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

Our Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan,

Chair Zakir Mahmood and Members of the Board of Trustees,

President Sulaiman Shahabuddin,

AKU leaders, faculty, and staff,

Donors, partners, alumni, volunteers,

Family members of the graduates,

And, most importantly, the Class of 2025:

As Salaam–o-Alaikum

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Pro-Chancellor Princess Zahra Aga Khan,
Chair Zakir Mahmood and Members of the Board of Trustees,
Chairs and members of the Kenya and Uganda University Councils,
President and Vice-Chancellor Sulaiman Shahabuddin,
Leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the University,
Family members of the graduates,
Members of the Class of 2025:

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Pro-Chancellor Princess Zahra Aga Khan,
Chair Zakir Mahmood and Members of the Board of Trustees,
Chairs and members of the Kenya and Uganda University Councils,
President and Vice-Chancellor Sulaiman Shahabuddin,
Leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the University,
Family members of the graduates,
Members of the Class of 2025:

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Pro-Chancellor Princess Zahra Aga Khan,
Chair Zakir Mahmood and Members of the Board of Trustees,
Chairs and members of the Kenya and Uganda University Councils,

Speech by Princess Zahra Aga Khan at the 2025 AKU convocation
26 February, 2025
Karachi, Pakistan

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim
Chancellor, Chair and members of the AKU Board of Trustees,
President and Vice Chancellor,
Leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the University,
Family members of the graduates,
And Members of the Class of 2024:

As Salaam–o-Alaikum

Speech by His Highness The Aga Khan IV

Toronto April 27, 1983

(at the banquet with Ontario political government leaders including Premier William Davis)

Your Honour, Honourable Premier, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure for my wife and I to be here this evening. And we are most grateful to you, Mr. Davis, and to you, Mr. McLaren, both for your welcome and for your appreciative remarks about the Ismaili community in Canada.

Speech by His Highness The Aga Khan IV at McMaster University, Canada

(His Highness The Aga Khan was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree (LLD) honoris causa in recognition of his leadership in the advancement of health and education in the third world)

May 15, 1987

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

……………..The great bulk of the 7 million people of Karachi and the 100 million people of Pakistan are not ruled by the assumptions of science. Their lives are bounded by family, tradition, and belief

REMARKS BY HIS HIGHNESS THE AGA KHAN IV AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE IN DUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN IN PRESENCE OF HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT RAKHMONOV
Source: Golden Jubilee visit to Central Asia video

November 1, 2008

Speech by Prince Rahim Aga Khan V (sent as video message) on the occasion of the 2025 Global Pluralism Awards ceremony held in Ottawa, Canada at the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat

November 25, 2025

Bismillah-ir-Raheman-nir-Rahim

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Bismillah ir Rahman ir Rahim

I think I will start by saying that Houston is the friendliest city that I have ever visited and you, Sir, are a tough act to follow but I will go through the steps. Thank you very much for these remarks. We are deeply touched. (addressing John Whitmore, Mayor)

Honorable Members of the United States Congress,

Honorable Members of the Texas Legislature,

Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Elected Officials,

The Honorable John Whitmire, Mayor of Houston,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Speech by His Highness Shah Karim Aga Khan at the Dinner hosted by H.E. Governor of Punjab

Lahore, Pakistan

March 3, 1976

Your Excellency the Governor, Mr. Chief Minister, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Honourable Mayor of Gondomar
Distinguished Secretary of State for Local Administration and Land Planning
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a pleasure for me to join you today for the reopening of this Chapel.

Speech by His Highness The Aga Khan V at the Aga Khan Architectural Awards held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

September 15, 2025

Bismi’l-lahi’r-rahmani’r-rahim

Your Excellency Adylbek Kasymaliev, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers,
Head of the Presidential Administration,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,

It is my distinct pleasure to welcome all of you to this Award ceremony in this beautiful venue.

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Your Excellency President Museveni,
Your Excellency the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Mama Janet Museveni,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,

It is a great pleasure for me to join you in celebrating this milestone in the history of the Aga Khan University, and our partnership with the Government of Uganda. I am also very happy that my sister Princess Zahra and brother Prince Aly are here to share this special moment.

Speech by His Highness The Aga Khan V upon being honoured by the Government of Kenya with the title of Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart (CGH) by President Ruto.

Nairobi, Kenya

August 26, 2025

Bismillah-ir-Raheman-ir-Rahim

Your Excellency President Ruto, Honorable Ministers, your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests.

Speech by Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan
Global Encounters Festival held in Dubai, UAE
July 20, 2025

Bismillah-ir-Raheman-ir-Rahim

Your Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al-Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Excellencies, Athletes and Artists, Ladies and Gentlemen.
That we are here today was not a given. Thousands have offered their time, expended their effort and have sacrificed weeks and months to put this festival together.

THE MOST IMPOkfANT PROBLEM

An extroct from a speech of His Highness The Ago Khan given at Ismailia Association of Pakistan

The most important problem for us today is to create students who are capable of going back and of reading the original texts of our history, of reading these texts in Arabic, of reading them in Persian, of reading them in Urdu, of reading them in Gujarati, of reading them in any language in which they have been written.

Audio of Speech by Hazar Imam at the banquet held in his honour in Vancouver

November 14, 1978

Your Excellencies, Your Worship, Honorable Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen.

In more senses than one, the sun has shone on this, our first formal visit to British Columbia and to its beautiful capital, Vancouver. My wife and I have traveled extensively in recent years and I can honestly say that I cannot recollect any country nor any city which has welcomed us so warmly, so kindly and so generously as Vancouver. (applause)

Video of Statement by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan at the Press Conference held in Beirut, Lebanon
11 October 1978

May I say first of all, my mission in Beirut is limited in time and in scope.
I have been sent here by the Secretary-General in connection with the hostilities in Beirut in the hope that the visit might contribute to the cessation of bloodshed. Now that we have a ceasefire, although a very fragile one, I am hoping that my visit here and the talks I had today, will contribute in a modest way to the consolidation of that ceasefire.

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Your Excellency President Rahmon

Your Excellency President Japarov

Honourable Ministers

Honourable Governors

Chairman Dr Shamsh Kassim-Lakha and Members of the Board of Trustees

Rector, Deans, Faculty and Staff of the University

Parents, supporters, and distinguished guests and Graduates