In this episode of Titans of Nuclear (A podcast featuring interviews with experts on Nuclear Energy), Rumina Velshi (President And Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission) discusses how she came ...
JollyGul.com has now launched Zikar Tasbih Service on its platform. The service includes recitations with and without musical instruments. Zikar are devotional acts in which short phrases or prayers (remembering and ...
Many people in Western countries perceive Muslims as a unified group and Islam as a religion imbued with fundamentalism that is hardly compatible with modernity and democracy. Reza Aslan dismantles one after another these misperceptions about Islam in the West and strongly rejects the Huntington's still modish concept of "clash of civilizations". ...
Named after the Prophet's daughter, the Fatimids, ancestors of Mawlana Hazar Imam, established their rule in 909 in Tunisia, in North Africa, when Imam al-Mahdi was proclaimed caliph. The fourth Fatimid caliph, Imam al-Mu'izz, founded the city of Cairo to where he transferred his capital in 969. In Cairo, the Fatimids promoted intellectual activities, founding major institutions of learning and libraries. ...
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Pulitzer Prize winning poet Maya Angelou. Azra Fatima*, a lady health worker (LHW) in Umerkot, Pakistan, lets out an audible sigh as she knocks on the door of her tenth home of the day. The house brings back ...
DISCOVERY.ORG -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Very highly recommended book.] ARTICLE: "Heretic: One Scientist's Journey from Darwin to Design" has two authors. One is Finish bio-engineer Matti Leisola. Former Dean at Helsinki University of Technology with 140 peer reviewed science articles to his name. His new book, Heretic, is about how the scientific evidence led him from Darwinism to Intelligent Design. From the Introduction: "As a young student, I used to laugh at those who placed God in the gaps of our scientific knowledge. To my way of thinking, such people lacked the patience and level-headedness that I possessed so I didn't listen to their arguments. But eventually I came to realize that this criticism cuts both ways, since a functional atheist also can reach for pat explanations ...
EVOLUTIONNEWS.ORG -- Phillip E. Johnson, Berkeley law professor and author of "Darwin on Trial" (described as "brilliant and devastating") died on November 2 this year. I first met Phillip Johnson at a small Greek restaurant in Cambridge, UK, in the fall of 1987. However, only later did I learn of Johnson's intellectual pedigree: Harvard B.A.; top of class University of Chicago law grad; law clerk for Chief Justice Earl Warren; leading constitutional scholar; occupant of a distinguished chair at the University of California, Berkeley. A man of supple and prodigious intellect who seemed to have found the pulse of the origins issue. Johnson told me that his doubts about Darwinism had started with a visit to the British Natural History Museum where ...
Introductory film to the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2019. ...
Compiled and prepared by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) In recent years, Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, has received numerous honours from the Government and institutions of learning in Portugal. During his Diamond Jubilee visit to Portugal he established his Seat of Imamat in Lisbon, and declared on the morning of July 11, 2018, his 61st ...
GOOGLE.COM -- Imam al-Mustansir bi-Allah ascended the throne of Imamat at age 7 in 427/1036. Between 457/1065 and 464/1072 famine ravaged Egypt. Where there had been 10,000 animals in Imam al-Mustansir's stable, now there were just three thin horses. After the famin, Egypt suffered plague. Whole districts were abandoned and house after house lay empty. Meanwhile, Turkish mercenaries drained the treasury. Works of art and valuables from the palace were sold to satisfy their demands. Emeralds valued at 300,000 dinars were bought by a Turkish general for 500 dinars and in one fortnight in 460/1068 valuables worth 30,000,000 dinars were sold off. The precious library ...
2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Award recipient: Sandbag Shelters, Iran. ...
2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the Ismaili Volunteer Corps (IVC), and a global commemoration, IVC100, has been launched to mark this historic occasion. Established by Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah in 1919 in India, IVC aims to bring a greater degree of professionalism by incorporating uniformity and structure for our volunteers to serve. Join us as we commemorate this historic occasion by ...
YOUTUBE.COM -- AMAZING PLACES ON OUR PLANET -- Khiva (in today's Uzbekistan) was an ancient trading post/oasis on the Silk Road. The inner town of the old Khiva oasis - Itchan Kala - is encircled by walls up to 10 m/33 ft high, dating from the 10th century. It is site of many amazing architectural ensembles. Itchan Kala is listed as UNESCO ...
