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

After a month of quiet anticipation, more than 35,000 Shia Ismaili Muslims from across Western Canada will see the Aga Khan today.
The philanthropist spiritual leader arrived at Vancouver International Airport yesterday afternoon, before meeting with community leaders at a private dinner in his honour.

Today, followers from across Western Canada will attend two closed-door religious events at the Vancouver Trade and Exhibition Centre. Scores of buses have been hired to bring the crowds in from a staging area at the Pacific National Exhibition grounds.

UP to 1,000 Ismaili Muslims who live on the North Shore were preparing to meet their spiritual leader today, as the Aga Khan - Prince Karim Aga Khan IV - makes a rare visit to meet with followers in Vancouver.
North Vancouver resident Farrah Jinha-Devji is just one of many local Ismailis who planned to take the SeaBus over to the spiritual meeting that will happen at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre this morning.

The Ismaili Muslim community plans to build a massive religious and cultural complex in east Toronto in a broader effort to reach out to other Canadians.

Ismailia's revered spiritual and temporal leader yesterday confirmed plans for multi-million-dollar facilities in this city and Ottawa, designed to build bridges of understanding between Muslims and other groups in this country.

Billionaire. Philanthropist. Intellectual. Connoisseur. Person of reverence. The Aga Khan IV

The wealthy philanthropist, who praised Canada's multiculturalism, said it's time Islamic people joined global debates, writes HAYLEY MICK
The Aga Khan says the Muslim world has been late to join the West in the debate over the most pressing ethical issues of our time, such as stem-cell research.

'The Islamic world is far behind on some of these issues and yet we're facing them all the time,' the leader of 15 million Ismaili Muslims told the Citizen editorial board in a rare interview yesterday.

Thousands of people from across North America got a rare glimpse of their Ismaili spiritual leader Friday as the Aga Khan addressed followers in a private service that was to be focused on compassion and charitable works.
Farid Damji, a spokesman for the gathering that attracted about 20,000 people to the Trade and Convention Centre, said Ismaili Muslims revere the Aga Khan for his emphasis on improving the lives of those in need.

'Everybody's really excited to see him,' Damji said. 'It doesn't happen very often and it's a unique opportunity, so we're celebrating that.'

Excerpt of comments made by the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, to the Citizen's editorial board during his Ottawa visit on June 7

The industrialised world really has developed in the Judeo-Christian context of society and the Islamic world has been significantly absent from general education. I am not pointing at Canada. I am saying generally in the western world.

The Industrialized world really has developed in the Judeo-Christian context of society and the Islamic world has been significantly absent from general education. I am not pointing at Canada. I am saying generally in the Western world.