Editor’s note: Almost four weeks ago, on Friday September 12, 2014, the Prime Minister of Canada and His Highness the Aga Khan performed the official opening of the Ismaili Centre in Toronto. Simerg is pleased to present a selection of photos from a media kit that was made available to members of the media on the opening day. In addition ...
BY MALIK MERCHANT Editor, Simerg and Simergphotos Happy Ismaili youth pictured at the Park at 10:30 pm after completing their volunteer duties at the Ismaili Centre on the opening day. Photo: Simerg/Malik Merchant. Happiness, happiness – it was all around me as I walked about with enthusiasm to capture the spirit of the jamat on the historic occasion of the ...
BY MALIK MERCHANT Editor, Simerg and Simergphotos Tanzanian Altaf Hirani (centre) with friends I was hoping to be at the new Aga Khan Museum in Toronto well before it opened to the public for the first time at 10:00 am. I wanted to capture the historical moment when the first person made the entry through the museum doors. Alas, I ...
BY MALIK MERCHANT Editor, Members of the media gathered at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre where they were briefed about the sequence of events for the official opening of the Ismaili Centre and Aga Khan Museum. Numbering around 35, they were were shuttled in two buses to the Ismaili Centre across the street for the first opening ceremony. One bus ...
Editor’s note: Mohib Ebrahim, the founding publisher and editor of NanoWisdoms, recently visited the first North American purpose built high profile Ismaili Centre and Jamatkhana located in Burnaby, British Columbia, and came away with a magnificent set of contrasting photos that he took both during day and night times. We celebrate the following official announcement about the formal opening ceremony ...
BY RAHIM KHOJA Head banners forming the Brazilian flag in the Pelourinho district in Salvador, Bahia.Photo: Rahim Khoja Ten years ago I was travelling to Portugal and when I arrived, the Euro Cup was going on. What resulted in my 2 weeks in Portugal was one of the best times of my life. That same year I was in South ...
Editor’s note:Allison Wallace of Australia recently shared with us photos of His Highness the Aga Khan’s visit to the Aga Khan Primary School, Nairobi, (see link at bottom of this page), which she discovered in the collection of her mother, Mrs. Jean Kirk, who passed away earlier this year. Among the photos we published from the album of the school’s ...
Editor’s note: Intrepid globetrotter Muslim Harji of Montreal had a trip of a lifetime when he recently visited Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). Earlier we published a photo essay about his visit to the Ismaili jamatkhana in Rangoon, Burma (Photo Essay: The Ismaili Jamatkhana in Myanmar, With Notes on the Community’s Patriotic Spirit). This second photo essay, ...
BY ALLISON WALLACE Perth, Australia Introduction My mother, Jean Kirk, was born in London in 1928 and died in Tasmania in early January 2014. She lived in London until 1956 when she married my father who had been born in Kenya to English parents, who had settled there in the early 1920’s. Mum trained as a teacher in London and ...
Editor’s note: This post is an amalgamation of selected photos of the Ismaili jamatkhana in Rangoon taken by Muslim Harji of Montreal Canada during his recent visit to Burma (now Myanmar) with photos and text produced in an earlier piece under the title “Burmese Patriotism” on this blog’s companion literary website, . In the coming weeks, Simergphotos will be publishing ...
Note: Please refresh page if your browser displays overlapping photos/text. A collage of photos from Prince Hussain Aga Khan’s “Animal Voyage” with an excerpt from a review by John MacDonald, an Ottawa based freelance photographer. Image: Designed by Simerg. “Animal Voyage” by Prince Hussain Aga Khan, originally available as a paperback, has been re-introduced as a hardback edition. Both Simergphotos.com ...
PHOTOS AND TEXT BY FNDA ARCHITECTURE INC. Special to Simergphotos and Simerg Note: Please refresh page if your browser displays overlapping photos/text. Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe – Exterior shot of the courtyard at night. Photo: FNDA Architecture Inc. Copyright. THE FOUNDATION CEREMONY August 30, 2003 “Today’s ceremony represents a milestone in the history of the Ismaili Muslim Community’s presence in Central ...
“As we all know, Canada is home to a well-established and fast-growing Ismaili community. His Highness has therefore become an increasingly frequent visitor, and always a welcome one.” — Prime Minister Stephen Harper His Highness the Aga Khan and Prime Minister Stephen Harper walk the Hall of Honour at the Parliament of Canada. where His Highness delivered an address to ...
