"Established in 1967 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Order of Canada is the cornerstone of the Canadian Honours System, and recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. The Order recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society. Their contributions are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference ...
Compiled and written by Malik Merchant Editor-Publisher, Simerg Sultan Jessa with his wife, Rosila, pictured during their last visit to Europe. Photo: Sultan Jessa Collection, Montreal. Sultan Jessa and his wife Rosila invited and entertained me at their home near Montreal for a full-day, and I returned for Ottawa with boundless energy for a number of reasons. I was captivated with ...
MAWLANA HAZAR IMAM ON HAZRAT ALI "This is a time of new freedoms, but it is also one in which new choices must be made wisely. In exercising freedom and making choices, our institutions must be guided, as they have been in the past, by the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace of Allah be upon him), and the tradition of ...
"...When she was still in her early to mid-twenties, she was involved in a remarkable rescue operation involving her best friend's two children who had been forcibly abducted from Singapore to Karachi. Risking her own life, she made her way to Karachi, located the boys and delivered them safely to their uncle's home..." -- 1950's "...As is so often the case ...
BY KHURSHID MAKANI Noorunisa Maherali, before she died. Mrs. Noorunisa Maherali, who passed away peacefully on May 25, 2015 in Singapore, was the youngest child and daughter of Mr. Val Mohammad Singapurwala, a wealthy ghee merchant of the Camel brand that was highly renowned in Singapore and Malaysia. She was also the oldest daughter-in-law of Mr. Nazarali Rahim Makani, a freedom ...
"His Highness has used his own faith background to speak directly to the goodness of all people." -- President Alan Rock, University of Ottawa, January 13, 2012. Photo: University of Ottawa. Copyright. For over 60 years the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), under the leadership of His Highness the Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Ismailis in direct lineal ...
"...In the Ismaili tradition, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān is the most famous author...He debated this Ḥanafī jurist about ijtihād and thought that he'd won, and then he heard afterwards that the man had written a fascicle still arguing his point against al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān. So then he thought: I really need to write a serious refutation to put an end to this..." -- Professor ...
Editor's note: We are indebted to the New York University Press for permitting us to reproduce from its website, , the complete and original interview on the Fatimid jurist al-Qāḍī al-Nu'mān' that was conducted by M. Lynx Qualey, an Egyptian based blogger of Arabic literature, with Professor Devin J. Stewart of Emory College in Atlanta, Georgia. al-Qāḍī al-Nu'mān wrote extensively on ...
By Abdulmalek Merchant Publisher-Editor, A greeting and prayer for my parents from an Ismaili student in Vancouver. On auspicious occasions such as Navroz, Imamat Day and Salgirah a team of volunteers sets out to deliver trays of delicious food around the Greater Vancouver area to the aged and the sick who cannot attend the jamati functions due to ill-health and ...
Equinox on a Spinning Earth. Image Credit: NASA, Meteosat, Robert Simmon. Please click to watch a 12 second time-lapse video (see explanation below). When does the line between day and night become vertical? In 2016, the spring equinox in the Northern hemisphere ( it is the start of autumn in the Southern hemisphere) comes on March 20 at 4:30 UTC (March ...
His Highness the Aga Khan, Mawlana Hazar Imam signs the visitor's book upon his arrival in Nairobi, Kenya on March 16, 2016. Looking on are (l to r) Aga Khan Ismaili Council Vice-President Shamira Dostmohamed, AKDN Resident Representative Aziz Bhaloo, Aga Khan Ismaili Council President Nawaaz Gulam and Kenya's Chairman of the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee, Hon Ndung'u Gethenj. Photo ...
Editor's note: On Sunday, March 6, 2016, Mrs. Nancy Reagan, who served at the White House as the First Lady during the term of her husband's Presidential reign from 1981 until 1989, died of congestive heart failure at the age of 94 at her home in Los Angeles. Newlyweds Ronald and Nancy Reagan, March 4, 1952. The Former First Lady, who ...
In February 2015, divers off the coast of Caesarea spotted by chance a group of gold coins lying on the seabed. They immediately alerted marine archaeologists of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who conducted a salvage excavation at the site and recovered more than 2,580 Fatimid coins of pure (24 karat) gold weighing a total of 7.5 kg. Please click on ...
