Royal Role Model

Lubna Khan
If ever there was an Islamic renaissance, it took place in Egypt, ruled over by the Ismaili Fatimid dynasty

	Touring the Citadel of Masyaf in Syria in November 2001
	With second wife Begum Inaara and son Prince Aly Muhammad
	As a responsible youth
	HH Prince Karim Aga Khan’s favourite sketch of his mother
	With Prince Amyn and Princess Joan Aly Khan
	Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan with his wife
	... and two grandsons, Prince Karim Aga Khan & Prince Amyn
	In the Aga Khan’s own words, “We are trustees of God’s creation, and we are instructed to seek to leave the world a better place than it was when we came into it.” And that ‘better place’, in physical terms clearly means trying to improve the quality of life for future generations
	The Aga Khan has persistently emphasised Islam as a thinking, spiritual faith: one that teaches compassion and tolerance and upholds the dignity of man. The present Aga Khan has in many ways epitomised this attitude. Dubbed “venture capitalist to the Third World”, Prince Karim Aga Khan has been deeply involved with development and progress in many areas of the developing world

is Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, is one of the world’s wealthiest and most revered individuals. Son of Prince Aly Khan and Princess Tajuddawlah Aly Khan (the name given to renowned beauty Joan Lady Camrose, upon her marriage to Prince Aly Khan), the Aga Khan was born in Geneva on December 13th, 1936. He spent his early childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, followed by Le Rosey School in Switzerland. He graduated from Harvard University in 1959 with a BA Honours in Islamic History. At the age of twenty, and still a student at Harvard, his grandfather Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan died, and the Imamat was thrust upon him. The 48th hereditary Imam unexpectedly bypassed his sons and named in his will Prince Karim, his elder grandson with whom he shared a special bond. Prince Karim assumed the role of spiritual leader to the Ismaili Muslims on July 11th, 1957. The honorary, hereditary title of “Aga Khan” was originally bestowed upon Aga Hassanaly Shah, the 46th Ismaili Imam and the present Aga Khan’s great-great-grandfather, in the 1830s by the Persian shah Fateh Ali Shah. In 1843, the first Aga Khan left Persia and sought refuge in India, where a large Ismaili community already existed. Upon recognition by the British Raj as the leader of the Ismaili community, Queen Victoria conferred upon him the title “His Highness”. The title has continued to subsequent generations. In 1881, Aga Khan I was succeeded as Imam by his son, Aga Ali Shah. He presided over this mantle for a brief period of four years till 1885, when he died and the Imamat passed on to his son, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah. Shah became the third Aga Khan at the age of eight and was Imam for 72 years, a critical period in the modern history of the Ismaili community. His leadership played a crucial role in enabling the community to adapt to historical change, notably through the transformation of its institutions. He also played an important role in the political evolution of the Indian sub-continent and was a delegate to the Round Table conferences in London in the 1930s. From 1937 to 1939 he was President of the League of Nations. His elder son, Prince Aly Khan, served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations. Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah’s decision to bypass his son was brought on by the latter’s playboy reputation — at one point he was married to Rita Hayworth, the couple was jointly dubbed the “two most talked about lovers in the world”. Still the Aga Khan’s decision to choose his grandson as successor shocked his followers around the world. Historians conventionally divide Ismaili history into several broad periods. The achievements of the Fatimid Empire dominate accounts of the early period, roughly from the beginnings of Islam through the 11th century. Named after the Prophet’s (PBUH) daughter Fatima (RA), the Fatimid dynasty created a state that stimulated the development of art, science and trade in the Mediterranean Near East over two centuries, with Cairo as its capital. Following the Fatimid period, the Ismaili Muslims’ geographical centre shifted from Egypt to Syria and Persia. Their capital in Persia, Alamut, fell to Mongol conquerors in the 13th century. After this, Ismailis lived for several centuries in dispersed communities, mainly in Persia and Central Asia but also in Syria, India and elsewhere. The Shia Ismailis include people from diverse cultural traditions, many of whom now live mainly in Central and South Asia, East Africa and the Middle East. Like other Shia