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

His Highness the Aga Khan and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper (R) view a model of Ismaili Centre and Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture and their Park during the foundation ceremony in Toronto May 28, 2010.

His Highness the Aga Khan and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper (L) unveil the commemorative plaque for the Ismaili Centre and Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture and their Park during the foundation ceremony in Toronto May 28, 2010.

For the more than 70,000 Ismaili Muslims here in Canada, the foundation ceremony for the Aga Khan Museum and the Ismaili Centre today is a fitting tribute to the man who has done so much to further our understanding of Islamic art and culture – and who continues to work tirelessly on humanitarian projects around the world.

This man is a visionary. Small wonder that he and Trudeau became so close over the years, a friendship that really began when Canada welcomed thousands of Ismaili Muslims fleeing Idi Amin’s Uganda back in 1972.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff poses with H.H. The Aga Khan at the Groundbreaking ceremony.

H.H. The Aga Khan attends Groundbreaking of Wynford Park Complex and Receives Honourary Canadian Citizenship

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/ID=1506981949

The Aga Khan, head of the world's Ismaili Muslim community, was in Toronto to break ground for the construction of the Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture, and he also received Honourary Citizenship of Canada, an Honour greater than the Order of Canada.

Watch the video at the CBC website:
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/ID=1506981949

Listen to the Speech Here: http://ismaili.net/heritage/node/30034

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the following remarks at the Foundation Ceremony for the Ismaili Centre and the Aga Khan Museum and Park :

His Highness the Aga Khan and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveil the commemorative plaque for the Ismaili Centre and Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture and their Park during the foundation ceremony in Toronto May 28, 2010.

Spiritual leader to Ismailis worldwide says he has always felt at home in Canada

His Highness the Aga Khan and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveil the commemorative plaque for the Ismaili Centre and Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture and their Park during the foundation ceremony in Toronto May 28, 2010.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has bestowed honorary Canadian citizenship upon the Aga Khan.

The Aga Khan is in Toronto today, marking the beginning of development on an Ismaili centre and the Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today met with His Highness the Aga Khan in Toronto to take part in the Foundation Ceremony of the Ismaili Centre, the Aga Khan Museum and Park. The Imam is on an official visit to Canada from May 26-28.

“Canada is honoured to have been chosen as the site for these important institutions,” said the Prime Minister. They will serve to promote pluralism, peace and tolerance through greater understanding of Islam.”

To most Canadians, he is known simply as the Aga Khan.

Few are likely to know much more about the man, considered to be the spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, a community made up of more than 30,000 people in Toronto alone.

On Friday, May 28, 2010, His Highness the Aga Khan will participate in the Foundation Ceremony to mark the beginning of the development of the Ismaili Centre, the first-ever Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture, and the park where they will be situated in Toronto’s Don Mills area.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and His Highness the Aga Khan will dig shovels into the dirt on Friday at the future site of a $300-million cultural centre for Ismaili Muslims. By 2013, the seven-acre expanse near Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue will be home to a world-class museum, multi-purpose building and parklands, cementing this city’s importance as a past and future destination for the Ismaili diaspora. Farid Damji, a member of the Ismaili Council for Canada, said the Aga Khan chose to build the centre in Toronto because of its “cosmopolitan cultural outlook.”

Toronto

1:45 p.m. – Prime Minister Stephen Harper will tour the future site of the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre. He will be joined by His Highness The Aga Khan.

49 Wynford Drive
Toronto, Ontario
M3C 1J7

*Photo opportunity only (Cameras and Photographers Only)

NOTES:

* Media are required to present proper identification for accreditation.
* Media are required to use the Media Entrance off Wynford Drive. Parking is limited.
* Media are required to arrive no later than 1:15 p.m.

Toronto

Artist's rendering of the Ismaili Centre, the Aga Khan Museum and Park to be built in Toronto. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project is on Friday.

The Toronto neighbourhood of Don Mills is one of the city’s most diverse neighbourhoods — indeed, it is counted among the most diverse in Canada.

“This is a very unique place,” says Mohamed Dhanani. “It’s incredible to see families and communities from so many parts of the world come together here.” People from a range of ethnic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds call the neighbourhood home. A microcosm of Toronto and Canada’s multiculturalism, it is a place where dozens of languages are spoken, and people from all walks of life live and work together.

An aerial view of the Wynford Drive site, which is being developed into a park where the Ismaili Centre, Toronto and the Aga Khan Museum will be situated. The site is clearly visible from the adjacent Don Valley Parkway thoroughfare.

Ottawa, 26 May 2010 — Mawlana Hazar Imam arrived in Ottawa this afternoon, marking the start of a two-day visit to Canada during which he will participate in the Foundation Ceremony of the Ismaili Centre, the first-ever Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture, and the park where they will be situated in Toronto’s Don Mills neighbourhood.