The Ismailis have always prided themselves on their highly developed social conscience. Our faith teaches us that we have obligations far beyond our own or even our family's interests.

There is no need to discard the great traditions of our faith. There is every need to adapt and invigorate them in the light of the quite altered circumstances of today.

No nation can prosper unless its people are alive to the civic responsibilities.

Personally, I never saw a particular objection to taking a close interest in politics, provided there were opportunities for other activities as well. The danger is that a student will live for politics and nothing else. Apart from other considerations, this will make a very dull individual.

If Islam aspires, as I believe she must, to recapture the glories of the past, she must be ready to adapt -- I do not say abandon -- her own traditions to the entirely different circumstances of today.

There is no reason why our traditions and our faith should stop us from moving with our times, nor in fact why we should not lead our fellow men to new spheres of knowledge and learning.

Do not believe that we should fear material progress nor should we condemn it. The danger is that it should become an obsession in our lives, and that it should dominate our way of thinking.

We may be relatively small in numbers, but our influence is great.

Having lived in the Western World for many years, I know that people have found it difficult to reconcile their faith with the pace of modern life.

A school with unqualified teachers is like a shoe without a sole, and a school with qualified teachers and unresponsive students is like a shoe without laces. Both are deficient.