Editor's note: Shortly after the 9/11 attacks in the USA in 2001 which killed almost 3000 people in an instant, numerous articles began to appear in the media around the world that drew parallels between the actions of Al-Qaeda and the warfare activity of the Ismailis during the 12th and 13th centuries that over time grew into fantastic legendary tales. In ...
Please click on the following image to zoom on an excellent PDF version of the photo Please click on image to view PDF file. Copyright Simerg/Abdul M. Ismaily Family Collection. Simerg was thrilled and privileged to recently publish on its sister photoblog never-before-seen photos of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, which were captured by Abdul M. Ismaily (1926-1981) ...
Alaa Youssef, spokesperson for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said that the President met with Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, on Saturday, February 20, 2016, and hailed the positive role played by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) which he considered as an example of non-governmental organizations contributing to development in the society and creating jobs. President Sisi also ...
His Highness the Aga Khan being greeted by Mr. Michael Curtis of the Nation Group. Photo: Azhar Chaudhry. Sultan Jessa Collection. Mr. Michael Curtis, a British Fleet Street editor and executive, was introduced to Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, just as he had been proclaimed the 49th Ismaili Imam by his grandfather, Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah, His Highness ...
PLEASE CLICK: Exclusive: Photos of Mawlana Hazar Imam's 1961 Visit to Hunza by the Late Abdul M. Ismaily ("Papa Jaan") Photo: Abdul M. Ismaily. Copyright. Please click on image for more photos. Editor's Note: Over the coming weeks Simergphotos, the sister blog of this literary website, will be publishing historical photos of His Highness the Aga Khan that were captured by ...
PLEASE CLICK:Photos of Visits by Mawlana Hazar Imam and Prince Aly Khan to Mozambique in the late 1950's Please click image for more photos ~~~~~ Forthcoming Photo Essays at Simergphotos EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS BY PAPA JAN: HUNZA AND UGANDA (from Muslim Harji Collection, to be published week of Monday, February 8, 2016) Please click on photos for enlargement Hunza. Photo by Papa ...
In remarks made at an International Conference under the theme "Supporting Syria and the Region Conference", in London, England, Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, today called for the establishment of 'islands of stability' in war-ravaged Syria that could provide areas of relative safety in the midst of conflict. The conference, co-hosted by Germany, Kuwait, Norway, the United Kingdom ...
QUOTES 1. IMAM - A COSMIC NECESSITY Imam is the Threshold through which God and the creatures communicate; Imam is a Cosmic Necessity and the earth cannot be devoid of an Imam - without an Imam the earth and the universe would crumble; The Imam is the Proof, the Manifestation and the Organ of God and he is the Means by ...
A note to our readers: Publication of new pieces on Simerg and Simergphotos will resume after February 2, 2016. Lady Volunteers of Hunza outside the bangalow of Mawlana Hazar Imam. Readers of , the sister publication of this literary website, will later this week have a chance to view a collection of photos of His Highness the Aga Khan, Mawlana Hazar ...
"Throw my ashes where you will but lest you err know this I want children's laughter in my dead ears" (Salim Ebrahim, from Epigrams I) Salim e-a Ebrahim It is with deep sadness that we announce the recent passing in Pakistan of Mr. Salim-el-azhar Ebrahim, an epigrammatist, poet, essayist and a friend to Simerg. A prolific and fearless writer, he was ...
"The Qur'an refers very often to nature as a reflection of Allah's power of creation, and it says, look at the mountains, the rivers, the trees, the flowers, as evidence of Allah's love for the people whom He has created. Today, I look at the environment and I say to you, I believe Allah is smiling upon you, and may His ...
BY SHELLYZA SAJWANI May little steps of kindness accumulate to become miles May obstacles crumble in sight of our smiles May praise and success be seen as gifts May we appreciate diversity, not let it cause rifts May the blue sky be appreciated before the gray May our pride never rise, May humility always stay May gratitude become second-nature, and knowledge ...
PREPARED AND COMPILED BY ABDULMALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor and ) As part of his famous Apostolic Journey to France in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI, on September 13, paid a visit to the "Institut De France" in Paris. The Pope, who had been elected as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in 2005, was presented with a gold medal by the ...
