Simerg

Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT "Messi's final victory.... was one of refusal. He could have given in to so many defeating things, so often. He said no to all of them. He ignored the perils of time. He rejected the precociousness of youth. He denied doubt and disavowed pressure. He spurned hopelessness and abandoned fear" -- Read more by Chris Jones, CBC ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Prepared by MALIK MERCHANT We have learnt with immense sadness, through an obituary posted in Vineyard Gazette, that Thomas M. Payette, FAIA, renowned Cambridge architect and founder of Payette Associates, died on November 12, 2022, at the age of 90. Raised in East Grand Rapids in Michigan, Tom studied at Michigan State University, where he received a degree in structural engineering. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By MALIK MERCHANT Simerg's series entitled "Books by Ismaili Authors" continues with Rozina Ramji's "Cooking with Mom." We follow the same Q/A format as our earlier presentations of books written by Shamim Murji (Brampton), Mahmoud Hirji (Toronto), Zul Premji (Calgary), Azim Jiwani (Vancouver), Naznin Rahemtulla Hébert (Montreal), Shairoz Lakhani (London, UK), Shelina Shariff Zia (New York), Ali Lakhani (Vancouver), Nizar Sultan ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT The Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Board for the United Kingdom (ITREB, UK) is hosting a virtual panel discussion today, Sunday, November 6, 2022, involving five leading members of the Ismaili Muslim Jamat (community) who have been involved in one way or another in the resettlement process since the expulsion of Asians from Uganda 50 years ago. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By MALIK MERCHANT Simerg's series entitled "Books by Ismaili Authors" continues with Shamim Murji's book "Bloom: A Story of Diversity and Understanding." We follow the same Q/A format as our earlier presentations of books written by Mahmoud Hirji (Toronto), Zul Premji (Calgary), Azim Jiwani (Vancouver), Naznin Rahemtulla Hébert (Montreal), Shairoz Lakhani (London, UK), Shelina Shariff Zia (New York), Ali Lakhani (Vancouver), ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By NABAT PIRANIIsmaili artist Nabat Pirani. Born in Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, I was always surrounded by luscious greenery, red earth and bright blue skies. Immigrating to Canada, the landscapes were also breathtaking with the ocean, snow-capped mountains and green pastures. It was not until my retirement years that I began to paint, with inspiration from my memories of Africa ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/Editor Simerg, Barakah andSimergphotos Simerg's series entitled "Books by Ismaili Authors" continues with Toronto based based Mahmoud Hirji's book "Monkey Tales and Other Short Stories." We follow the same Q/A format as our earlier presentations of books written by Zul Premji (Calgary), Azim Jiwani (Vancouver), Naznin Rahemtulla Hébert (Montreal), Shairoz Lakhani (London, UK), Shelina Shariff Zia (New York), Ali ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Uganda's former dictator, Idi Amin, expelling the 80,000-member Asian community. Vancouver's Salim Rahemtulla, who never set out to be a playwright, is releasing a special play "90 Days" that tells the story of an Ismaili Muslim family's forced exodus from Uganda in 1972. Salim Rahemtulla's father waited until two days left before the deadline ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

"I know welcoming me into your homes every night is not a right; its a privilege. I will work hard with our team to earn and build your trust for that continued privilege. That's my commitment to you. And that is our commitment to you." -- Excerpt from Omar Sachedina's message to CTV viewers, September 5, 2022 ( see link to ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

In a Tweet dated September 4, 2022, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Shariff has expressed his indebtedness to Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, for contributing US $10 mission for relief efforts following the severe flooding in Pakistan. He said on his Twitter page: "Deeply indebted to His Highness the Aga Khan for contribution of $10 million for the flood ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

[Much of the material in this post on the floods in Pakistan is reproduced from reports by Voice of America's Lisa Schlein who is based in Geneva. Her full reports on the floods can be read HERE and HERE -- Ed.] "Pakistan is awash in suffering. The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids -- the relentless impact of epochal ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Voice of America's (VOA) 52 DOCUMENTARY is a new documentary series that connects you with the global community through human interest stories. The compelling films allow you to explore new places via spectacular visuals and brilliant storytelling, empowering you to engage with the world in new ways. To watch previews of the 52 DOCUMENTARY series, click HERE. We are pleased to ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Featured photo above: The Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, the oldest humanities research institute in Canada, on May 20, 2016 conferred an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters upon His Highness the Aga Khan, in recognition of his work to advance, and advocate for, pluralistic societies across the globe. Richard Alway, Praeses of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies congratulates the ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