Twelve-year-old Reshma Praveen is a resident of the Lal Kothi urban slum in Patna, Bihar. She lives in a one-room hut with her mother, father and four siblings. Life for her family is difficult, as her father is the sole earning member, making ends meet as a rickshaw puller. Most other families in the slum also live in similar conditions. As ...
As Muslims, in the modern world, the words "modernity" and "tradition" unleash an uneasy cascade of conflicting emotions as we try, often unsuccessfully, to reconcile the two. Fortunately, Mawlana Hazar Imam, has provided his profound insights and perspectives on how to look at and reconcile the two, not just for today but for all time. At the heart of his ...
"In Islamic belief, knowledge is two-fold. There is that revealed through the Holy Prophet [Salla-llahu 'alayhi wa- sallam] and that which man discovers by virtue of his own intellect. Nor do these two involve any contradiction, provided man remembers that his own mind is itself the creation of God. Without this humility, no balance is possible. With it, there are no ...
IFSTUDIES.ORG -- When a young person mentions cohabiting, you might suggest they consider questions Bradford Wilcox asked: "Is fidelity important to you? Having someone who always tells the truth? Has your back? Communicates well? If these are important to you, marriage looks best." Wilcox was responding to a new [Nov, 2019] Pew Research Center report on cohabitation and marriage which shows Americans, especially younger generations, embrace myths about cohabitation not reflected in reality or research. The results are telling. "By double digits," as the report puts it. Another 2017 study revealed that in the United States and 16 European countries, about 50% of cohabiting parents break up by a child's 12th birthday, compared to about 25% of married couples. Marriage also ...
IFSTUDIES.ORG -- "Majority of Americans Now Believe in Cohabitation." That's the headline from a 2016 Barna Group survey. They found 84% of those who approve of cohabiting before marriage said that it was valuable for testing compatibility. However, a 2013 study showed testing is not the most common reason cohabitors give for *actually moving in together*. In fact, it was second-to-last at just 7%. Findings suggest that cohabiting to test a relationship is associated with many kinds of negatives. In fact, many thinking about cohabiting, to test their relationship, already know, on some level, what the grade of that test may be but are hoping that the answer looks better over time. There are many better ways to ...
By Russell Harris- Writer / Curator, London, U.K. Professor Amina Jindani, recipient of the 2018 Ibn Sina Award for Medicine was awarded the 2019 Princess Chichibu Memorial Global Award for her ...
Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Annual meeting of the International Baccalaureate, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 18 April 2008. Read full speech: ...
"It is worthy to note that in almost every speech that His Highness has made this century, the subject of pluralism has never failed to escape his vision for a better and more harmonious world. He has referred to it as being part of the cosmopolitan ethic, and as an Imam and a global citizen that he is, the Aga Khan ...
Canada -- Global Muslim leaders gathered at the Ismaili Centre Toronto over the first weekend of October for the closing ceremony of the Concordia Forum, an initiative that brings diverse Muslim leaders together to foster collaboration in response to social problems and discuss Islam's role in the world. Canadian Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to ...
The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) partners with State Sanitary Epidemiological and Surveillance Service (SSESS) of Tajikistan Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 8 November 2019 - To improve drinking water supplies, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) and the State Sanitary Epidemiological and Surveillance Service (SSESS) of Tajikistan in order to formalise a partnership ...
Portugal -- Mesmo para quem visita regularmente os jardins do Centro Ismaili, há sempre surpresas e novidades. Desta vez, destacamos a flor do Osmanthus fragrans, um arbusto ornamental bastante discreto, famoso pelo seu aroma (tal como o nome indica), mas que aqui nunca tinha florido. Pertence à mesma família do jasmim e da oliveira (oleáceas) e é conhecido em inglês como ...
News story -- To mark the advancement of Ismaili studies in the Russian Federation, an exhibition in memory of the great Russian scholar of modern Ismaili studies, Wladimir A. Ivanow, was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 11 October 2019. Dr Farhad Daftary, Co-Director of IIS; Dr Stanislav Prozorov, Head of the Academic Activities at Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, and Alla Dydymova, ...
