.
Passage à vide

D’ailleurs, plusieurs analystes estiment même que le fonds s’est assoupi, particulièrement en Afrique de l’Ouest. « Ils n’y font plus grand-chose depuis quinze ans », regrette une source juridique, croyant savoir que le comité exécutif, essentiellement composé d’ismaéliens, presse le prince de se concentrer sur les pays où vit la communauté.

En cette année de jubilé, une visite du prince dans cette partie du continent serait évidemment interprétée comme un signe

Difficile de décrypter les coulisses de cette structure « très secrète », mais on évoque aussi des rivalités internes ou encore un passage à vide en Côte d’Ivoire sous la présidence de Laurent Gbagbo.

En cette année de jubilé, une visite du prince dans cette partie du continent serait évidemment interprétée comme un signe. D’autant plus que l’Aga Khan pourrait y annoncer un chapelet de projets prometteurs pour la région. Il se murmure notamment qu’un barrage hydraulique est dans les cartons.

Succession en marche ?

À 80 ans, l’homme qui s’apprête à entamer une tournée mondiale dans le cadre du jubilé de diamant de son imamat a plusieurs préoccupations. Sa communauté vit des moments douloureux dans certaines régions, comme la Syrie et l’Afghanistan.

L’Iran, d’où l’Akfed était absent, s’ouvre peu à peu. Par ailleurs, il lui faut aussi désigner son successeur. L’Aga Khan a eu quatre enfants : Zahra, Rahim et Hussain, nés de son premier mariage avec le mannequin Sally Crocker-Poole, puis Aly, né d’une seconde union, avec l’actuelle bégum Inaara. Il est déjà quatre fois grand-père.

En perte de vitesse en Afrique de l’Ouest

Au 181e rang de notre classement des 500 premières entreprises africaines (TOP 500) de 2005, IPS WA y figure désormais en 373e position.

Certes, ce holding d’investissement n’a pas vocation à être l’un de ces « champions » sur le continent, mais il a perdu du terrain dans cet environnement économique, devenu bien plus concurrentiel.
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Post by mahebubchatur »

Ismaili Muslims community constitutional social economic entities according to the Ismaili community's entity website AKDN.

This does not include all the other many constitutional entities of and for the benefit and governance of the Ismaili community locally, nationally and globally, such as Ismaili Councils, IIS, ITREBS, Huzur, NCAB, ICAB, LIF, DJI

Link http://www.akdn.org/our-agencies/aga-kh ... -companies
mahebubchatur
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm

Article in French - a Translation - google

Post by mahebubchatur »

Google translate of Article

The 20 countries Aga Khan will visit is still a secret. The main Diamond Jubilee objectives of the Aga Khan are firstly spiritual guide of the 15 million. Ismaili community, a minority branch of Shiism; secondly That of a Philanthropist, one of the most active on the planet, following the example of computer mogul Bill Gates; And thirdly that of a prolific investor.


" This royalty, His Highness the Aga Khan, without a kingdom is on all fronts.

In six decades, He has built an empire dedicated to the fight against poverty, with a strong presence in West Africa.

Investigation of a man as discreet and as powerful.

He is Imam of Ismaili Muslims , but he is respected and received with the honors reserved to heads of state

The Aga Khan will be welcomed, on the occasion of his sixtieth year of becoming the Imam , as spiritual leader of the Ismailis, in each of the twenty countries He will visit during this year.

The festivities of this diamond jubilee, were launched on July 11 in its French Headquarters of Chantilly, north of Paris. This lead it to travel the world to meet its 15 million faithful followers scattered between their cradle of Central Asia & the four other continents.

The list of countries to be visited is still a secret, but each stage will be an opportunity to fulfill the three missions assigned to it and which he considers to be indivisible:

that of spiritual guide of the Ismaili community, a minority branch of Shiism;

That is a Philanthropist, one of the most active on the planet, following the example of computer mogul Bill Gates; And

finally, that is of a prolific investor.

As in previous jubilees there will be religious processions, social receptions and announcements of projects of tens of millions of dollars.

Ten years ago, on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee, the "prince", as his interlocutors (the faithful preferring "His Highness") designated him, had launched in Uganda the hydraulic dam of Bujagali, on the Lake Victoria, since its inauguration in 2012, the backbone of the country's electricity production.

"This is a special moment for me," Aga Khan said at a banquet held in Kampala this man who speaks English as well as French and Arabic, about the trip he had just completed In East Africa.

This region has "a special significance for the Ismaili community, for the institutions of the Aga Khan network and for me personally, for half a century", he added. A great knowledge of Africa

It was in Kenya that Karim, born in Geneva in 1936, grandson of the previous Aga Khan, Mahomed Shah, spent his childhood. And it was in Tanzania, in Dar es Salaam, that he was against all expectations enthroned forty-ninth Imam of the Ismailis in 1957.

To his surprise, he, the 20-year-old Harvard student, was appointed by the Aga Khan to succeed him, and not, as traditionally wished, his father, Ali.

The latter, according to the French author Yann Kerlau in his book Les Aga Khans, much more attracted by "the lights of Hollywood" (his tumultuous marriage with the American actress Rita Hayworth made for years one of the tabloids)

That by the imamat, did not in fact make figure of ideal candidate.

He has a very good understanding of Africa, Asia of course, but also of the globality of the world

"This decision was a first in one thousand three hundred years of history," says one of our sources. It was the Cold War, the world was jostled, there was the advent of the nuclear threat.

The Aga Khan wanted someone young, registered in the modernity to succeed him. The grandfather did not seem to have been deceived.

