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

In a recent interview in New York, the Aga Khan answered question from LIFE reporter Margot Dougherty and Managing Editor Richard B. Stolley.

I don't think the public has a very good idea of what you do. Perhaps you could start with what we call a job description. The Imamate is a hereditary office, and the Imam is responsible for guiding the practice of the faith of the Ismaili community. In matters of faith he makes the decisions. In the matters if everyday activity, he has a large network of everyday institutions and structures that answer to him.

Elle - Mystere de l'Aga Khan - Heritage - Interview

Elle Magazine (France) 20 Aout 1969

Paul Giannoli l'a rencontré pour ELLE: aujourd'hui, il n'appartient plus aux mille et une nuits mais c'est un jeune homme bien inséré dans son époque. Karim Aga Khan est moins un "dieu vivant", qu'un homme d'affaires et un chef religieux responsable de millions d'âmes qui n'a presque plus de temps pour les plaisirs de la vie.

Even at 7:15 on the morning after a banquet, with breakfast and an interview to be got through before an 8:30 meeting with Premier William Davis, the Aga Khan easily lives up to the promise of his own press release: 'A man who possesses in full measure the charm and wit shared with the rest of his family.'

Forty ninth Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, Karim Aga Khan, at 59 years of age, is the spiritual leader of 20 million faithful. His religious mission ties-in with [H]is humanitarian concerns. Considered one of the richest men in the world, [H]e allocates 700 million Francs each year to the Muslim Third World by means of [H]is development network. He also travels regularly to the twenty-five countries in which the Ismailis are spread out, often accompanied by [H]is daughter, Princess Zahra, whose presence symbolizes the new role of the modern woman in the Islamic world.

H.H. THE AGA KHAN INTERVIEWED BY KBS
RADIO TIMES OF KENYA

OCTOBER 14, 1959

INTERVIEWED BY CHARLES HAYES

On the eve of his departure after his East African tour, His Highness the Aga Khan gave a microphone interview to Charles Hayes.

This 'question and answer' report is published in response to many requests from listeners to this interview which was first broadcast on Wednesday, 14th October at 8 p.m.

Q. How do you see the future of the Ismaili people in the development of East Africa?

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Mowlana Hazar Imam and the London Newspapermen on television.
May 2nd, 1958 "Press Conference"

115 Questions answered with artistry and insight.

The problem of the rural habitat is one of the most difficult problems'...
An interview held at Urumchi, Xinjiang, on Friday, October 30th, 1981 by Xinhua News Agency and representatives of the 'Xinkiang Gizetti' with Mawlana Hazar Imam, to elicit Mawlana Hazar Imam's views and comments on the holding in Beijing of the international seminar 'The Changing Rural Habitat' and on Mawlana Hazar Imam's subsequent visit in China.

What are the achievements of the seminar 'The Changing Rural Habitat'? and what is Your Highness' evaluation of these achievements?

Anthony Mann: (Commentary) One day in the twenties my father and a senior British official were strolling on the Nile bank near Cairo with a personage of world-wide fame. This was His Highness Sir Sultan Mohammed Aga Khan III, 48th Imam and spiritual leader of the Nizari Ismaili sect of Shia Moslems, whose services the the British Crown had earned him an imposing string of decorations, a sect on the Privy Council, and a salute of 22 guns.

The French interview of The Aga Khan, as well as comments of the speaker have been transcribed and translated in English by the Heritage Staff for the members of www.ismaili.net. - English translation is on http://www.ismaili.net/heritage/node/26079

http://www.lemonde.fr/rech_art/0,5987,239159,00.html

Un imam des chiites ismaéliens appelle à empêcher la famine en Afghanistan

LE MONDE | 31.10.01 | 13h59

Selon Karim Agha Khan, imam des chiites ismaéliens, "il faut d'abord empêcher que des gens meurent de faim en Afghanistan, puis reconstruire une société civile".

"quel est votre plan pour l'avenir de l'afghanistan ?

A la fois chef spirituel, mécène, homme d'affaires et philanthrope, le 49e imam héréditaire des chiites ismaéliens consacre son temps et sa fortune à l'amélioration des conditions de vie des populations défavorisées. Le réseau d'institutions caritatives qu'il dirige agit en Asie et sur tout le continent.

Interview.

INTERVIEW: Celebrating Beauty

The award was instituted as it was felt by the Aga Khan that the gap between past accomplishments and current practice in Islamic architecture was massive. Has that gap been bridged after the award was instituted?

The Aga Khan: 'I am amazed by the ignorance of Islam'.Says the leader of the Ismaelits: this is not a conflict between civilisations but of reciprocal prejudices and stereotypes.'.

The Taliban: 'Through the Koran, they condemn themselves. The Koran prohibits the enforcement of a religious practice or of a faith. This is why the regime of the Taliban condemns itself, but it is not right to associate it with Bin Laden and to associate Bin Laden with Islam.'.

Q: You have come to Mali several times. What is your aim this time?AK: As you know I am coming from Burkina and this trip is a trip so see our activities in West Africa, to assess the situation at a time when Africa is in the process of taking very very important global dimensions, so I have come to look and listen.

Q: You are investing a lot in the industries in Mali, are you satisfied of the operations here in Mali?

CBC: Your words are that the most preoccupying global threat is the failure of democracy. What do you mean?

We are delighted and honoured to have as our guest tonight, His Highness the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, who is currently visiting Pakistan. Thank you for joining us.
PTV: Let me begin by asking you about the projects you inaugurated here in Pakistan, the Micro Credit Bank and the Serena Hotel. What is the particular significance of these projects?

Nur wer Menschen hilft, dient Gott'Karim Aga Khan IV.

Nur wer Menschen hilft, dient Gott

Von Follath, Erich

Karim Aga Khan IV. über seine Rolle als Nachfahre des Propheten und Führer der Ismailiten

SPIEGEL: Hoheit, die Presse hat Sie "Halbgott" genannt, auch schon mal "Papst" oder "Kapitalist der Armen". Was davon trifft zu?

Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan doesn’t look much like a fire-breathing ecowarrior. With an Iranian passport, an American education, a Geneva address and a long career as a U.N. diplomat, he’s not the sort of man one expects to rage about man’s inhumanity, the spooky power of multinational corporations or the toothlessness of many U.N. institutions. But he does.

While the outside may be simple, the rooms inside are crammed with exotic bibelots, orchids, oriental rugs and textiles. But then Prince Sadruddin is the younger son of Sir Sultan Mohamed Shah, Aga Khan III - the Imam, or leader of the Ismaili Shia Muslims. Their family's bloodline can be traced back to the Prophet.