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Arrivée de l'Aga Khan lundi soir à Vancouver

Le chef spirituel des musulmans ismaéliens, l'Aga Khan, a été accueilli chaleureusement à Vancouver, lundi soir. Plus de 5000 personnes sont venues le saluer à son arrivée dans un hôtel du centre-ville. Certains ont attendu plus de deux heures, à la grande surprise des organisateurs de la visite à Vancouver.

De 25 000 à 30 000 personnes étaient attendues mardi soir au stade BC Place où l'Aga Khan devait s'adresser à ses disciples.

OTTAWA – Ismaili Muslims’ spiritual leader Aga Khan, the Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) arrived in Vancouver this week as part of an 8-day visit to Canada on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee. The Aga Khan, who is in Canada as a guest of the Government, is commemorating his fifty years of leadership as Imam of the Ismaili Muslims.

The last leg of the Aga Khan's tour commemorating his golden jubilee ended yesterday in Vancouver where he thanked Canada for offering Ismaili Muslims a chance to live in a safe society.
'I have to thank you for two reasons,' he began. 'Not only because you've received these men and women in Canada but you have given them the wherewithal to return to their countries in your cause. Bring back to Africa, bring back to Asia, bring back to East Africa the pluralism, the values of Canada, the knowledge society which you have created here in Canada.'

The Aga Khan teaches us that truly successful societies embrace pluralism.
In many local schools, especially on Vancouver's east side, diversity and pluralism is the norm.

I grew up as an Eastsider, and today my daughter attends her local elementary school near Fraser Street. Each year the school conducts a multicultural potluck dinner, where families sit shoulder-to-shoulder with cultures from around the globe. Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Filipinos, Chinese and Europeans of many stripes get together to share a meal and celebrate their community.

VANCOUVER - She was only nine, but Almira Bardai remembers the day the Aga Khan came to dinner at her mother's family home. She didn't get to join the 200 or so guests, but she knew the importance of seeing the spiritual Ismaili Muslim leader.'It was really, really special,' Bardai said Tuesday. 'I was really young but you understood that you were there in the presence of the Aga Khan. It was pretty amazing.'

On Tuesday afternoon, Bardai, now 31, joined tens of thousands of men in dark suits and women in colourful saris and cocktail dresses at BC Place to celebrate a visit by the Aga Khan.

VANCOUVER -- The leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims says Canada's pluralism is a model to the world.
The Aga Khan thanked Canada for welcoming Ismailis, a moderate group within the Shia wing of Islam, who were forced to flee persecution and conflict in their own countries over the years.

The Aga Khan, who assumed the title from his grandfather in 1957 at age 20, was in Vancouver yesterday to cap a four-city tour of Canada celebrating the 50th anniversary of his position as the community's 49th Imam.

Unlike his father, a notorious playboy who had an eye for racehorses and Hollywood starlets, his highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV--the highness part was bestowed on him by Queen Elizabeth--has dedicated his life to humanitarian causes, including the empowerment of women in Muslim society.

Hamilton - A memorandum of understanding has been signed by McMaster University and the Aga Khan University for a new stage to a 25-year collaboration which has developed international nursing schools.

VANCOUVER, B.C. - The leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims says Canada's pluralism is a model to the world.

The Aga Khan thanked Canada for welcoming Ismailis, a moderate group within the Shia wing of Islam, who were forced to flee persecution and conflict in their own countries over the years.

Thousands of the city's Ismaili Muslim community turned out at the Roundup Centre yesterday to hear words of wisdom and inspiration from their spiritual leader, His Royal Highness the Aga Khan.
A direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the Aga Khan came to Canada on invitation from the federal government and stopped in Ottawa and Toronto before coming to Calgary, his first visit to the city in 16 years.

Unlike his father, a notorious playboy who had an eye for racehorses and Hollywood starlets, his highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV--the highness part was bestowed on him by Queen Elizabeth--has dedicated his life to humanitarian causes, including the empowerment of women in Muslim society.

She is another statistic in the Kenyan medical horror story that estimates up to 50 per cent of the country's hospital deaths are due to misdiagnosis.
In the village of Kiboje, on Unguja Island, Zanzibar, five-year-old Riziki Emmanuel cannot use her legs. Her impoverished parents have always carried her around because they have been unable to afford the crutches needed to help Riziki move on her own and go to school.

The Aga Khan is the founder and head of the Aga Khan Development Network, a group of nine agencies working to improve communities and living conditions in Central and South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East.

Muslim leader says education is the key to better relations
The spiritual leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims says he sees real prospects for new bridges and better relations between Muslim states and the West.

The Aga Khan, touring Canada as part of his celebration of 50 years as Ismaili Muslim leader, said despite the West's 'failure' in Iraq and conflict in Afghanistan, there are reasons for hope.

Tomorrow (November 25) will mark an important day for the estimated 15,000 members of the Ismaili community in Vancouver as they celebrate Aga Khan

Flanked by two Canadian flags, six B.C. banners, and the Aga Khan’s personal red and green standard, Premier Gordon Campbell paid tribute to his decades of charitable work–the most famous example of which is the World Partnership Walk. “Right now…even today, your hand and your message is carried through 29 nations around the world and it touches us all.”

Spiritual leader works tirelessly for his sect and all peoples

The Muslim's spiritual leader Aga Khan greets people at the airport Sunday evening after his arrival in Calgary.

The Aga Khan's visit to Calgary today marks a significant event for the city's small but influential Ismaili community. For the first time in 16 years, they will have the chance to meet and worship with their spiritual leader.

The Aga Khan is visiting as part of a 16-month celebration in honour of his 50th anniversary as imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.

With tears in his eyes and his voice quivering, Nash Jetha speaks quietly when asked why he came to see the Aga Khan's arrival Sunday night in Calgary.

"I am here for the greatest moment of my life," he answers.

Having never had the opportunity to see the Ismaili spiritual leader in person, he said just being in the presence of his holiness was incredible.

"Emotionally, it was overwhelming. Since I was a young boy, he has always been our pillar," said Jetha, who came from Edmonton to be at the arrival.

What may often sound to Canadians like a discordant cacophony of voices from our diverse cultures and interest groups is apparently music to the ears of the Aga Khan.

In an exclusive interview on Sunday with Canwest News Service, the hereditary leader of the world's 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims held up Canada -- a country he has visited often and has maintained a close relationship with throughout his 50-year reign -- as a model with much to teach the world.

The spiritual leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims says he sees real prospects for new bridges and better relations between Muslim states and the West.
The Aga Khan, touring Canada as part of his celebration of 50 years as Ismaili Muslim leader, said despite the West's 'failure' in Iraq and ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, there are reasons for hope.

One, he said, is growing acceptance on both sides of the divide for his urgent call to combat what Harvard professor Samuel Huntington dubbed 'the clash of civilizations' and the Aga Khan terms 'the clash of ignorance.'

It