Nairobi, Kenya, 12 August 2020 - Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Limited (DTB) has signed an agreement for a US$ 50 million loan with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to support its borrowers who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The funds are being provided under IFC's global US$ ...
THEFEDERALIST.COM -- Sweden has an intact economy, a citizenry with greater immunity to COVID-19, and a death rate lower than Italy's -- all with no lockdown. From the start, the Swedish government repeatedly made it crystal clear that many people would die. Nevertheless, as the pandemic struck what Sweden didn't do is reflexively dive into a full-lockdown scenario. Instead, they allowed life to go continue as ordinarily as possible. Stores remained open. Restaurants remained open. Most importantly, schools remained open as well. The state only banned public gatherings of more than 50 people. And now Sweden is now likely on her way to immunity. By every measurable index, Sweden came out ...
SUBSTACK.COM -- In the United States, we are inundated with tales of COVID-19 doom and gloom.The mainstream narrative is rife with hopelessness. However, there's one country they don't want to talk about -- Sweden. And for good reason. Sweden debunks the hysteria. In Sweden, there's no masks, no lockdown, no vaccine, and most importantly, no problem. In August, Sweden has registered just one coronavirus death! Similarly in the hospitals: COVID-19 is hardly registering as a blip on the radar. Sweden reported only 4 new COVID-19 patients in their ICUs in August. It doesn't take a math whiz to realize the epidemic appears to have been wrapped up in Sweden for months. Life has largely returned to normal in Sweden, and without the economy-destroying ...
[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- SAFEGRAPH.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 2007: "But as a wise observer once said, it's not so much what we don't know that hurts us, but also all those things that we are sure we know -- but which are just not so."] ARTICLE: Peter Thiel's favorite interview question -- "What important truth do very few people agree with you on?" (or, more simply: "what heretical view you have?") -- exposes that most people hold mainstream views which they just think are heretical. A good answer sparks a unique view of the world and shows you: 1) think independantly; 2) are open-minded, and 3) brave enough to discuss unpopular opinions. However, an answer with a conventional view suggests you: 1) are not unaware your view is mainstream; 2) don't have many original thoughts; 3) are afraid to discuss your original thoughts. As Thiel says in his book "Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius." One learns quickly in life ...
India -- Since 1999, with endorsement from the UN General Assembly, the 12th of August has been celebrated every year as International Youth Day. This day gives us the opportunity to celebrate the voices, actions, and impactful initiatives of our youth, and recognize their role in shaping our social, economic, and political institutions. The theme of this year's International Youth Day ...
Aaasman Se Barsa Pani (Rain showers fell from the sky) is a melodious and happy geet produced by the Fidai Family as part of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. Rajabali Fidai and ...
Elsevier has announced a new book to be released on October 1, 2020, edited by Professor Amir Kassam and Dr. Laila Kassam entitled: Rethinking Food and Agriculture: New Ways Forward. Given ...
The Ismaili is pleased to present "The Birds," a multilingual song composed, produced, and performed by senior members of the Global Jamat. It is inspired by Farid ud-Din Attar's Persian poem "Conference of the Birds," in which a group of birds join together and undertake a challenging journey to seek the court of their king. ...
Professor Mansoor Saleh of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi explains the partnership with Roche Pharmaceuticals Kenya, as both institutions participate in a global clinical trial for potential treatment of Covid-19 associated pneumonia. ...
Zawahir Noorally (now, Zawahir Moir) prepared a catalogue of 114 Khojki manuscripts in 1971. The manuscripts catalogued by her were then under the custody of the Ismailia Association for Pakistan (now; ...
Global -- A group of young students from the Middle East Jamat had the chance to visit a series of architectural works and explore how the study of architecture can help to better understand the beliefs, values, technology, and history of various civilizations. At the presentation ceremony for the 14th cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture on 13 September ...
Global -- The Ismaili is pleased to present The Birds, a multilingual song composed, produced, and performed by senior members of the Global Jamat. It is inspired by Farid ud-Din Attar's Persian poem Conference of the Birds, in which a group of birds join together and undertake a challenging journey to seek the court of their king. ...
Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the official opening of the Kampala Serena Hotel, Kampala, Uganda, 10 November 2006. Read full speech: ...
Looking for ideas for your next arts-and-crafts adventure? The Museum's Collection is a "fountain" of inspiration. Using one of the grandest artifacts in our main gallery as a muse, construct your own pan flute from easy-to-find materials. Watch this video for the instructions! Bringing online Museum experiences to you is part of our mission to connect cultures and promote understanding between peoples. To ...
Taqsim on ducal, Imrpovisation by Basel Rajoub ...
Naigino Martha is deaf. She lives with her sister about 30km outside of the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Martha, like many others, works as a casual labourer at a factory on the outskirts of the city. She has not been able to work since lockdown began. COVID-19 and the resultant restrictions have made her life very difficult. On 31 March, the Ugandan ...
Omid Safi is Director of the Duke Islamic Studies Center, where he serves as a professor of Islamic Studies. Safi is an award-winning teacher at Duke University, University of North Carolina, and Colgate University. He is also an author. Safi discusses "Love and Justice in a World of Suffering: An American Muslim Perspective Towards Healing and Liberation." ...
In her overview of female spirituality in Islam, Dr. Dakake shares anecdotes from female spiritual masters and women aspirants through history. Then, she takes questions from the audience on the topic. This lecture was part of a two-day event: Intellectuality and Spirituality in the Islamic TraditionA Prelude to the Perennial Philosophy, held at The George Washington University. ...
AMERICANMIND.ORG -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 2006: "How can we inspire people to reach beyond rampant materialism, self-indulgent individualism, and *unprincipled relativism?*"] ARTICLE: The left have been the main proponents of scientism and moral relativism for much of the recent past. Scientific knowledge treated as gospel and non-scientific knowledge is considered oxymoronic so knowledge that can't be verified with science can't have a truth value and questions like morality or the meaning of life are just personal preferences with no objective answers. This view immediately gives rise to moral relativism and nihilism. But most people do have at least an intuitive sense of morality, something beyond current societal norms. Our conscience hurts when we do something that we sense to be immoral -- even when we try to rationalize its morality. For a group that doesn't believe "good" and "evil" can be defined objectively ...
EVIEMAGAZINE.COM -- Slavery has existed for most (if not all) of human history, everywhere in the world. Contrary to popular belief, slavery was not "invented by the white man." While the Transatlantic slave trade, by white Europeans, lasted three centuries, the Arab Trans-Saharan slave trade lasted for nearly 14 centuries. African kings, chiefs, and merchants abducted their own people (or, more often, those of enemy tribes) to sell to European or Arab slave traders. And part of American history, which many evade, is that black slaveholding was widespread in America. According to economic historian Stanley Engerman, "In Charleston about 42% of free blacks owned slaves in 1850, and about 64%of these slaveholders were women." One of the most successful plantation owners was William Ellison, Jr, a former black slate. Ellison owned 63 black slaves, making him the largest of the 171 black slaveholders in ...
Mawlana Hazar Imam and Begum Salimah pictured during their brief visit to Jinja on February 27, 1972, a few months before the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin issued an order for Asians to leave Uganda. Pictured at right is the Honorary Secretary of the Aga Khan Provincial Council for Jinja, Sadrudin M. Mitha. Partially visible, between Mawlana Hazar Imam and Begum Salimah, is ...
The Master Musicians of the Aga Khan Music Initiative is a collective of musicians who create new music inspired by cultural heritage of the Middle East and Mediterranean Basin, South Asia, Central Asia, West Africa, and China. These master musicians link countries and continents, present and past and bring to life a new body of music that is seamless and exuberantly original. ...
Global -- In the second round of the USA National High School Senior Online Rapid Chess Tournament, chess prodigy Danial Asaria hovered over the resign button on his computer screen. He describes the moment as being "completely dead lost." However, since this was his final chess tournament as a high school student, he did not want to regret what could have ...
Ismaili Digest Exclusive for July 2020 -- Each month enjoy the most popular new articles and videos viewed by the Jamat from over 36 of the best Ismaili websites with just one click! 'Most popular' means most viewed post(s) on each website (excluding duplicate postings, Event Alerts and COVID-19 advice) without social media influence. NOTE: Posts are randomly ordered.