The latest issue (August-September 2022) of Canada's History magazine, established in 1920 as The Beaver, carries an excellent 8 page article by Ottawa's Dr. Shezan Muhammedi under the title "Sitting on Fire" based on his forthcoming book "Gifts From Amin - Ugandan Asian Refugees in Canada," which is due o be released in September 2022 by the University of Manitoba Press. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Memories of a Ugandan Refugee: Encounters of Hope from Kampala to Vancouver By Jalal Jaffer, Q.C. 336 pp. FriesenPress, 2022 US$ 29.99 (Hardcover), US$ 19.99 (Paperback) and US$ 6.99 (eBook) as listed on the publisher's website FriesenPress; also available at Amazon.ca (Hardcover, C$ 33.70; Paperback, C$ 26.57; Kindle C$ 8.91); and at Indigo.ca (as a Kobo Ebook for C$ 8.99). ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

"We are extremely proud to announce that Samina Baig, with her strong Pakistani team, successfully summited the world's most fascinating and dangerous mountain known as the savage mountain" -- Statement by Samina Baig's Team Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT Publisher/Editor Barakah, Simerg and SimergphotosMountaineer-siblings Samina and Mirza Ali Baig present a memento to Princess Zahra and Prince Rahim at an institutional dinner ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By MALIK MERCHANT Publisher/Editor Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos Over the past week, the media around the world has taken note of an important worldwide study published in the July 14, 2022 issue of The Lancet (see News Release) which says that the consumption of alcohol in any amount carried significant health risks and no benefits to young people. The Lancet is ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By MOBINA MARANI(nee JAMANI) My name is Mobina, and I live in Crystal Beach, a lakefront community in Fort Erie, located some 180 kilometres from Toronto, Canada. I was born in Kampala, Uganda, and developed an interest in art at a very early age. After leaving Uganda, I attended an art school in England where I learned to work with many ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un "Surely we belong to God and to Him we return" -- Holy Qur'an, 2:156 "Life is a great and noble calling, not a mean and grovelling thing to be shuffled through as best as we can but a lofty and exalted destiny." -- Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah, His Highness the Aga Khan III (1877-1957), 48th ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

________________________________________________________ Memories of a Ugandan Refugee: Encounters of Hope from Kampala to Vancouver by Jalal Jaffer, Q.C. 316 pp. FriesenPress US$ 29.99 (Hardback), US$ 19.99 (Paperback) and US$ 6.99 (eBook) as listed at FriesenPress; also available in all formats at Amazon.ca, and as a Kobo eBook at Indigo.ca (CDN $7.99). ________________________________________________________ (We acknowledge, with thanks, the permission of the author Jalal ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Photo: Tom Lappas/Henrico Citizen. Please click on image for article. The nearly 1000 members of the Ismaili Muslim Jamat (community) residing in and around Richmond, Virginia, have a new 12,780 square foot Jamatkhana in Glen Allen, in Henrico County. The official opening of the Jamatkhana took place on May 6, 2022. Glen Allen is 13 kilometres from Richmond, the state capital, and ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

John Halani As thousands of Ugandan-Asian refugees prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of their arrival in Canada later this year after being ousted from Uganda, John Halani will be remembered as the man who helped scores of them resettle in Greater Vancouver, writes award winning journalist and acclaimed author Fabian Dawson in a special column published on May 9, 2022 in ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Ismaili Centre Dubai. Please click on photo for article in the Deseret News Introduced by MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/Editor Simerg, Barakah and Simergphotos, Barakah Having lived in Salt Lake City in 1979-80, I would turn to the award winning Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News for my daily and weekend news. Deseret News, the longest-running news organization in Utah, is a subsidiary of ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

BY KARIMA MAGHRABY (Additional material compiled by Simerg)In his Khamsa, Shab-i Qadr (the Night of Power), the renowned Persian poet Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (d. 1325 CE) tells the story of a saint who made a failed attempt to stay awake until the Laylat al-Qadr. This image is taken from a folio in the Aga Khan Museum collection. Laylat al-Qadr is the ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Humanizing Medicine: Making Health Tangible - Memoirs of Engagement With A Global Development Network by Azim H. Jiwani, MD 300 pp. FriesenPress, US$ 30.99 (Hardback), US$ 24.99 (Paperback) and US$ 7.99 (eBook) all via FriesenPress Also available in all editions at Amazon.ca and Indigo.ca. BOOK REVIEW BY NIZAR MOTANI, PhD Dr. Azim Jiwani's book was a surprise gift from ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/Editor Simerg, Barakah andSimergphotos We recently read Professor Tammy Gaber's new book "Beyond the Divide: A Century of Canadian Mosque Design" and found it to be beautiful and impressive -- its design brings together pictures, text, and architectural drawings in a clean and easy-to-read layout. Her analysis covers a lot of ground, quite literally. Simerg presented a few questions ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/Editor Simerg, Barakah andSimergphotos Simerg's series entitled "Books by Ismaili Authors" continues with Vancouver based Dr. Azim H. Jiwani's book "Humanizing Medicine: Making Health Tangible (Memoirs of Engagement with a Global Development Network)." We follow the same Q/A format as our earlier presentations of books written by Naznin Rahemtulla Hébert, Shairoz Lakhani, Shelina Shariff Zia, Ali Lakhani, Nizar Sultan, ...

Click to view ❯❯❯