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

2008, June 1: 'Celebrating his 50th year as the Aga Khan last year, the former Leverett House resident has become a bridge between East and West, traditionalism and modernity' writes NiniI S. Moorhead, Crimson Staff Writer. [More]

2008, June 5: Prince Karim Aga Khan receives an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard University at commencement ceremonies June 5, 2008, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. J.K. Rowling, who wrote the popular Harry Potter books, was the commencement speaker. (Photo by Robert Spencer/Getty Images). [Photos] [Alumni News] [More]

11 April 2008 - H.H. The Aga Khan and Princess Zahra walk under a sabre arch salute presented by the Sol Ross volunteers of Texas, as they disembark in Austin, USA. Click for more [Photos]

April 12 - His Highness the Aga Khan and Princess Zahra began their day with a visit to the State Capitol and a meeting with Governor Rick Perry of Texas. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the University of Texas and the Aga Khan University. In the evening, the Governor and First Lady of Texas hosted a gala in honour of His Highness's Golden Jubilee, during which H.H. the Aga Khan announced the establishment of a new Ismaili Centre to be located in Houston.[More]

2009 April 23: 8:00pm Special Address - His Highness the Aga Khan at the 8th Annual Global Philanthropy Forum Conference [April 22-24, 2009] Washington, D.C. [Speech]. Photo: His Highness the Aga Khan meeting with The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, United States Secretary of State, at the State Department. [More] [More on New Heritage]

President Gregorian, faculty members, post graduates and graduating students, ladies and gentlemen.
President Gregorian, thank you for your very generous words. It is a great honour for me to be at this Commencement Ceremony at Brown, as Brown represents much of what is best in Western liberal education. Let me also congratulate the graduating students for whom the memory of this day, I am sure, will remain with them throughout their lives.

President Bhaloo, Members of the National Council for the United States, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I would like to take this occasion on behalf of my wife, my brother and myself to express to you a very warm thanks for this wonderful evening and for the way in which you have welcomed the Imam and members of his family on my Jubilee visit to the United States.

On December 10, 1980, an enthusiastic crown of government officials, architects, diplomats, journalists and others had gathered at the Hirshorn Museum to welcome Mowlana Hazar Imam to Washington. The program focused on the Architectural Awards and was hosted by the National Committee to Honor the Fourteenth Centennial of Islam. The 'Islam Centennial Fourteen' is a group of influential Americans who have come together to focus attention on Islamic civilization and culture, particularly, contributions Islam has made to world culture.

On March 6, 1985, Mawlana Hazar Imam announced a major commitment in the field of Architectural Education for the Islamic World. He was in Cambridge, Massachusetts (U.S.A.) to sign an agreement with two leading universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, for the extension and expansion of the joint Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, originally established in 1979.

On the 18th of June, 1993, Mawlana Hazar Imam presented a keynote address to the World Congress of Architects in which he challenged the world's largest-ever gathering of architects to design and build sustainable environments. The Congress, held at McCormick Place in Chicago, was jointly sponsored by the International Union of Architects and The American Institute of Architects.

Mowlana Hazar Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni (a.s.) alongwith Her Highness Begum Saheba paid a visit to the Jamats in the United States of America from 3rd November to 11th November, 1986. Mowlana Hazar Imam blessed Jamats with his holy Deedar. The Jamats of the U.S.A. were distributed into four areas under four Regional Councils and were gathered in four major cities in their respective areas. The dates of Mowlana Hazar Imam's visits to the Jamats were as under:

Mawlana Hazar Imam met with the President of the World Bank, Mr. Lewis Preston, in Washington, D.C. On October 23, 1992. Mawlana Hazar Imam and Mr. Preston exchanged views on the role of non-governmental organizations (NGO's) in development and discussed the commonality between the strategic objectives of the Bank and those of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The one-on-one meeting was followed by a luncheon with senior Bank staff and representatives of AKDN institutions.

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.

Graduates Urged to Find Values in Encounters
(Following is the text of the Commencement Address presented by His Highness the Aga Khan at MIT's graduation exercises on Friday, May 27.)

President Vest, Members of the Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, distinguished members of the faculty, Mayor Reeves, happy graduates, even happier parents and others gathered here today: I am pleased and honored to be with you this morning.

Diwan Sir Eboo, President of the National Council, Members of the National Council, President of the Regional Council and generous donors, there was a moment this evening when I thought there was going to be a highly embarassing situation when the head table had been served and nobody else had been served! It looked to Me as though we were going to be eating lobster bisque and you would be eating bread and water! And I thought this would not be the right way for our Jamat to welcome our most generous donors.

Diwan Sir Eboo, President of the National Council, Presidents and Members of My Councils in the United States, office bearers of the numerous institutions here this evening,

A Housing and Urbanization Unit has been established by Mawlana Hazar Imam in Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.
The new Unit, set up with a gift of $500,000, is an integral part of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At the occasion of a special address to the The United Nations Development Programme December 11, 1980
Mr. Morse, Mr. Secretary-General, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentleman: It is a great honour for me to stand before you at the United Nations-the symbol of man's hope for the future and man's belief in the primacy of reason and peace-to discuss the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

The invitation to the gala event came out of the blue, from a woman I had never met, belonging to a group I had never heard of, part of a religious sect I knew nothing about.Naturally, I accepted.

Your Highness the Aga Khan, Ambassador Muasher, Congressman Leach, distinguished colleagues and friends,

welcome to the State Department.

There's no better place, certainly in this building, to discuss culture than a room named for Thomas Jefferson, who was only a great architect, writer and diplomat, but also spent so much time in France.