We were informed by Ms. Allison Wallace of Australia that her mother, Mrs. Jean Kirk, who was the principal of the Aga Khan Primary School in Nairobi during 1963 passed away recently. Allison’s note to us was sent in response to a rare collection of photos that she came across at Simerg (SeeMemories of Kenya: Vintage Photos of Imam Sultan ...
“KEEP CLEAN SOUL IN A CLEAN BODY” The message appeared in the Diamond Jubilee Yearbook published in Dar-es-Salaam on 10th August 1946. See cover of special issue following message transcript below. Transcript (unedited) “To My Spiritual children taking part in The Rally Blessings and Welcome – I am sorry my health does not permit me to be with you but ...
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER Thursday, May 15, 2014 The rich history and literary traditions of the Ismaili community in China have been inadequately studied in modern times, and so it was a distinct honour for this website and its sister blog,www.simerg.com, to feature and publish, at the beginning of January 2014, the essay and photographs about the Ismailis in ...
Editor’s note: As we have seen in earlier posts, Muslim Harji’s journeys have taken him far and wide around the world. His photos of Jesusalem, Iran, the Street Foods of India, the Dubai Ismaili Centre (see links below) have captured the imagination of our readers worldwide. In 2006, he visited with his daughter Ayesha the infamous maximum security prison, “Robben ...
An aerial view of the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. The University was chartered as Pakistan’s first private international university in 1983 during the reign of President Zia ul-Haq. Photo: Aga Khan Development Network. When the Charter of the University was first granted in 1983, His Highness the Aga Khan concluded his speech on the occasion with the words, ...
Compiled and Prepared by Abdulmalik Merchant (Publisher-Editor, Simergphotos and Simerg) 1. SUCCESS STORY: THE CONSTITUENTS WHO MAKE IT HAPPEN An emotional and an equally proud and humble moment for Shamsh Kassim-Lakha as he receives the Doctor of Humane Letters from His Highness the Aga Khan for being a torchbearer of the Aga Khan University since its creation in 1983. He ...
INTRODUCED BY ABDULMALIK MERCHANT Publisher-Editor Simergphotos and Simerg NOTE TO ALL READERS: On some browsers, some images may appear as thumb-nails. To resolve this, please refresh page. Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah, His Highness the Aga Khan in full regalia A previous piece about a 1936 Ismaili journal called Rahe Rast (see link below) resulted in an outpouring of affection for ...
Introduced by Malik Merchant Publisher-Editor, Simergphotos and Simerg Born in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom, Martin Bloomfield, a designer photographer and an expert in 3D animation has travelled the world over, and now lives with his family in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Before leaving for Africa in 2012, Bloomfield spent some time in Ottawa where he took a series of powerful and stunning ...
INTRODUCTION: Sussex Drive with some other connecting streets in the National Capital Region, makes up what is known as the Confederation Boulevard or the “ceremonial and discovery route”. In order to connect these streets visually, urban designers employed the use of consistent street paving (using pink Canadian granite), lamp posts adorned with bronze maple leaves, and distinctive street furniture. Along ...
23 November, 1963 : President Kennedy’s wife and daughter kneel at the casket as the President’s body lies in state in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building. Photo credit: Abbie Rowe, National Park Service / John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library, Boston. On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed ...
Armed with a special magnifying lens, some surgical equipment and plenty of courage and faith, Badrudin Kurwa set out on a mission to restore sight to people blinded by cataracts in a remote corner of the world – Chitral in Northern Pakistan. His mission was part of the Time and Knowledge Nazrana (gift) that thousands of Ismailis around the world ...
Editor’s note: A month ago, the day following the opening of the new Ottawa Jamatkhana located at 3225 Conroy Road, K1G 3N4, on Friday July 19, 2013, we published a photo essay – please click Ismaili Muslims Open a Beautiful New Jamatkhana in Canada’s Capital – which summarized the opening day’s events as well as provided a collection of photos ...
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s) received his first revelation from Allah through Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) in the Hira cave which is on Jabl al Nur (Mount of Light) shown in this photo. The peak is visible from a great distance. The Prophet used to climb this mountain often even before receiving his fist revelation from Allah. A photo of Cave of Hira ...
BY MALIK MERCHANT Publisher-Editor,www.simergphotos.com andwww.simerg.com Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is a niche wherein is a lamp — the lamp is in a glass, the glass as it were a glittering star — lit from a blessed olive tree, neither eastern nor western, whose oil almost lights up, though fire ...
