By: Hasni Essa
Posted Jul 11, 2007


http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/th_aga_khans_golden_jubilee/0014199

The Aga Khan’s Golden Jubilee

Aga Khan Shia Imami Muslims in 29 countries are all geared up and ready to celebrate with fanfare and festivities Golden Jubilee of their spiritual Imam, Aga Khan’s 50 years of Imamat on July 11, 2007.

The Golden Jubilee will be commemorated on July 11th in Aiglemont, France attended by Ismaili Muslim leaders from 29 countries, including China and Russia representing some 15 to 20 million Ismaili Muslims residing around the world to pledge their allegiance and pay homage to their spiritual Imam,the Aga Khan on his 50th Imamat. It will be telecast live around the world - billed as the biggest and largest celebration world has ever witnessed in history of Ismaili Imamat in 1400 years. A record crowd of 15 to 20 million Ismaili Muslims from all over the world are expected to watch live telecast of their Imam from vantage points specially arranged in 29 countries of their Imam being honored by his leaders for his untiring effort and dedication to progress and development of his community in socio-economic, health and education.Their spiritual Imam, Aga Khan is the only religious and benevolent leader in the world who has moral authority with divine influence to lead and command total loyalty and obedience from his 15/20 million followers of different ethnic backgrounds residing in 29 countries.

His Highness the Aga Khan

His Highness the Aga Khan became Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims on July 11, 1957 at the age of 20, succeeding his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan. He is the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims and a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through his cousin and son-in-law, (Hazrat) Ali, the first Imam, and his wife Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter.

Like his grandfather Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan before him, the Aga Khan has, since assuming the office of Imamat in 1957, been concerned about the well-being of all Muslims, particularly in the face of the challenges of rapid historical changes. Today, the Ismailis live in some 25 countries, mainly in West and Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as in North America and Western Europe. Over the four decades since the present Aga Khan became Imam, there have been major political and economic changes in most of these areas. He has adapted the complex system of administering the Ismaili Community, pioneered by his grandfather during the colonial era, to a new world of nation-states, which even recently has grown in size and complexity following the newly acquired independence of the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union.

The Aga Khan has emphasised the view of Islam as a thinking, spiritual faith: one that teaches compassion and tolerance and that upholds the dignity of man, Allah’s noblest creation. In the Shia tradition of Islam, it is the mandate of the Imam of the time to safeguard the individual’s right to personal intellectual search and to give practical expression to the ethical vision of society that the Islamic message inspires. Addressing as Chairman, the International Conference on the Example (Seerat) of the Prophet Muhammad in Karachi in 1976, the Aga Khan said that the wisdom of Allah’s final Prophet in seeking new solutions for problems which could not be solved by traditional methods, provides the inspiration for Muslims to conceive a truly modern and dynamic society, without affecting the fundamental concepts of Islam.

During the course of history, the Ismailis have, under the guidance of their Imams, made major contributions to the growth of Islamic civilisation. The University of al-Azhar and the Academy of Science, Dar al-Ilm, in Egypt and indeed the city of Cairo itself, exemplify their contributions to the cultural, religious and intellectual life of Muslims. Among the renowned philosophers, jurists, physicians, mathematicians, astronomers and scientists of the past who flourished under the patronage of Ismaili Imams are Qadi al-Numan, al-Kirmani, Ibn al-Haytham (al-Hazen), Nasir-i Khusraw and Nasir al-Din Tusi.

Achievements of the Fatimid Empire dominate accounts of the early period of Ismaili history, roughly from the beginnings of Islam through the 11th century. Named after the Prophet’s daughter Fatima, the Fatimid dynasty created a state that stimulated the development of art, science, and trade in the Mediterranean Near East over two centuries. Its centre was Cairo, founded by the Fatimids as their capital. Following the Fatimid period, the Ismaili Muslims’ geographical centre shifted from Egypt to Syria and Persia. After their centre in Persia, Alamut, fell to Mongol conquerors in the 13th century, Ismailis lived for several centuries in dispersed communities, mainly in Persia and Central Asia but also in Syria, India and elsewhere. In the 1830s, Aga Hassanaly Shah, the 46th Ismaili Imam, was granted the honorary hereditary title of Aga Khan by the Shah of Persia. In 1843, the first Aga Khan left Persia for India, which already had a large Ismaili community. Aga Khan II died in 1885, only four years after assuming the Imamat. He was succeeded by the present Aga Khan’s grandfather, and predecessor as Imam, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan.

In consonance with this vision of Islam and their tradition of service to humanity, wherever Ismailis live, they have elaborated a well defined institutional framework to carry out social, economic and cultural activities.Under the Aga Khan’s leadership, this framework has expanded and evolved into the Aga Khan Development Network, a group of institutions working to improve living conditions and opportunities in specific regions of the developing world. In every country, these institutions work for the common good of all citizens regardless of their origin or religion. Their individual mandates range from rural development, education and health to the promotion of private sector enterprise and architecture. The Aga Khan’s work in the promotion of excellence and innovation in architecture has received widespread recognition and acclaim.