Considered the 5th coldest capital city in the world, with winter temperatures dipping to -25C and below, Ottawa's honourable spot can be cast aside for a while with Canada's capital seeing temperatures climbing to an amazing (+)16°C at 1:00 pm on December 24, 2015. Please click Photos of the Day: One of World's Coldest Capitals, Ottawa eh, on Christmas Eve 2015. ...
Mawlid or Miladun Nabi is the observance of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, and is celebrated on the 12th day of Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar. With the Islamic lunar calendar consisting of 354 days over a 12 month period, this celebration occurred earlier in 2015 during the first week in January, and will be commemorated ...
Partnership for Change BY SHARIFFA KESHAVJEE The sacred space is set The energy is invoked The earth's ochre red Makes a path through the green. Reflected in the Ismaili and Uganda flag The logo of the university Radiating, rippling outwards Our world of rapid change Meets in Uganda to break the ground Nakawa is chosen to propel the University Hospital To ...
Anand BY SHARIFFA KESHAVJEE Oft I sing Anand Anand Lip service alone stirs Not the heart to joy Enshrined in us all Is the primordial joy Who will awaken it ? Come ye Gardner of The soul awaken in me Open the door of joy Lift the veil so I may see The joy of perfection In each cell the miracle ...
Major excavation activities have been underway for the past few years resulting in interesting archaeological discoveries. Here we see the legendary water basin which filled itself up by collecting rainwater and melting snow from channels and canals on the mountains. Photo: Muslim Harji, Montreal, PQ, Canada. © Copyright. PULLING BACK THE SILK CURTAIN "The Nizari [Ismailis] excelled in the fields of ...
His Highness the Aga Khan is greeted by Justin Trudeau as he arrives in Ottawa, Canada, to celebrate his Golden Jubilee in 2008. At that time, Mr. Trudeau was a Member of Parliament in his riding in the Province of Quebec. He won the Liberal leadership in 2011, and after winning the recent Federal Elections held in October, he was sworn ...
June 5, 2008: His Highness the Aga Khan received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is seen speaking to fellow honorary degree recipient British author J.K. Rowling who received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. Photo Credit: Akdn.org His Highness the Aga Khan shared his decades long experience as the 49th hereditary Imam of ...
Excerpts from a rare White House Oval Office address delivered by President Barack Obama on Sunday, December 6, 2015. "the vast majority of terrorist victims around the world are Muslim. If we're to succeed in defeating terrorism we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies, rather than push them away through suspicion and hate...just as it is the ...
BY DELIA CORTESE Please click on this night time NASA image of the Nile for Delia Cortese's article on the Fatimids Please read the PDF version of this article in History Compass at the Wiley Online Library by clicking on the above image or . Abstract (from History Compass): The Fatimids have been consistently studied as powerful contenders in the commercial ...
BY THE LATE JOHN FEENEY "When the Nile reached its peak, the golden parasol was unfurled, trumpets sounded, and the caliph, mounted and clothed in sapphires and emeralds, emerged to the wonderment of his subjects...it was difficult for many spectators to catch even a brief glimpse of the passing caliph. But the very act of seeing him, it was believed, conveyed ...
"When I leave this evening I would like that you should remember two things. One, that I will take with me in my heart the remembrance of each and everyone of you, the face of each and everyone of you. Secondly, that my love for my Jamat is a lot stronger than yours can ever be for me and I would ...
Om Habibeh, Mata Salamat, the Begum Aga Khan (1906-2000) at the Hajj in 1954. According to the footage she was accompanied by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan (Mohammad Ali Bogra). Click on image below to watch the rare video Date posted:November 26, 2015 ____________Advertisements ...
BY HAKIM VALI MOHAMMAD SURANI A folio from a manuscript of Ginan Vaek Moto of Pir Shams. Ms. KM 125, 463 folios, 200 x 160 mm; Copied in 1897 Samvat/1841 by Dahio Surijiani. Credit: The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, The ginanic literature of the Ismailis emerged when Ismaili Pirs (missionaries) came to India to spread the teachings of Islam ...