Compiled by Malik Merchant (Publisher-Editor, Simergphotos) A UNIQUE PORTRAIT OF MAWLANA HAZAR IMAM, HIS HIGHNESS THE AGA KHAN A portrait of the new 49th Ismaili Imam taken shortly after he succeeded his late grandfather to the throne of Imamat on July 11, 1957 at the age of twenty. A framed portrait of the late 48th Imam who served the community ...
Text and photos by Malik Merchant Thousands of Ismailis gathered at the Toronto International Centre on Sunday June 30, 2013 to celebrate His Highness the Aga Khan’s ascension to the throne of Imamat. Mawlana Hazar Imam, as His Highness is affectionately known to his Ismaili followers, is the direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s) and became 49th hereditary Ismaili ...
A traditional custom around Canada Day is the launch of Storytime at Rideau Hall, the residence of the Governor General of Canada, which is located just across from the Prime Minister’s home on Sussex Drive in Ottawa. This year’s Storytime was launched by Their Excellencies the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and Mrs. Sharon Johnston, along with ...
Qayl Azeem Maherali pictured as an astronaut when he was 6. Photo: Qayl’s Collection © Copyright. The picture above was taken three years ago. I am 9 years old now. I want to be an astronaut and an international soccer player. I have been interested in space all my life – well if you asked my dad, he would say ...
Text by: Gulshan Chunara Photos by: Salina Hasan The Pivotal Role of the 46th Ismaili Imam, Shah Hasan Ali Shah, Aga Khan I This vintage engraving depicts the portrait of Aga Khan I (1804 – 1881), the 46th Imam of the Nizari Shia Ismaili Ismaili Muslims. © iStockphoto.com Amir Pir, a minor town with indefinite boundaries is located in the ...
From a distant, Waterloo Square, 75 King Street in Waterloo, Canada, site of the World Partnership Walk for the past 3 years. Several hundred people from the surrounding cities of Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo converge here to raise funds for Aga Khan Foundation Canada which supports numerous projects around the world. A life-size poster explaining the Walk’s objective A tent with ...
Post compiled by Malik Merchant, Editor, Simergphotos.com and Simerg.com Introduction: Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday before May 25, in honour of Queen Victoria’s birthday. Queen Victoria was born on May 24, 1819. Following the death of three uncles and her father, she became Queen of the United Kingdom on June 20, 1837 ...
His Highness the Aga Khan and his oldest son Prince Rahim touring the Sosuco sugar factory in Banfora, Burkina Faso. – Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte Date and place of birth: October 12, 1971, Geneva, Switzerland. Relationship to His Highness the Aga Khan, 49th Ismaili Imam: Prince Rahim Aga Khan is His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan’s second of four children, the ...
Introduced by Malik Merchant Publisher-Editor, Simergphotos.com and Simerg.com After viewing a collection of Muslim Harjis’s photos of India’s street foods, I was not surprised to read in Via Rail’s latest issue of Destinations magazine that Vikram Vij, the man behind Vancouver’s iconic formal dining restaurant Vij’s, travels to India every year and spends a month in the country discovering the ...
Compiled by Malik Merchant, Editor Customs of welcoming a new baby vary around the world. This photo essay looks at the cultural traditions around birth in a rural community in Indonesia (pink shade, map below), the world’s largest Muslim country with a population of 204,847,000 or 12.7% of the world’s Muslim population of 1.6 billion. Map credit: United Nations. ~~~~. ...
In the alternation of night and day, and what God has created in the heavens and the earth — surely there are signs for a godfearing people — Holy Qur’an, 10:6 The Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) on EUMETSAT’s Meteosat-9 captured this view of Earth from geosynchronous orbit. The image shows how sunlight fell on the Earth on ...
Compiled by Malik Merchant Editor, Simergphotos.com and Simerg.com THE EVERLIVING DIVINE INSTITUTION OF IMAMAT INTRODUCTION: Clause G of the “Preamble of the Ismaili Constitution” ordained on December 13, 1986 by the 49th and current Ismaili Imam, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, states: Mawlana Hazar Imam Shah Karim al Hussaini, His Highness Prince Aga Khan, in direct lineal descent from ...
China’s Hui Muslims are unique in many respects. The country’s second-largest ethnic minority share linguistic and cultural ties with the majority in China that have allowed them to practice their religion with less interference and fewer restrictions than others, like Uighur Muslims and Tibetans. Outside of China, the Hui practice of installing women as the head of female-only mosques has ...
