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

We learn all the time from all our contacts in all the cities we work with, and Portugal has set an example of a pluralist society, which is remarkable, which should be honoured, which should be recognised, which should be copied. So I want to take this occasion to congratulate you for creating a functioning, happy, pluralist society.”

Education plays a fundamental role in fostering pluralism and building societies where diversity is valued. It has the capacity to facilitate meaningful dialogue, shared attitudes and behaviors and prepare the next generation to encounter difference with openness and respect.

Water, after all, has been seen, down through the ages, as the great source of life. When scientists search the universe for signs of life, they begin by looking for water. Water restores and renews and refreshes. And opening ourselves and our lives to the water is to open ourselves and our lives to the future.

When the other is seen as a potential competitor, for a job for example, even when this fear is unfounded, then the challenge of pluralistic attitudes becomes even more difficult. For those who feel insecure, it is tempting to look for scapegoats, for someone to blame, when their self-esteem seems threatened. Often, we then find it easier to define our identity by what we are against, than by what we are for. Such fears may be culturally based, or economically driven, or psychologically rooted. But they should not be underestimated.

Students of world history remind us how Central Asia, a thousand years ago, led the world in cultural and intellectual achievements. This region is where medicine was founded, where algebra got its name, where the earth's diameter was precisely calculated, where some of the world's greatest poetry was penned. This happened because the societies were open to new ideas, open to change, open to scholars and people from many backgrounds. That kind of openness can again unlock the doors to the future, and allows us to take on the great questions of our time and place.

If a man had two children, one a boy and the other a girl, and if he could only afford to give education to one, I would say that he must give preference to the girl. The boy can go and labour but the girl cannot. Even in the upliftment of the country, the education of girls is more important than the education of boys. The male can bend his energies to manual effort for reward, but the girl's function is the maintenance of home life and the bringing up of the children....the future of the generations depends on her ability to lead

Statistics from the United Nations Cancer Research Organization show that there are 42,000 new cancer cases every year in Tanzania, with a high mortality rate of over 28,000 deaths per year. Almost 75 percent of the cases are diagnosed at a late stage. This is a major challenge that affects survival rates.”
“AKHS,T’s continued growth over nine decades is a strong testimony to our commitment to health care and development in the country.”

We are living in a time of vacuum, we are living in a time of search, and I do not believe that it is wealth, or military power, that will bring the Muslim world back to what you and other Muslims and I aspire for it to be. What will bring it back?

Kenya faces one of the greatest rates of deforestation in Africa. In 1963, Kenya had forest cover of some 12 percent of the land. It has since been reduced to 1.2 percent. According to the Government, land degradation costs Kenya about 390 million dollars every year -- roughly 3 percent of gross domestic product. It is these same forests that are so important to Kenya’s environment, economy, and particularly to the water supplies that sustain life

It is marvelous to witness, how the power of technology nowadays allows us new, unexpected and unprecedented ways to overcome seeming differences and to cross boundaries. It allows a global audience to connect across great distances, a fact that not only mitigates the isolation imposed on us by the Covid pandemic, but opens new horizons for learning and for gaining insight not only into the lives and cultures of others, but into how much we share. In many ways it has played a significant part in enabling us to continue and to develop our international mission.

Baylor College of Medicine and The Aga Khan University have a long-standing relationship that has been built on trust, personal relationships, mutual understanding, and a willingness to collaborate on research and educational initiatives that align well with the mission and vision of both institutions. Both parties are excited to work with each other and to build a lasting and wide-ranging partnership.

To the students here today, I would like to share with you one perspective. Throughout your studies and your youth, adults will tell you that the future is ahead of you. I want to tell you that the future is what you leave behind you, shaped by every one of your actions and your statements and your decisions. The future follows behind you in the path that you choose. Look at this academy - it's an institution born of past decisions and past actions, which now will shape the future: your future, the future of your families, and the future of this beautiful country, Mozambique.

Ethics are taught here not just in theory, but put into practice in elements of service and of leadership in the student's daily lives. The Aga Khan Academies intend for their graduates not to be good at subjects only, but good as individuals. While tools are important, the values that drive their use are what will make the world better through these students. Our commitment to our parents, then, is to do our utmost to develop values and ethics in their children, just as we equip them with the practical skills needed to achieve success in their lives.

Service and volunteering have long been part of Ismaili tradition, as has the recognition of the sanctity of human life. In the Qur’an, it is stated that “Whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity.” (5:32)

Service and volunteering have long been part of Ismaili tradition, as has the recognition of the sanctity of human life. In the Qur’an, it is stated that “Whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity.” (5:32)

The photography you see here is all for naught if it doesn’t elicit emotion… convince you one can be face to face with a tiger shark and not get devoured…
That anchor coral is one of the most beautiful things in the world… that whales are immensely intelligent… turtles seem wise… and dolphins have complex social structures. If it doesn’t show you – show any audience – that they, and stunning nudibranchs and flatworms, wrasses and razorfish and seahorses are worth protecting…

That is a sign of the unfailing commitment of the Ismaili Imamat and the AKDN to the people of Afghanistan. Our experience over the past three decades, along with generous support from many international partners, has taught us to believe deeply in the capacity of Afghans, in their pluralism, and in the strength of their vibrant, diverse communities. They have shown time and again that they are resilient and resourceful, but today, they need help.

That is a sign of the unfailing commitment of the Ismaili Imamat and the AKDN to the people of Afghanistan. Our experience over the past three decades, along with generous support from many international partners, has taught us to believe deeply in the capacity of Afghans, in their pluralism, and in the strength of their vibrant, diverse communities. They have shown time and again that they are resilient and resourceful, but today, they need help.

Today in the Occident, the Muslim world is deeply misunderstood by most. The West knows little about its diversity, about the religion or the principles which unite it, about its brilliant past or its recent trajectory through history. The Muslim world is noted in the West, North America and Europe, more for the violence of certain minorities than for the peacefulness of its faith and the vast majority of its people

The treasures of our past are being destroyed and an ever quickening construction boom is bringing us too many buildings that I think we will live to despise. Should we allow future generations of Muslims to live without the self-respect of our own cultural and spiritual symbols of power, to practise their faith without also being reminded of that sense of scale in relation to the universe around us which is so particularly ours?