Simerg

A Muslim offering prayers under the "Rock" where Abraham brought his son Ishmael for sacrifice. Photo: Muslim Harji, Montreal, PQ. Copyright. By MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor Simerg, Barakah, and Simergphotos) When you have not missed a day in Jamatkhana attendance over the past several years, how do you cope with sudden and unforeseen closures of your favourite Jamatkhana? We live in difficult circumstances. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

The Lost Archive by Marina Rustown, published on January 14, 2020 by the Princeton University Press; Pages: 624; Size: 7 x 10 in. Illus: 83 color + 17 b/w illus. 4 maps. 4c throughout. To purchase Hardopy, Kindle or Kobo versions see links at bottom of this page. Very recently this website reproduced An interview with authors of Lost Maps of the ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Abida Parveen performing in Oslo, Norway. Photo licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution 2.0 Generic On Saturday, February 29, 2020, Abida Parveen performed in Melbourne, Australia, in a rare appearance outside Pakistan. On the day of her performance she gave an interview to Andrew Ford, host of ABC Australia's "The Music Show." In discussing shades of Sufi music (Kafi) towards the end of ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Please click: The Cricketer: "Performance of the Day" - Diana Baig packs a punch to leave West Indies in PiecesDiana Baig celebrates with her team mates as she takes a wicket. Please click on photo to read article in "The Cricketer." _____________ Video: Interview with amazing Diana Baig _____________ Profile: Diana Baig (adapted from Wikipedia) Diana Baig (born 15 October 1995) ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Please click on photo to read Ben Eltahm's excellent piece in The Guardian Abida Parveen to perform February 29, 2020 at Melbourne's Hamer Hall There are few artists who are spoken about with the same rapturous fervour as Abida Parveen. Perhaps only her spiritual brother, the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, has inspired the same level of devotion among fans. Parveen has ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Mahebub Rupani (1941 - 2020) pictured with his wife, Dolatkhanu, in 2014. Photo: Mahebub Rupani Family Collection. With great sadness, the family of Mahebub Mohamed Juma Rupani announces his passing on January 18, 2020, at the age of 79 after a sudden illness while visiting his relatives in Rajkot, India. The funeral and zyarat ceremonies for Mahebub took place in Ottawa, Canada, ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

There are 17 maps in the Fatimid manuscript Book of Curiosities, 14 of which are completely unique to this manuscript. Perhaps the most remarkable is this rectangular map of the world. This the only such map to be dated before the renaissance that we know to have survived. "The Book of Curiosities is one of the greatest achievements of medieval map-making; it ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By MALIK MERCHANT Please click on photo below to view/download a high resolution imageA life-size depiction of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Mawlana Hazar Imam is depicted with other Honorary Canadian Citizens in a special section on the floor dedicated to "Turning Points of Humanity. The caption in ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) In its issue dated October 23, 2019, the Editor-in-Chief of "The Muslim Link" published a comprehensive list of Muslims who were elected in the Canadian Federal Election that was held on October 21, 2019. In compiling the names and their profiles with some interesting facts as well as links to their social-media ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Dar es Salaam's Darkhana Jamatkhana pictured on September 3, 2019 following the partial collapse of the roof. In September, 2019, we showed some horrific photos of the collapsed roof at Dar es Salaam's Ismaili Darkhana Jamatkhana (see photo, above). Luckily, there was no congregational prayer underway at the time the incident took place; three individuals who were present at the site were ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

The twelve months of the Muslim calendar and major Muslim festivals. Image: Simerg. Mawlid or Miladun Nabi is the observance of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him). It is celebrated on the 12th day of Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar (see image, above). In 2019, the Mawlid will be commemorated by Muslims around ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

General view of the Imam Hussein Mosque in Karbala, Iraq. The photo was taken between September 26 and October 12, 1932. Photo: Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection / Library of Congress, Washingon D.C. Mawlana Hazar Imam Shah Karim al Hussaini, His Highness the Aga Khan, is the 49th Hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, and directly descended from ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

...Now no one cares, no paint on the walls. Who can save this lovely heritage? So sad to see the weeping walls... A view of the Indian Ocean from the balcony of the Jamatkhana, overlooking the building's rooftop. Photo: Shariffa Keshavjee, Nairobi, Kenya. Taking Example of Baltit Fort, the Bagamoyo Jamatkhana Can be Converted to a Museum Chronicling Ismaili Settlement in ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Awarded by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the Oslo Forum Peacewriter Prize is an essay competition seeking bold and innovative responses to today's peacemaking challenges. The following paper by Aly Verjee is the second winner of the Peacewriter Prize. Antonio Achille, working with the Military Liaison Office of the U.N. Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, looks through binoculars during ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Sultan Jessa with Her Excellency Adrianne Clarkson, the former Governor General of Canada, at the event in 2005 marking the presentation to him of Canada's highest honour, the Order of Canada. Photo: Sultan Jessa Collection, Montreal. By MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Simerg,Barakah and Simergphotos) On August 15, 2019 at 1:15 PM, I received an article for publication from my beloved friend Sultan Jessa ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