For Jean-Michel Severino, who regularly met the Prince during the years 2000 when he was head of the French Development Agency (one of his main partners in Africa), "modernity" is precisely one of the features The most salient of this man, about whom he does not cease to praise: "He is at one and the same time an extremely courteous and well-balanced person, who never boasts, and very intelligent, with very geo-strategic reflection . He has a very good understanding of Africa, Asia of course, but also of the globality of the world, "says the development specialist. He added:

"He is a deep democrat, perhaps because his community, systematically a minority where it lives, needs democracy to get by. "

At the turn of the 1960s, in the midst of euphoria of independence, one of the first decisions of the new Imam was to place development at the heart of its action "
Admin
Posts: 6687
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:37 am
Contact:

Post by Admin »

https://www.wionews.com/photos/aga-khan ... -money-431

For photos, refe to the link please.

30 August 2017

Aga Khan: The man, his foundation & the colour of money

It is believed that the Aga Khan is a direct lineal descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad

Aga Khan: The roots and Indian Connection

It is believed that the Aga Khan is a direct lineal descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, considered the first Imam in Shia Islam, and Ali's wife Fatima az-Zahra, Muhammad’s daughter from his first marriage. The name 'Aga Khan' is used by the Imam of the Nizari Ismailis. According to some historical records, it is an honorific title presented to Hasan Ali Shah (1800–1881), the 46th Imam of Nizari Ismailis, by Persian king Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. (Others)

Aga Khan: The dynasty

However, this fact is contradicted by what the Aga Khan III noted in a famous legal proceeding in India. He, on the other hand, clarified that Aga Khan is not a title but instead a sort of alias or nickname given to the Aga Khan I when he was a young man.

During the end of First Anglo-Afghan War (1841-1842), Hasan Ali Shah gave a helping hand to General Nott in Kandahar Province and to General England in his advance from Sindh to join Nott. He was bestowed upon the status of "Prince" by the British government in India and became the sole religious leader in British India. He was granted a personal gun salute. When Hasan Ali Shah, Aga Khan I, came to Sindh, then in India and now in Pakistan, from Afghanistan, he was welcomed by Mir Nasir Khan of Baluchistan, Pakistan. In 1866, the Aga Khan won a court in the High Court of Bombay, being recognised by the British government as the head of the Khoja community.

In 1887, the Secretary of State for India acting through the Viceroy of India formally recognized the title, "Aga Khan'' (Others)

Save for Later

Aga Khan: Prince Karim

His Highness Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV is the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He succeeded his grandfather, Aga Khan III, at the age of 20 in 1957. For the first time in the history of the family, the succession was passed to the third generation instead of second. It is said that Karim's father indulged in sports, speed, and women which led to the decision of not making him the Aga Khan IV.

His thoughts when he was crowned Aga Khan IV:
Overnight my whole life changed completely. I woke up with serious responsibilities toward millions of other human beings.
– Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV,
(Sports Illustrated Interview, August 10, 1964, NanoWisdoms http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10341/)

Shah Karim is one of the world’s richest men with an estimated net worth of $800 million. He is also a revered religious figure worldwide.

Similar to his grandfather, he is committed to promote the image of Muslims, bridging the gap and misconceptions about the religion, and giving a greater understanding of the Islam, emphasising in the West.

The Ismaili sect of Shia Islam has roughly 15 million members across the world.

The Harvard Graduate has a degree in Islamic History and is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, an organization dedicated to improve people’s lives in the developing world. Relying largely on donations that flow in from followers, Aga Khan has been able to build schools and hospitals. He has also provided regular funding for administration, new initiatives and other activities. (Others)

Save for Later

Aga Khan: Aga Khan Palace in India

The Aga Khan Palace in Pune was built by Sultam Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III in 1892.

The palace was built in 1892 after a famine to generate employment for the people of the region. So, the roots of this palace are in charity & noble thoughts. It took 5 years and 1000 workers to build it at a cost of Rs 12,00,000/-. Palace is spread across an estate of 19 acres with a built area of 7 acres. (Others)

Save for Later

Aga Khan: Mahatma Gandhi in Aga Khan Palace

The Aga Khan Palace in Pune has great historical significance as Mahatma Gandhi along with his wife Kasturba Gandhi, his secretary Mahadev Desai and Sarojini Naidu were imprisoned in it for a period of two years, towards the end of British rule in India.

In 1969, the palace was donated to India. Today, it possesses Gandhi’s memorial, Kasturba and Desai’s samadhis and archives of photos and portraits of Gandhi during the freedom struggle. (Others)

Save for Later

Aga Khan: Wealth

Forbes magazine lists Aga Khan among the world's ten richest royals with a net worth of $800 million. However, some sources claim that his wealth at around $3 billion.

Most of his wealth comes voluntary cash donations by Ismaili community members. As a part of the religion, followers donate at least 10 per cent of their gross annual income to the spiritual leader.

However, Aga Khan has reportedly been involved in different business ventures, including exclusive luxury hotel chains.

A multi-million-dollar horse-racing and breeding operation is believed to be one of the main sources of the Aga Khan's income beyond donations by his followers. He owns horse-breeding farms in France and Ireland.

Another spectacular instance of the family's wealth is the Hackwood Park--one of Britain's priciest mansions that the residence of Aga Khan's mother.

The mansion is 50 times the size of an average house that boasts of 24 bedrooms and 24 bathrooms.

The exclusive home, built in 1680, spreads over 260 acres of grounds and includes a spectacular botanical garden. It also has a stable with a coach house and four cottages. There is a deer park and an ancient woodland in the house. (Others)
Post Reply