NanoWisdoms

"The first programme will be medicine," the Aga Khan said. "It will enable nurses to upgrade their skills." (The Monitor) "We will be committing future resources to education facilities at primary, post-primary and tertiary levels. We are interested in the demography of the country, how to move services to the rural areas. We shall support initiatives like micro-credit." (BBC) The Monitor: ...

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The remarkable work of Yo-Yo Ma has enthralled audiences from all the countries of the Silk Route and beyond. By his leadership and imagination, he has proved that the force of cultural pluralism to bind people is as necessary, powerful and achievable today as was the Silk Route in history. It is my privilege and honour to be associated with the ...

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What we are now witnessing is a clash of ignorance, an ignorance that is mutual, longstanding, and to which the West and the Islamic world have been blind for decades at their great peril. For a number of years I have voiced my concern that the faith of a billion people is not part of the general education process in the ...

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Islam does not deal in dichotomies but in all encompassing unity. Spirit and body are one, man and nature are one. What is more, man is answerable to God for what man has created. Since all that we see and do resonates on the faith, the aesthetics of the environments we build and the quality of the interactions that take place ...

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This event serves to acknowledge the Commonwealth's importance in maintaining relations among countries through both good and less good times in their shared history. The event honours the personal attention that Her Majesty the Queen has accorded to that history and the admirable manner in which she has exercised, and continues to exercise, the challenging role of Head of the Commonwealth. ...

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Referring to "exploratory work for investments in telecommunications and in tourism," the Aga Khan saw these as "stimulating a multiplicity of ancillary industries at the same time as serving an urgent need in the hospitality industry." A major national initiative in micro-credit to promote entrepreneurship and build capital is under consideration with the possible involvement of the International Finance Corporation. "[I]n ...

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I think first of all, Pakistan should seek to diversify its economy further, because at a certain stage, whether it is Pakistan or any other country in the world, agricultural productivity as base of the economy is insufficient; you need to have other sources. So that's the first issue. The second issue is the relation between the public sector and the ...

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[I]t must be stressed that poverty is a problem whose import is ignored at great peril. Perhaps the greatest lesson of the tragedy of conflict that has recently engulfed this region is the need to attack its true roots. These lie not in religion or in corruption, but rather in deprivation, poverty, exclusion and lack of opportunity -- and therefore hope. ...

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Of all industries, tourism is probably the greatest creator of jobs, for its capacity to draw on all levels of the labour force in terms of education and skills, and all types of enterprises from family businesses to international corporations. Tourism, to the extent that it covers all parts of a country and is respectful of the differences that characterise them, ...

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Please click on the icon for a side by side comparison in PDF format.Below, is a shorter version of the interview transcript published in Architectural Record, and in the Archive, is the more extensive version published by AKDN. Highlighted below are major portions nevertheless missing from the version published by AKDN. SOURCES: On the occasion of the 2001 Aga Khan Award ...

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There are many, many interpretations of Islam within the wider Islamic community, but I think one on which there is greatest consensus, is the fact that we are trustees of God's creation, and we are instructed to seek to leave the world a better place than it was when we came into it. Therefore, the question is: What is a "better ...

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The wealthy Muslim leader and philanthropist was in Ottawa this week to discover the secret of the nation's multicultural success. But he was critical of the U.S. for its simplistic views of good and evil. 'I will not stigmatize a whole population as being evil, whether they are Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu. I can't do that,' he told John Stackhouse and ...

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I have to tell you this is my own direct experience, many, many of these situations [of conflict] can be avoided [if] addressed in good time. Many of them. And I really assure you that this is the case. These pockets of extreme poverty, of frustration, of fear of some of these minorities, can be addressed by a direct, focused programme ...

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Expressing his gratitude to the Canadian Government for what he termed "an outstanding partnership," the Aga Khan observed that the programmes on which the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the AKDN had worked together in Africa and South Asia could now be extended further in Central Asia. "The capacity that we have been able to build together and our joint ...