Muslims, Ismailis affirm that after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), his cousin and son-in-law Ali (RA) was designated first Imam, and that this spiritual leadership, known as Imamat, continues through the hereditary line of Ali (RA) and his wife Fatima (RA), the Prophet’s (PBUH) daughter. However, Ismailis diverged from the mainstream Shi’ites when they embraced Ismail as their seventh Imam, instead of his younger brother, Musa Kazim. Thirteen generations down the line, the sect split further; over a dispute as to who should take over the Imamat, with one group supporting Nizar, and the other opting for his younger brother and eventually developing into the Bohra community. Those who recognised Nizar as Imam developed into what are known as the Aga Khanis. Even though they are generally described as Ismailis, it is important to differentiate between the followers of the Aga Khan, and those belonging to offshoot communities of the Ismaili sect, namely the Bohras and the Druzes. It is therefore accurate to describe Aga Khanis as “Nizari Ismailis”. Aga Khanis, or Nizari Ismailis, stand out from the other Islamic sects with their own distinct character. To most outsiders, they appear liberal, even westernised in their manner and beliefs: they have coeducational schools, women are not expected to observe purdah, and in their congregation halls women pray alongside men on carpets that are separate but adjacent, denoting equal status of the genders. One of the main factors that have contributed to this distinctive belief system has been the outlook and conduct of the community’s spiritual Imam. According to Ismaili tradition, the Imam’s responsibilities involve not only interpretations of matters of faith for the community, but also the relationship of this faith with contemporary socio-political scenarios. The Aga Khan has persistently emphasised Islam as a thinking, spiritual faith: one that teaches compassion and tolerance and upholds the dignity of man. The present Aga Khan has in many ways epitomised this attitude. Dubbed “venture capitalist to the Third World”, as the architect of the Aga Khan Development Network, Prince Karim Aga Khan has been deeply involved with development and progress in many areas of the developing world, not only through the network of agencies he administers, but at a personal level as well. These agencies have mandates that range from the fields of health, education and rural development to the enhancement of non-governmental organisations and the promotion of private-sector enterprises. Together they collaborate in working towards a common goal: building institutions and programs that respond to the challenges of social, economic and cultural change on an ongoing basis, and identifying ways in which their efforts can interact so as to mutually reinforce one another. As part of its efforts to encourage a revival of Islamic architecture, the AKDN is also behind the world’s largest architectural award, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2003. The AKDN also has various agencies working within Pakistan. In addition to the educational, architectural, environmental and health projects in full swing in the Northern Areas, the AKDN is also a major provider of educational and health services in Pakistan’s other rural areas. One of the most prominent developments by the AKDN has been the establishment of the Aga Khan University (AKU). With headquarters in Karachi, the AKU is a major centre for education, training and research in areas of health sciences and education. Even though a number of the components that now form the global AKDN were initially established by Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan in the late nineteenth century to meet the needs of the Ismaili community in South Asia and East Africa, today the AKDN functions within a tradition of political neutrality, its services open to people of all faiths and origins. The fulcrum of the AKDN’s activities, however, remains the Ismaili community. Philosophically, the network is grounded in Islam’s ethic of inclusiveness, compassion, sharing, self-reliance, respect for health and life, the cultivation of a sound and enlightened mind, and humanity’s collective responsibility for sustainable physical, social and cultural development. The network represents a contemporary endeavour of the Ismaili Imamat to realise the social conscience of Islam through institutional action and has been an essential development force in many areas all over the globe. In the Aga Khan’s own words, “We are trustees of God’s creation, and we are instructed to seek to leave the world a better place than it was when we came into it.” And that ‘better place’, in physical terms clearly means trying to improve the quality of life for future generations.