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Hazar Imam receives Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from University of Alberta

Some politicians are focusing a great deal of attention on "Canadian values", particularly as they pertain to immigration.

There's an almost hysterical fear that if Canada permits people to move here who don't share these "values", which are rarely defined, then somehow the country will go down the drain.

The foremost purveyor of this idea in national politics has been former Conservative cabinet minister Kellie Leitch. She received a blizzard of free publicity from the media in her campaign to lead her party.

The Aga Khan, left, and Stephen Harper look over a model of the Aga Khan Centre and Museum yesterday, which will be built in Toronto by 2013.

Hazar Imam with Prime Minister Stephen Harper 2017-05-29

Earlier this month in Ottawa, the Global Centre for Pluralism officially opened its doors. The centre is a partnership between the Aga Khan and the government of Canada and is yet another important example of the bridge-building he has spearheaded along with support for important humanitarian causes in Canada and in the global south. The many institutions the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims and his community have supported in Canada and around the world are shining examples of service to the community and the less fortunate.

The spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims met with Premier Kathleen Wynne during a visit to Queen’s Park Monday

Your Highness, Your Eminence and Chancellor, Praeses, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

I am honoured to present today His Highness the Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam, or spiritual leader, of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. His Highness is also of course an honorary citizen of this country, a person whose many contributions and connections to Canadian life and society we extend with today’s ceremony.

Photo of the Trustees of the Global Center for Pluralism with His Highness the Aga Khan in Ottawa, Canada on May 16, 2017

His Highness the Aga Khan delivers his remarks at the inauguration of the international headquarters of the Global Centre of Pluralism.

AKDN / Moez Visram

Bismillah-ir-Rahaman-ir-Rahim

Your Excellency the Governor General
Madame la Ministre
Excellencies
Fellow Directors of the Global Centre for Pluralism
Friends of the Centre

What a great day this is for all of us. And what a special ceremony, as we honour a beautiful symbol of Canada’s rich past, and rededicate it to the great cause of a pluralistic Global future.

OTTAWA — The Aga Khan returned Tuesday to Ottawa to unveil the new headquarters of an international organization that is positioning itself as an antidote of sorts to growing strains of populism and intolerance around the world.

Board members of the Global Centre for Pluralism, including former governor general Adrienne Clarkson, singled out the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House as something that makes the centre's work even more relevant.

His Highness the Aga Khan with the Governor-General of Canada in Ottawa at the opening of the new headquarters of the Global Centre for Pluralism on Sussex Drive

AGA KHAN MUSEUM
77 Wynford Drive
Toronto, Ontario
M3C 1K1, Canada

14 October 2016

Syria: A Living History

Dear Patrons,

I am writing to you because we are on the eve of the opening of what I think can be seen as an
exceptional exhibition that the Aga Khan Museum has organized in Toronto. By creating “Syria:
A Living History”, the Museum has responded to what I believe can be deemed among the most
significant and serious events in recent years. This exhibition, and the programs around it, are

OTTAWA, May 16, 2017 /CNW/ - The Global Centre for Pluralism, a major international institution for research and dialogue about the value of diversity, has officially opened its permanent headquarters in a historic building in Ottawa at a ceremony with His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and His Highness the Aga Khan.

Ottawa, Canada, 16 May 2017 - His Highness the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims around the world, and His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada will welcome distinguished guests to the official opening of the Centre’s new permanent headquarters in Ottawa on Tuesday 16 May 2017. The event will be webcast live below starting at 10:30am EST.

John Baird: The noble work of the Aga Khan should not be tarnished by this Canadian political scandal

His Highness the Aga Khan is a remarkable human being and a force for pluralism in a world besieged by tyranny. At 80 years of age, he is now the longest living spiritual leader in the Islamic world, and a jewel for Canada as our own honourary citizen. His statesmanship has shaped the course of history — in the midst of the Cold War, he bridged Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva in his relentless pursuit for peace.

Mawlana Hazar Imam and Prince Aly Muhammad at the Global Centre for Pluralism, accompanied by Ismaili Council for Canada President Malik Talib and Farhad Mawani, Project Manager for the renovation of 330 Sussex Drive. MOEZ VISRAM

His Highness the Aga Khan meets with The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

AKDN/Gary Otte

The University of Alberta Botanical Garden will receive an Islamic garden set to bloom in 2018 as a gift.

The new Islamic garden will be the first in Western Canada supported by a more than $25 million donation from the the Aga Khan, who leads the second-largest Shia Islam branch. Known as the Aga Khan Garden, it will combine historic Islamic garden elements with the western Canadian landscape. The garden will reside within the University of Alberta Botanical Garden, which is about a 15-minute drive southwest of Edmonton.

North America’s largest — and possibly the world’s coldest — Islamic-inspired garden is to be built in Alberta, a $25-million gift from the Aga Khan that is expected to attract up to 160,000 visitors a year.

Spanning almost 12 acres, the Mughal garden, which was officially unveiled Friday, will become the centrepiece of the sprawling 240-acre University of Alberta Botanic Garden, located about 15 minutes southwest of the city.