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Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Honourable Adviser for Foreign Affairs
Honourable Adviser for Religious Affairs
Excellencies
Your Excellencies
Distinguished Guests

As-Salaam-o-Alaikum

It is a special pleasure to welcome this distinguished and diverse audience to this Foundation Ceremony, as we formally mark the beginning of a new Jamatkhana in Dhaka.

Bismillah-ir-Rahaman-ir-Rahim

As-Salam-Alai-Kum, Peace be upon you

Your Excellency Mintimer Shaimiev,
Your Excellency Eleonora Mitrofanova,
Respected Members of the Government,
Distinguished Guests

What an enormous pleasure it is to welcome all of you to this ceremony.

We gather today with a group of extraordinary people, in an extraordinary place, and for an extraordinary purpose.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is organised around a series of three-year cycles - each one culminating in the recognition of our Award recipients.

Mowlana Hazar Imam’s speech at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the main building of Abdul Waheed Moledina Schools', Poona (India).

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Managing Board Ladies and Gentlemen:

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim
Ms. Mohammed,
Your Excellency, the President of the Assembly,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of the Board of the Global Centre for Pluralism, to the 2019 Pluralism Lecture here at the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon.

I must thank His Excellency the Iranian Minister, Lord Lamington and the members of the Society for having done me the honour of inviting me tonight to bring before you the importance to the whole world of those spiritual forces that the ancient land of Iran has cherished in her modern history. Before I go further I want to define clearly what I mean by "spiritual forces" – I do not use this term in any question-begging sense.

Your Worship the Mayor,
Honourable Guests,

I would like to begin my comments this afternoon by saying how touched I am by the recognition that you have given to me this afternoon.

In my work I look at peoples from all environments — cities, rural urban areas, deserts, industrialised areas — and I look at how people live, and I ask myself, “How can we improve the living conditions of people in all these environments?”

Your Highness, the Prince Aga Khan,
Prince Amyn Aga Khan,
President of the Porto Municipal Assembly,
Councillors, other elected representatives,
Commander Nazim Ahmad, Diplomatic Representative of the Ismaili Imamat in Portugal,
All other members of the delegation of His Highness the Aga Khan,
Members of the Parliament of the Consular Corps, civil, military, and the religious authorities,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Your Highness, your presence today in the Porto city is, for us, a moment of joy, not only for us who are here gathered together, but for the city.

Your Highness the Aga Khan, thank you very much
Princess Zahra Aga Khan
My dear friend, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Paulo Portas
Chairman Haile Debas
President Firoz Rasul, thank you for your introduction
My dear friend, Ambassador Nazim Ahmad, always a great friend for a long time and a great man
Honourable Trustees of the Aga Khan University

Dear Friends

Thank you so much for inviting me tonight. I have, let me tell you, a huge admiration, a huge admiration for your community, Your Highness, and for your leadership.

No one can ever say no to Fairooz....don't try

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Your Excellency, President of the Republic, Professor Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa,


Your Excellency, Vice-President of the Parliament, Mr. Jorge Lacão,

Madame Isabel Mota, President of the Gulbenkian Foundation,


Members of Government and of Parliament,


Diplomats, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests,


I have never known why they separate Distinguished guests from Ladies and Gentlemen, that's the way my speech is written....(applause and laughter by audience)

Madame President of the Gulbenkian Foundation, Ms. Isabel Mota,
Honorable members of the Government, of Parliament, State Authorities, and Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim.

Your Excellencies,
Your Worship,
Distinguished Scholars and Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Your Excellency Governor Kasiev
Your Excellency Minister Aitmatov
Honourable Mayor Satibaldive
Your Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a great pleasure to be here in Osh today and to participate in the opening ceremony of this new Aga Khan School. I thank you for being here to share this important moment with us. It is an occasion of great significance in many ways. It is significant because of the cooperation many organisations and individuals who have made the establishment of the school and construction of this complex of buildings possible.

Ahead of the UN Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, later this month, Sadruddin Aga Khan questions the very notion of sustainable development. The following is the text of a recent speech he delivered:

It will be my thesis today that the dogma of "sustainable development" is inherently misleading, and is now deluding our mindsets in much the same way as the flat earth theory once did -- but with implications which are infinitely more dangerous to our future survival.

Delivered by Mr. Aly Mawji, Aga Khan Development Network Country Co-ordinator for Afghanistan on behalf of His Highness the Aga Khan IV

Mr. Chairman,
Our hosts Japan,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Your Excellency Honorable Kassim Majaliwa, Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania
Honourable Ummy Ally Mwalimu, Hon. Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, the United Republic of Tanzania
Ambassador Clavier,
Mr Christian Yoka, Regional Director, Agence Francaise de Developpement
Distinguished Guests, Ladies, Gentlemen and Friends

Today is indeed a momentous day for the Aga Khan Development Network as we celebrate the inauguration of the Phase II expansion of the Aga Khan Hospital, Dar es Salaam.

Your Majesty
Honourable Ministers
Excellencies
Directors of the Prince Claus Fund
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with gratitude and admiration that I participate in this event today. It gives me the opportunity to express publicly the enormous respect in which I hold Prince Claus, and the very great importance I attach to the work of the Prince Claus Fund. I am saddened that Prince Claus cannot be with us tonight, and I am sure that all of you will join me in requesting Her Majesty The Queen to convey to His Royal Highness our warmest regards and best wishes.

I am here to speak briefly about Central Asia. I wanted to share with you some of the reasons why the theme of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival this year is so important.

Governor Perry,
First Lady of Texas, Anita Perry,
Mayor Wallace,
Leaders and representatives of the Congress of the United States, the State of Texas and the City of Houston,
Consuls General,
Distinguished Guests.

Governor Perry,
First Lady of Texas, Anita Perry,
Mayor Wallace,
Leaders and representatives of the Congress of the United States, the State of Texas and the City of Houston,
Consuls General,
Distinguished Guests

It is a great pleasure to be here today to welcome one and all to the Inauguration of the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center at Houston. I am particularly thankful for your presence Governor Perry, and of the First Lady of Texas, and for that of many other elected officials on an occasion of great significance for the Ismaili Community of greater Houston.

Your Excellency, President Pervez Musharraf,
Honourable Governors,
Honourable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests
As-salaam-wa-Alaikum

I would like to begin by expressing my warm and sincere gratitude to Your Excellency for joining us to celebrate this inaugural occasion. It is, as I would like publicly to acknowledge today, yet another sign of the steadfast support and encouragement that you have given to our initiative to establish The First Micro Finance Bank. Above all, it evidences Your Excellency's commitment.