The Imam's word on the Faith is taken as an absolute rule. Every Ismaili is expected to accept it. The Community always follows very closely the personal way of thinking of the Imam. It's one of the particularities of Ismailis.

Having provided education, we must now take the next step. We must make it acceptable for a woman to have a career, and turn education into income.

Given a right understanding of the foundations of Islam and Christianity, and the spiritual values which they have proclaimed, it should not prove very difficult to build a bridge of mutual respect and co-operation between the two great religions. Unfortunately, it is a fact that the close similarity between the two remains largely unknown to the West.

You must always live within your means, because as my father used to say, "a man who spends one cent more - one cent more than his income, finishes a pauper."

The poor die because they cannot afford to buy grain (which they themselves may or may not have grown) at the prices that meat growers are prepared to pay; and the rich die because of over-consumption.

So the economic paradise promised by unlimited, uninhibited, inescapable global free trade has proved illusory

In a world characterized by interdependence and all-encompassing global "civilisation", as well as by diversity and unique individuality, shared ethical principles governing the interactions of human beings and their world are essential, if the well-being of the larger community of life, upon which all depend, is to be protected.

"The right to hope is the most powerful human motivation I know."

The rapid developments in information and communication technology are of immense importance for those of us engaged in promoting positive economic, social, and cultural change. Like Jim Wolfensohn, I believe that they are also critical because development in all those dimensions is a prerequisite for world peace.

Your patience will give you success. This applies to anyone upon whom calamities befall. The one who exercises patience, to him success is granted by God. The Lord befriends the one who is patient, his Lord loves him very dearly. Noble is the creature who is patient, then in difficult times, the Lord becomes his friend.