Portugal -- A pneumonia é uma inflamação no tecido pulmonar, provocada por um micro-organismo infecioso, bactéria, vírus ou, menos frequente, fungo. Em Portugal, a maior parte das pneumonias é provocada pela bactéria 'Streptococcus pneumoniae'. Pode ser leve, severa ou mortal, dependendo da idade do doente e do seu estado de saúde. A pneumonia afeta, por ano, cerca de 12 pessoas por ...
DAILYSTOIC.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazrat Ali: "If you are able to tell, bravery and truth are always found together, and falsehood with cowardice."] ARTICLE: The Stoics tell us to say what is right, do what is right, be comfortable swimming upstream or rejecting the choices of the mob. Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Cato all said it. However, while history admires men and women of principles, today it often the opposite. Because speaking the truth and standing up for what's right is an implicit rebuke of the status quo. It challenges people's identities. It indicts them for not doing the same. It's not easy to be honest and courageous. People are not going to throw you a parade. They're much more likely to throw insults. But you have to do ...
Global Encounters -- APPLICATION PROCESS When will the camps take place? Five camps are planned for 2020. Please note that there may be some changes to the dates or locations added. ● Global Encounters Kenya, hosted at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa with an excursion to Nairobi will be from 14th July to 8th August 2020;● Global Encounters India, hosted ...
By Dr. Sweta Shah, Aga Khan Foundation What do all children around the world have in common? The love to play! Play is a basic and natural thing that all humans crave. It helps children (and adults) make sense out of the world and to process their experiences. While play brings joy to children's lives, it is also critical for their ...
Eight-minute video overview of Parwaaz ECD programme in Pakistan. ...
"Off The Beaten Track links to little known, fascinating, important, and sometimes even controversial, research, knowledge and opinions relevant to the community's wellbeing, personal and intellectual growth, best practises, etc. (as opposed to current affairs, news, politics, etc.), in keeping with Hazar Imam's advice to keep expanding our knowledge horizon: '[We must] constantly review and revise and renew what we think we know.' (2006, Pakistan) There is, of course, a challenge, what I call 'intellectual inertia,' to overcome. That is, the comfort of the status quo, of the familiar, the common resistance to new ideas, new ways, new paradigms, especially those that challenge or overturn the conventional wisdom."
Global -- Earlier today, 12 November, Mawlana Hazar Imam joined over 30 world leaders for the opening session of the second Paris Peace Forum where he met with leaders and ministers from various countries. Initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron, the Forum was founded on the principle that international cooperation is key to tackling global challenges and ensuring lasting peace. Speaking ...
Paris, France, 12 November 2019 - His Highness the Aga Khan, founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), today joined over 30 world leaders for the opening session of the second Paris Peace Forum. Initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron, the Forum was founded on the principle that international cooperation is key to tackling global challenges and ensuring ...
The Global Centre for Pluralism announced the three winners of the 2019 Global Pluralism Award: Deborah Ahenkorah - a young Ghanaian social entrepreneur and book publisher bringing African children's stories to life; the Center for Social Integrity - an organization giving youth from conflict-affected regions in Myanmar the skills and voice to be leaders for change amidst the many overlapping conflicts ongoing in the country; and 'Learning History that is not yet History' - a network of history educators and specialists in the Balkans pioneering a new approach to teaching the controversial history of conflict. ...
OZANVAROL.COM -- The 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers project, sent two rovers to Mars. We had seen snapshots of the two landing sites taken from Martian orbiters so had some idea of what to expect. But once we touched down, our expectations for both sites were "totally, completely, utterly wrong," as Steve Squyres, the mission's principal investigator, put it. So we learned to use the rovers' tools to solve the problems that Mars gave us -- rather than the problems we expected. For example, when Spirit's right front wheel failed, we drove the rover backwards. There are important lessons here for us all. Absolute certainty is a mirage. When we face uncertainty, we often manufacture excuses ...
11 November 2019 - His Highness the Aga Khan is welcomed for a dinner at the Elysée Palace by President Emmanuel Macron of France on the eve of the Paris Peace Forum. ...
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 ...
2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture - Profiles of project winners ...
Global -- The Ismaili Council for France held an institutional dinner attended by Meredith Preston McGhie, Secretary General of the Global Centre for Pluralism (GCP) on 10 November, ahead of the upcoming Paris Peace Forum. In keeping with GCP's mandate, Secretary General McGhie discussed some of the challenges that the world faces today, and her vision of how pluralism might help ...