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I think there is a much better understanding of the sensitivity of these conflicts and how they become internationalised, how they go far beyond the frontiers of the area. I'm thinking of places like Sri Lanka, and I'm thinking even Northern Ireland. It's not just the Islamic world. It's these conflict situations which pollute and the disease just grows and grows ...

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His Highness the Aga Khan would like to announce today a multi-year financial commitment, which will be no less than U.S. $75,000,000, to enable the Aga Khan Development Network to conceptualise and implement a recovery, reconstruction and long-term development programme that will span many regions of the country. It will range in scope from agriculture-based rural development; food and seed security; ...

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Underlining the long-term nature of the commitment represented by this agreement, the Aga Khan referred to the beginning of a "partnership for development into the future not constrained by time." "We look forward to this collaboration," he said, "so that we can prioritise the greatest necessities where you feel strategies of partnership are most urgent." The Aga Khan and Prime Minister ...

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It is thus clearly evident that peace in the decades ahead can only be achieved when the pluralist nature of human society is understood, valued and built upon to construct a better future. In Islam, the pluralism of human society is well recognised, and the ethics of its multiple interpretations require that this diversity be accorded respect. The shahada -- La-illaha-Illallah-Muhammadur-Rasullilah ...

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[Translation] Why is it that we have that impression -- and it's good, I think it is an advantage -- that they [the Ismailis] are more modern, modern in the Western sense? I think that it comes to the same question we discussed previously. Let's go back. How did the Westerners learn about culture, about Greek philosophy? How did they learn ...

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[I]ssues of the change in the rural environment are issues of deep concern to the Islamic world because, as I said yesterday, more than 50% of the Islamic world lives in a rural environment. We cannot, therefore, afford to ignore asking: What are the processes of change in the rural environment and how we can encourage them to progress? We cannot ...

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Many Muslims today, of which I am one, carry with them a memory of the historical achievements of Islamic civilisations. What is the significance of this historical memory for the Ummah in the contemporary world with its many and varied challenges? How can we look back and reinvigorate aspects of it, and what level of significance should be accorded to it? ...

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[Google translation] Indeed, military intervention [in Afghanistan] may not be limited. In a country like Afghanistan where the Taliban decided to resist mountain by mountain, valley by valley, the war may last longer. But I repeat that the reconstruction work must begin now. It passes through the country's liberation, but also by establishing a sort of safety belt around Afghanistan. The ...

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[Translation] In fact, in the Shiite credence, one exalts the value of the intellect, of the spiritual guide, therefore of interpretation. But Western thought tends to confuse the bond between spirituality and secularism with a sort of compromise between State and Church. These are different levels, which involve the individual and the community in which one lives, not the political authority ...

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Launching new initiatives under an Agreement of Co-operation for Development negotiated over the past twelve months and signed this morning with Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev, the Aga Khan situated his plan in the context of widespread misunderstanding about Islam and countries in the region, including Afghanistan. SOURCES POSSIBLY RELATED READINGS (GENERATED AUTOMATICALLY) ...

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Within the Ummah it is a recognised and established historic fact that communities have the right to their own interpretation of the Faith. Whether it is the interpretation of one branch of Islam or of the other, of Sunni or Shia, whether of one tradition within either of those branches, or of another, the right of interpretation belongs to each individual.... ...

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The Aga Khan highlighted the importance to Tanzania's future of its human resources. "Much of Africa and Asia have suffered from very poor tertiary education for decades," the Aga Khan said. "We would like to be able to assist you," he continued, noting that "building institutions in Africa and Asia is a long and complex exercise." Expressing concern, the Aga Khan ...

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More than twenty-five years ago, these were some of the central concerns that led to the establishment of the Aga Khan University in Karachi and its School of Nursing.... Given the state of health services in Pakistan at that time, I felt it particularly important to create an institution in the country that could offer education in the health professions at ...