Ginanguru is hosting the 4th Episode of the Virtual Qasida & Ginan Mehfil tomorrow, Sunday, August 9, 2020. Episodes 1 through 3 have been hosted over the past few months as ...
GOOGLE.COM -- Do not rejoice at another's fall; for you know not what life has in store for you. ~~ Do not let your heart know regret for the past; for so you will not have time to occupy yourself in the future. ~~ Do not say what you fear will be disproved. ~~ The provident never puts off until tomorrow what he could do today. ~~ Whoever mounts the horse of obstinacy, asks for trouble. ~~ Shun the society of those whose talk of another is of one vicious: for every companion of theirs there is a share. ~~ Who hurries, trips. ~~ It is a great virtue never to make in secret a plan that you would blush to disclose. ~~ Be on your guard against ...
Mozambique -- Master Chef Mozambique 2020 Who says healthy food can't be delicious? If made with right ingredients and love it can turn out to be a perfect treat. The talented home chefs of jamat are invited to participate in a Healthy Cooking Competition starting next week. For further details and registration contact Nida Karim +258 84 261 2555 ...
86 minutes, live music performance, accompanied by film Directed by Saodat Ismailova Music by Dmitri Yanov Yanovsky Across the steppes of Central Asia, modern bards still sing the tale of Gulaim, the teenage warrior who defended ancient clans from Eastern invaders with the help of her qyrq qyz, or 40 girls, Amazons of Turkic legend. Enduring for centuries in a male-dominated epic ...
Pirs composed hymns, known as ginans in several languages of the Indian subcontinent to explain Ismail doctrines to non-Arabic speaking peoples of the Indian sub-continent. "Since the Khojas consider the pirs to have been spiritually guided and authorized by the imams in that they p reached, the ginans have acquired a special sanctity" (p 45). Ginans served as "secondary scriptures that ...
The Aga Khan Music Initiative Ensemble is a collective of master musicians who create new music inspired by cultural heritage of the Middle East and Mediterranean Basin, South Asia, Central Asia, West Africa, and China. These master musicians link countries and continents, present and past and bring to life a new body of music that is seamless and exuberantly original. ...
Setting Education Policy in America's Heartland! ...
Mozambique -- After a lot of hard work, the construction team handed over the Senior School building to the Academy staff this week. The staff and the school leadership are excited to see this building being used by students and faculty once it is safe to do so. ...
ARAMCOWORLD.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Be sure to go through the many slide shows in article. Recall, too, the video of Tehran's amazing subway we posted two months ago.] ARTICLE: In 1964, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan, Sharof Rashidov, envisioned more than a utilitarian transportation system for Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan: He wanted a metro that could reflect the history and culture of the Uzbek people. Each of the breathtaking 29 stations (with plans for 45 more by 2025) is a chapter in Uzbekistan's history, a story told in tileworks, murals and mosaics amid elegantly thematic lighting and architecture. "We wanted to make the Metro even better than the Moscow's, which was like a fairy tale," explains Vladimir Burmakin. Muhammad Ali likens Tashkent's subway stations, its art and architecture, to entering a museum where one can view history and culture exhibited on the walls. At Alisher Navoiy station, sculptor Ahmet Shaymuradov spent four years ...
When the Indian Government launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or Clean India Mission, to create an open defecation free India, AKDN contributed an award-winning model of integrated block-level sanitation called the Comprehensive Sanitation Initiative. A central component of the initiative is generating demand for improved hygiene practices, tackling age-old norms and transforming long-standing behaviour change - and thereby improving the quality ...
Electrifying Sufi Medley - A Tour De Force! A creative mashup of song, manqabat, qawwali and qasida Farhan Shah is a mesmerizing Australian Pakistani singer, composer, lyricist and music producer. Farhan ...
Nutrition Centre -- To mark World Vegetarian Day, The Ismaili Nutrition Centre shares 13 delicious meatless meals to power up your diet. A plant-based diet rich in vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds offers a myriad of health benefits. In particular, it can reduce your risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and even certain cancers.