The following piece has been compiled and adapted from material supplied by the Aga Khan Museum; it incorporates notes by Dr. Ulrike al-Khamis, the Museum's Director of Collections and Public Programs. From Mecca to TorontoKa'ba in Mecca. Photo: Aga Khan Museum; Toronto's Aga Khan Museum. Photo. Rian Dewji. On display for the first time in Toronto is a 100-year-old silk fragment ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

...Whereas Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of the Sacrifice, is an Islamic holiday which honors Abraham's symbolic sacrifice of his son to God, as referenced in the Quran, Old Testament, and New Testament...Whereas Islam is one of the world's major religions, sharing the belief in one God and one humanity.... Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor Simerg,Barakah and Simergphotos) For 2019, Muslims ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

To meet the challenge that the global ecological crisis presents today, there is an urgent need to draw on humanity's philosophical and spiritual repertoire - because it teaches us valuable lessons on the importance of taking care of life in all its forms. Senegalese philosopher Souleymane Bachir Diagne draws on this source here, by blending the philosophical novel of a twelfth-century ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

A REFLECTION BY MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Simerg,Barakah and Simergphotos AND proud student of Mr. Salim Dawood) Those who did their primary education in the mid 1960's at Dar es Salaam's Aga Khan Boys Primary School would remember Mr. Salim Dawood along with other teachers such as the late Mrs. Parin Shariff, Mr. Allana, Mr. Gulamhussein, Ms. Allibhai and others. I've specifically ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

"The ethics of a Da'i are unimpeachable and he practices what he preaches. The Da'i constantly pursues a better comprehension of universal truth by engaging with knowledgeable people, sharing knowledge with them and also learning from them. In our time, this would mean engaging with contemporary scientific, cultural, and religious understandings produced around the world." By KARIM H. KARIM Many people ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By ABDULMALIK MERCHANT Publisher-Editor, Simerg,Barakah and Simergphotos Free Festivals at Toronto's Aga Khan Museum in summer 2019. The festival series kicks off with Rythms of Canada on June 30 (2-11 PM) and July 1 (2-6 PM). The museum's address is 77 Wynford Drive. Photo: Simerg/Malik Merchant. I had hoped to celebrate July 1, Canada Day, for the first time in Toronto ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

TORONTO RAPTORS ARE KINGS OF BASKETBALL Please click on the following links for articles on Sports Illustrated and The Washington Post SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: "These are the spoils that come with winning a championship. It's not just money, it's not just fame. It's immortality. This Raptors group, from top to bottom, will be remembered forever, both for helping to topple a dynasty ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

NORTH YORK'S JURASSIC PARK! A NEW addition to the Raptors Legendary Jurassic Park! The Aga Khan Museum and the Aga Khan Park on 77 Wynford Drive in Toronto's North York region, will be showing Game 4 of the NBA finals between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors on its front wall on Friday June 4th; tip off 9 P.M. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

"A Muslim must play an active role in helping his family and the brotherhood of believers. The object is not to achieve status, wealth and power, but to contribute to society's overall development. This implies moral responsibility to help the weaker, less fortunate members." -- His Highness the Aga Khan, Toronto, May 14, 1987. [1] EID MUBARAK A new Moon occurs ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By ABDULMALIK MERCHANT Publisher-Editor, Simerg,Barakah and Simergphotos The Toronto Raptors lapel pin that I was presented with as I arrived at Section 307 to watch the 7th and final playoff game between the Raptors and 76ers. Photo: Malik Merchant. No one, not even NBA players, could recall a shot in any NBA seventh playoff game in the dying second, such as ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Recognition of the Imam By FIDAI KHURASANI He is always presenta witness with his followers;but who has seen his beautyexcept the blessed? He who is the cupbearer ofthe fount of paradiseis aware altogether ofthe hearts of his followers He is the Imam of the Timethe guide and comforterthe protector of his followerswhether young or old Like the sun in the skyhe ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Finding Reveals Connection Between Gaelic Ireland and Islamic Worlds The Avicenna Fragment is an Irish translation of parts of the opening chapters on the physiology of the jaws, the nose and the back in the 'Canon of Medicine' by the Persian physician Ibn Sina (980-1037), better known as Avicenna, who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians in the ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

By NURIN MERCHANT Nurin Merchant with her bunny, Pistachio. "I encourage everyone to travel and visit the forest, for they are amazing...there will be fewer and fewer in the future. That's what I say to myself when I take every photograph...In my photographs, I let the animals and trees speak for themselves and hope other people will see the beauty I ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

Introduced by Abdulmalik Merchant (Publisher-Editor, Simerg,BarakahandSimergphotos) In a piece for "On the Brain,"[1] a newsletter published by the Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute, the Chairman and President of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University and a former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Joseph A. Califano, Jr., writes: "In his monumental study of history, the brilliant ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

"It is my sad duty to inform you of the passing away of our colleague Kutub Kassam. He served IIS [the Institute of Ismaili Studies] and the Jamat most faithfully for more than thirty years. May his soul rest in peace" -- Dr. Farhad Daftary, Director, IIS, London, England, March 25, 2019. By ABDULMALIK MERCHANT Publisher-Editor, Simerg,Barakah and Simergphotos It is ...

Click to view ❯❯❯