The community celebrates their Imam’s Golden Jubilee today
It is a day of celebration for the followers of the Aga Khani sect of the Shia Muslims. Their Imam will complete 50 years of fulfilling the needs of the community. Today, marks the first day of the year long celebrations of this Golden Jubilee.
The Aga Khan took the position from his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan in the ripe age of 20.
While every 20 year old was out enjoying their youth, His Highness was made conscious of his role and responsibilities he had to counter for as long as he lives.
The Aga Khanis are more than happy that the young lad grew up to be a responsible man and worked towards the upliftment of his community. He is credited with more than 50 institutes spanning over 30 countries.
The Imam has worked towards the social, economic and the cultural betterment of the entire Muslim community. Sources in the Aga Khani Council in India said that the Imam has worked towards helping those in the lesser privileged sections of the society all over the world. He opened up the doors for entrepreneurs in the under developed and the developing world with funds and opportunities. The Imam encouraged local economies and promoted local man-power.
The Aga Khan Development Network, a group of agencies, took control of various mandates ranging from health to education, education to architecture, disaster reduction, rural development and working towards the promotion in the of the private-sector industries under the guidance of the Imam. It operates more than 200 health care institutes which include nine hospitals and around 300 schools. The Imam initiated the founding of two universities one of them the Aga Khan University in Pakistan with campuses in Africa and the United Kingdom while the second one is a joint effort by the Governments of Kazakhstan, Tajistan with the support of the Imam.
In order to maintain and spread Islamic art, the Imam backed the idea of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture which worked on the rehabilitation of historic sites, buildings and neighbourhoods.
To preserve, safeguard and promote Central Asia’s rich musical tradition, the Imam set up the Aga Khan Muslim Initiative in Central Asia.
Thus, the day is a mark of celebration to display the community’s gratefulness towards their Imam. It is their way of saying something as simple as a ‘Thank you’.