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

the experience of the past seventeen years has strongly reinforced my conviction that the path to sustainable peace in Afghanistan depends heavily on two key principles – regional cooperation, which is key for national development and stability; and a commitment to pluralism – the country’s diversity must be cultivated as a source of strength.

The Jamatkhana and the Academy will serve complementary roles as they work to dispel ignorance, cultivate a cosmopolitan outlook and nourish the cause of peace and harmony among peoples and cultures, within this country and around the world.

..we also see the new Jamatkhana as a place which will make an important statement symbolizing an important message. We see it as a place of peace and tranquillity, filled with a spirit of humility and prayer. It will not be a place for conceit or self-satisfaction, but rather a place for search and enlightenment

Pluralism means more than merely tolerating a diversity of influences and ideas. It also means welcoming the learning opportunities that diversity provides, finding ways to honour that which is unique in our individual traditions as well as those values that connect us to all of humankind.

The Holy Quran asks Muslims not to be passive recipients of our Natural Habitat but instead to be faithful stewards of the divine creation; we need to expand our commitment in all directions. This means not merely conforming to the power of nature, but actively engaging with its challenges.

A true dialogue requires not only that we articulate one perspective, but also that we listen – attentively - to other perspectives. More than that, it asks us not only to listen to one another, but also to learn from one another.

Our Ismaili tradition, however, has always accepted the spirit of pluralism among schools of interpretation of the faith, and seen this not as a negative value, but as a true reflection of divine plenitude. Indeed, pluralism is seen as essential to the very survival of humanity

I genuinely believe that generations that are born, brought up, and live in better-quality surroundings have a different outlook on life. Architecture is, in my view, a method of creating development, well-being. And I think architecture, if it goes wrong, can be a source of conflict or destabilization.

The industrialized world has attached a very great premium to materialism. Has there been, as a consequence to that, a dehumanization of society? Has the individual lost his sense of identity? What has been the impact on ethical standards, generally speaking? Have ethical standards fallen?

For instance, most of you have heard Sony radios. Some of you may own sets made in Japan by Sony, but the Sony Corporation was once a purely American company. It set up business in war devastated Japan 20 years ago and, with the aid of the remarkable mechanical ingenuity of the Japanese, developed the modern transistor which has had such an enormous influence on the radio and electronics industries

The communication satellite can provide cheap and rapid telephone communications all over the world. It can be used for extremely accurate long-range weather forecasting of incalculable value to your farming community. It also has a tremendous potential for educational television.

In the meantime, we are making ever greater demands upon volunteers to maintain the standards of administration which we believe essential......The heart and lifeblood of our network is the Voluntary Workers; the Boards, the Committees, the Volunteers young and old who contribute their time and efforts

I would cite the words of the first hereditary Imam of the Shia Muslims, Hazrat Ali Ibn Abi Talib, who emphasized in his teachings that “No honour is like knowledge.” Those words have inspired an emphasis on education within our tradition ever since that time

Obviously, though my daughter cannot be Imam, there's no reason that she should not be intimately involved with and contribute to Imamate programs, particularly women's activities.

Our 46th Imam Aqa Hassan Ali Shah - also known as Muhammad Husayn al-Husayni Mahelatti - was born in A.H. 1219 in Mahelat in Iran. He was the first Imam to use the title of Aga Khan which was given to him by the Qajar King Fateh Ali Shah. It is recorded in history that Imam Hassan Ali Shah was only ten years old at the time. Shah Fateh Ali Shah also gave his daughter in marriage to the Imam and named him as the ruler of Kerman. Imam Hassan Ali was also the third Imam in history to celebrate Diamond Jubilee on the throne of Imamat. Imam Hassan Ali Shah reigned on the Masnad of Imamat from A.H.

the classical concept of `education for the sake of education' is giving way to a more pragmatic approach brought about by the sheer necessity of meeting the demands of a world where science and technology are assuming an ever more dominant role in society.

I hope that as time goes by, you will be more and more demanding upon yourselves, upon your institutions, more and more eager to bring competence and knowledge and wisdom and understanding from generation after generation into these institutions.

I have been concerned about the way our institutions anticipate change. I have mentioned many times to you recently, the issue of the meritocratic environment in which today, much more in the future, your children will be living

If Islam is to be the source of inspiration, how do we transform this inspiration into practical terms of everyday life? And how do we do this and at the same time continue to make material progress, which I have said earlier, very often has its origins in the western, Christian world? These questions have a special urgency and relevance in a democratic society such as Pakistan is now seeking to create

The Muslim world offers deep roots in a system of values, emphasising service, charity and a sense of common responsibility, and denying what it sees to be the false dichotomy between religious and secular lives.