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But quality is not enough to justify the support of donors, society and the authorities in a developing country; a university's offerings must also be relevant. Following a study carried out with the assistance of Harvard, AKU's Board decided to focus its initial efforts on addressing the very poor quality of social services in Pakistan and much of the developing world. ...

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If interpretation is well founded and based on good observation, it can then be used as logic. Measured across the nearly 80 years of my family's thoroughbred breeding in Europe, and the large number of bloodlines which we have managed and developed, I feel bold enough to say that logic has played a greater role than luck. A sell-out Thoroughbred Breeders' ...

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The history of this multi-faceted project, reaching back over a decade, has been an exhilarating process of discovery and opportunity. While at the beginning the idea was to provide the metropolis with a much-needed green space at the heart of its historic agglomeration, the progressive uncovering of 1.3 kilometres of historic wall led to another major task -- giving a new ...

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At present there is a great deal of apprehension about the future of local and national cultures in most countries in the developing world. What can the cultural diplomacy of the United States do to address these anxieties and replace them with a sense of confidence through new and shared initiatives? ... Cultures that do not or cannot communicate become increasingly ...

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But I must tell you very frankly that there is absolutely no hidden agenda other than answering a critical national situation. I would say that this was not specific to Pakistan. Eastern Tajikistan, i.e. the mountain communities in the Pairs have lived the same difficulty. It's admittedly in a different context because it was the context of the Soviet Union, but ...

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[His Highness the Aga Khan] He spoke about educating the human resources not only in the cities but also in rural majority. In this scenario, he observed the Philanthropy conference will produce positive results, measurable in a short time.... [He also said] the upcoming the College of Arts and Science will have an impact on education in Pakistan as well as ...

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The Institute of Islamic Civilisations in London will give expression to our University's Islamic character, in an international context. Its programmes are quite distinctive. IIC will create an index of published works on Islamic civilisations in various languages, write abstracts and translate them into the major scholarly languages, and distribute the abstracts globally on the World Wide Web. This unique facility, ...

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[Sindh Governor Mohammedmian Soomro hosted a dinner] in honour of Prince Karim Aga Khan and his wife, Her Highness Princess Anara Karim Aga Khan, at the Governor's House on Friday night.... Responding to the governor's welcoming remarks, the Aga Khan described his visit to Pakistan as always an important event. He referred to the conference of philanthropy, and said it had ...

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[T]he problem that we were seeking to address was this: What could be done for education in the Northern Areas that would improve the quality of education right across the Northern Areas so that the young men and young women of this part of Pakistan would be able to develop their future and sustain their opportunities in a merit-based educational system? ...

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The Qur'an, the Hadith, the sayings of Hazrat Ali, and many scholarly sources make numerous references to the forms and purposes of philanthropy. Human dignity -- restoring it, and sustaining it -- is a central theme. Enabling individuals to recover and maintain their dignity as befitting their status as Allah's greatest creation, is one of the main reasons for charitable action. ...

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14 October 2000 (Islamabad): Dinner hosted by the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.18 October 2000 (Northern Area): Dinner hosted by the Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas.20 October 2000 (Karachi): Juma Building, the Ibn Ridwan Building and the Sports and Rehabilitation Centre Opening Ceremonies. Nazerali-Walji Building Foundation Stone Ceremony.13-28 October 2000: Other functions and events His Highness ...

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A shared social ethic, underwritten by Africa's faiths, can help resolve many of the problems afflicting Africa today.... I am unaware of a single situation where the faiths of Africa have sat down and asked themselves what policies and strategies are in place to offer long-term availability of health and education. In an address yesterday to a special session on "Africa's ...

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Mountain populations experience extremes of poverty and isolation as well as constraints on opportunities and choice, but at the same time, they sustain great linguistic, cultural, ethnic and religious pluralism, and show remarkable resilience in the face of extraordinarily harsh circumstances. By creating intellectual space and resources this university will help turn the mountains that divide the nations and territories of ...

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