Prince Amyn Aga Khan with members of the Economic Committee of Ontario & Quebec. 1973. Photo: Dr. Mohamed Manji collection. By DR MOHAMED FAZAL MANJI(Vancouver, Canada) On September 12, 2021, Prince Amyn Mohamed Aga Khan will be celebrating his 84th birthday. It is also a date when The Ismail Center and the Aga Khan Museum celebrate the 7th anniversary of their opening ...
Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) My beloved parents, Alwaez Jehangir and Alwaeza Maleksultan Merchant, passed away on May 27, 2018 and January 21, 2021 respectively at the age of 89. During my numerous stays with them, I had the great fortune of going through their collection of books and documents they had gathered during their lifetime. Alas, ...
Compiled and prepared by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) with Excerpts from Eyewitness Accounts by ZAFEERA KASSAM (Kenya), AZIM MAHERALLY (USA) and RAHIM HIRJI (UK) Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, ordains the instrument to designate the Henrique de Mendonça Palace as the Seat of the Ismaili Imamat on July 11 2018, to be known as the ...
Compiled and prepared by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) I know the power of your network; I know what you have built. And we need more networks of people determined to say this is a world of good, this is a world of standing by each other, and this is what we honor here tonight -- Josette Sheeran, Asia ...
Begum Salimah Aga Khan being received by Dr. Rahimtula Jamani, Chairman of the Aga Khan Health Board, at the Aga Khan Health Centre, Kampala, Uganda in February 1972, when she accompanied Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, on a tour of Uganda. Gulshan Jamani, wife of Dr. Jamani and author of this article is pictured at right. Photo: (Late) Dr. ...
University of Central Asia: From 1998 to 2000 to 2016 to 2021 Prepared and Compiled by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) [Several months before Mawlana Hazar Imam's Diamond Jubilee year began on July 11, 2017, Barakah compiled countless speeches that he had delivered since becoming the Imam in 1957 from multiple internet sources (including AKDN, Ismaili.net, Nanowisdoms), printed speech ...
The Seal of the Aga Khan University - at the centre of the Seal is a star, or sun. Light is a universal symbol for the enlightenment that education provides. The light emanating from the star is also symbolic of Nur (Divine Light). The star incorporates 49 rays to commemorate the University's founding by His Highness the Aga Khan, the forty-ninth Imam ...
Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan (Aga Khan, Prince Shah Karim al Hussaini, as cited by the photographer). Photo created or published 1973 or 1974. Photo Credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, photograph by Bernard Gotfryd. Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) For years, my search of the website of the US Library of Congress ...
Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) In 2015, UNESCO launched a fundraising project to digitize the Organization's archives dating as far back as the 1940's out of a major concern that the multiplicity of analogue formats in their audiovisual collections, which included films, videos, audio recordings and photos, made their accessibility a big challenge, and in some cases ...
By MANSOOR LADHAMawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, is accompanied by Mansoor Ladha, left, as he arrives in Edmonton during his first visit to Canada in 1978 to meet with the members of the Ismaili community. Ladha led the Edmonton's Ismaili community at the time as its Chairman. Photo: Mansoor Ladha Collection. I have had the rare and unique ...
The following Talika Mubarak from Mawlana Hazar Imam in English and all the translations that follow are reproduced from The Ismaili, the official website of the Ismaili community. Following the Talika, please read our supplication to Mawlana Hazar Imam as well as listen to the Ginan Sahebe Farman Lakhi Mokalea, traditionally recited when Talikas are received, as well as recitations of ...
From the first Costeau film I saw and the fish I started keeping at the age of five, the first octopus and cuttlefish that squirted ink at me....I knew I couldn't, wouldn't stop exploring the sea -- Prince Hussain Aga Khan On photo of the dolphin on the front cover of his photo book Diving Into Wildlife: This image is burned ...
ByMALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos)Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah His Highness the Aga Khan speaks into a "Mike" at his Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Dar es Salaam on August 10, 1946. Photo: David Carnegie for the National Geographic, March 1947. Over the past few years, several non-Ismaili readers have come forward and presented images of unique Ismaili objects and photographs ...
The island of Pemba, known as 'Al Jazeera Al Khadra' (the green island) in Arabic, is an island forming part of the Zanzibar archipelago, lying east of Mainland Tanzania. It is situated about 50 kilometres to the north Zanzibar. In 1964 Zanzibar was united with the former colony of Tanganyika to form Tanzania. Zanzibar lies 71 kilometres north-west of Dar-es-Salaam. Together with ...
Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, is seen giving remarks as he visits the Aga Khan High School located in the Kololo suburb of Kampala during his tour of Uganda from February 20-27, 1972. He was accompanied by Begum Salimah. Photo: © Sultan Baloo. Id# 0022. By SULTAN BALOO Since its founding some three years ago, Barakah has published some ...
Report prepared and compiled by Malik Merchant from the websites of World Habitat and Aga Khan Development Network Statement by Prince Rahim Aga Khan "For decades the AKDN [Aga Khan Development Network] has been working with vulnerable communities to improve quality of life and reduce disaster risk. Today in the face of the climate crisis, understanding and mitigating these risks is ...
Introduced by MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/Editor Barakah, Simergphotos, and SimergHis Highness the Aga Khan. Photo: © Ulstein Bild, Getty Images, 1960. When Barakah was launched four years ago, it was intended primarily as a commemoration of Mawlana Hazar Imam's Diamond Jubilee. Barakah included tributes in the form of photographs, eyewitness accounts, descriptive essays, in-depth articles, insightful interviews, detailed timelines, as well as audio ...
Prepared and Compiled by MALIK MERCHANT(Publisher/Editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) (The textual material for this piece has been compiled from numerous sources - Ed.)Former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa (d. July 2020), who led his country for 10 years from 1995-2005, was the Chief Guest at the Aga Khan University (AKU) Convocation on February 5, 2020, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He ...
Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT(Publisher/Editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos)Soroti and Mbale are located North East of Kampala and Jinja, which are nearer or at Lake Victoria. Map: University of Texas. Circled city annotations are Barakah's. Barakah's request to individuals and families to seek out Mawlana Hazar Imam's photos from their old 'forgotten' photo albums and other archives has met with some success. ...
By MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher/Editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos)Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, then United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, addressing a group of Asian refugees at a refugee camp in Colonia Trieste in Otranto, Italy, following their expulsion in 1972 from Uganda. The Prince's visit took place in January 1973. Photo: Laila Datoo collection. In mid-summer, when Barakah published Photos of Mawlana ...
Prepared and compiled by MALIK and NURIN MERCHANT (Publisher/Editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) Audio Presentation: The Face of ImamatHis Highness the Aga Khan by Elliott & Fry, half-plate negative, 1911. Photo: © National Portrait Gallery, London.The Face of Imamat: A special audio presentation on His Highness the Aga Khan III ~~~~~~~~~~~~ TranscriptA sketch of Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah that appeared on ...
Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT(Publisher/Editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) In a referral video that we recently provided through Barakah's sister website Simerg, an artist states that when the Shia Ismaili faith was introduced by Nasir Khushraw into the Pamir region a thousand years ago, the Ismailis absorbed some of the cultural traditions and practices of the Zoroastrian faith that had been in ...
Prepared and compiled by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher/Editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) Inspiration Behind the Earthshot Prize: President John F. Kennedy and Moonshot In 1962, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy gave his now famous "Moonshot" speech at Rice University in which he outlined his plans to put a man on the moon. The speech would go on to become one of the most ...
Editor's Note:A few minor corrections, including typos, have been made without affecting the overall content of the article as published in The Emporia News, one of many newspapers archived at the USA Library of Congress under the category of Historic American Newspapers. Explanatory notes or references to footnotes are made within square [....] brackets, where we felt a clarification was appropriate. ...
[This piece is an aggregation of stories and photographs pertaining to members of Mawlana Hazar Imam's family from the first three months of 2020 that Barakah was unable to cover due to the editor's "nomadic wanderings" during the period.] Prepared and compiled by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher/Editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) I. FEBRUARY 25-26, 2020, CAMBRIDGE AND LONDON, UK Princess Zahra Aga ...
BY MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos Celebrating Our History - Unique Moments in the Imamat of Mawlana Shah Karim al Hussaini Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan is the title of a new series that is being launched to celebrate the fourth year of Barakah. The inspiration for this series derives from the following statement made by Mawlana Hazar ...
INTRODUCED BY MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos "He is the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. He is a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, through the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law Ali, the first Imam and his wife Fatima, the Prophet's daughter...Through his words, through his actions, and through the results obtained by ...
Narrative and Photos Submitted byTHE FAMILY OF ALIJAH AKBARALI AND ALIJIANI KULSUMBAI MOHAMED HAMIR (Special to Barakah) "On November 4th, 1966, as Mawlana Hazar Imam's plane circled the Iringa airport, there was palpable excitement as the leaders of the Jamat anxiously awaited the arrival of our beloved Imam. Mawlana Hazar Imam had taken a break on his extended tour of East ...
By MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos I was most gratified when Alijahbanu Khairunissa Khoja, wife of late Alijah Zulfikarali M.A. Velji Khoja (1938-2015), recently handed me a box of historic photos related to the Jamats of South and East Africa as well as visits made by Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah to South Africa and Mawlana Shah Karim al Hussaini Hazar ...
Mawlana Hazar Imam and Begum Salimah pictured during their brief visit to Jinja on February 27, 1972, a few months before the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin issued an order for Asians to leave Uganda. Pictured at right is the Honorary Secretary of the Aga Khan Provincial Council for Jinja, Sadrudin M. Mitha. Partially visible, between Mawlana Hazar Imam and Begum Salimah, is ...
By FARAH TEJANI Just summoning Your Beloved Name, All of my humble supplications are answered. Oh Ali. Ya Mawla, I beseech you, Hear me and draw near. My soul is thirsty, I long to be close to You, Draw near, I am waiting, Ours is a bond forged eternally. A moth driven by Your Radiant, Dazzling Flame, I dance ever closer ...
In accordance with Shia doctrine, tradition, and interpretation of history, the Holy Prophet (s.a.s.) designated and appointed his cousin and son-in-law Hazrat Mawlana Ali Amiru-l-Mu'minin (a.s), to be the first Imam to continue the Ta'wīl and Ta'līm of Allah's final message and to guide the murids, and proclaimed that the Imamat should continue by heredity through Hazrat Mawlana Ali (a.s) and ...
Portraits of 48th and 49th Ismaili Imams, Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah and Mawlana Shah Karim Al Hussaini. "Officially as one Imam passes away, his successor takes on from the very minute that the Imam has passed away." -- Mawlana Hazar Imam in interview preceding his ceremonial installation on October 19, 1957 in Dar es Salaam. Photos: Special souvenir "H.R.H. Prince Aga Khan's ...
"The Prince had an incredible record during WW2 serving both with the British and US armies but always seen wearing his Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry cap badge; the three feathers of HRH Prince of Wales....Prior to my research, nobody in my regiment, the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, was aware of the distinguished service of its most famous officer, His Serene Highness Prince Aly ...
By MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/editor BarakahSimerg and Simergphotos From the day our beloved Prophet Muhammad (S.A.S.) passed away on June 8, 632, and Hazrat Ali (A.S.) became the first Imam on the Divine Commandment that the Prophet had earlier received at Ghadir Khumm, there have been forty-nine Ismaili Imams, spanning a period of 1388 years in human history.Top: Imam Shah Hassanali Shah and ...
Many government leaders including the Canadian Prime Minister, federal and provincial leaders as well as mayors of different cities across Canada have sent messages of congratulations and well wishes on the occasion of Mawlana Hazar Imam's 63rd Imamat Day; we publish below a selection of these messages. Statement by the Prime Minister on Imamat Day July 11, 2020 Ottawa, Ontario The ...
By KARIM ISMAIL My art employs mostly numerical symbolism. Numbers such as 1, 3, 5 and 7, are usually incorporated in my art of calligraphy. Number 1, for example, symbolizes Allah and the concept of "tawheed" and number seven symbolizes the values of the essential philosophy of the Ismailis. I also draw inspiration from Quranic ayats. Some of my works have ...
Introduced by TAJDIN ESMAIL On the auspicious 63rd Imamat Day Anniversary of our beloved 49th Imam, Noor Mawlana Shah Karim Al Husseini Hazar Imam, on behalf of all the participants and volunteers who assisted in the production of my "Diamond Jubilee Complete Album", I convey our heartiest Imamat Day Mubaraki to all the members of our Global Jamat. Originally, my "Diamond ...
By ZAHIR K. DHALLAPrince Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth with Ismaili icons Kaderali Patel (left) and Gulamhusein Jindani. Photo: Zahir Dhalla collection, via Meherab Jamal, Calgary. This original photo of Prince Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth was taken in Mombasa, Kenya, in 1951. My childhood friend, Meherab, brought the photo to me some 20 years ago. As we started talking about ...
Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) Over the past few years, Barakah and its sister websites Simerg and Simergphotos have had the privilege of publishing rare photos of Mawlana Hazar Imam and his family that have been in private collections for years. We have asked Jamati members and others to come forward and share their memories with our ...
