Nasir-i Khusraw and his disciples spread Ismailism to China
Islam has a long history in the People's Republic of China, dating to the seventh century. The earliest Muslims in China were traders who came to the south eastern ports as ...
Search Results for: "diamond jubilee"
Salma Lakhani, Alberta's First Muslim Lieutenant Governor, Speaks to Canadian Geographic on Building a More Inclusive Canada
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: As Simerg completes its 13 years of continuous publication, we launch a special series profiling Ismaili leaders of distinction over the past 125 years. The series will be dedicated to Ismaili institutional leaders as well as individuals who have achieved distinction and recognition working outside the Ismaili community, yet continuing to support the work of the Ismaili Imamat through ...
A moment in time: Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III's Platinum Jubilee was commemorated
To mark seventy years of his Imamat, Ismailis wished to weigh Imam in platinum. The first ceremony was held on February 3, 1954 in Karachi, Imam's birthplace. Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah addressing gathering on the occasion of his Platinum Jubilee at Karachi. Image: Poppperfoto/Ilm Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah succeeded his father to the Imamat on August 17, 1885 reigning for seventy-two ...
To Mrs. Merchant: "With Love to the Best Ever" - Memories from Her Students in London, England
By MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/Editor Simerg, Simergphotos and Barakah Exactly a year ago, on Thursday, January 21, 2021, my beloved mum "Mrs. Merchant" (Alwaeza Maleksultan Jehangir Merchant) passed away peacefully at the age of 89. Tributes and condolences poured from all over the world, which deeply touched the entire family. The family also received a Talika of blessings from Mawlana Hazar Imam, His ...
Mawlana Hazar Imam Aga Khan IV re-contextualised Islamic principles into international humanitarian endeavours
The Nizari Ismailis, residing in several countries around the world, have had a long and eventful history. On two occasions they had their own states, the Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171) and Alamut (1090-1256). After the fall of Alamut until recent times, the Nizari Ismailis experienced religious persecution, frequently resorting to extensive dissimulation practices; they disguised themselves as Sufis, Twelver Shi'is, Sunnis, or ...
Specially-abled Jamati Members
USA -- "Let's fulfill and mean the term, 'One Jamat' in its true sense, by not marginalizing us, feeling sorry for us, or only remembering us once a year during Special Needs Awareness Week. Instead, be open to including us, welcoming us, accommodating us in every event, as all we seek is love." - Students of the Dallas Creative Learning Center. ...
Global Ismaili Civic Day: A Global Weekend of Service to Humanity
Global -- In a show of our ethics in action, the Global Ismaili Community continues its centuries old tradition of contributing to the societies in which we live. Global Ismaili CIVIC Day harnessed the capacity of tens of thousands of volunteers- old and young alike - with hundreds of civil society partners to benefit millions of people around the world. "We ...
Sharing the Gifts and Blessings of Allah
USA -- Let us reflect on what is the nature of love, what does it mean to love Allah, and what is the connection between love and taqwa, or God-consciousness? In hadith qudsi, Allah the Almighty says: "My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant ...
A Memorable Collection of Historical Photos of Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah, His Highness the Aga Khan III
Prepared by MALIK MERCHANT Publisher/Editor Simergphotos, Simerg and Barakah [A version of this post post was originally published in Simergphotos on November 2, 2014 to mark the 137th birth anniversary of Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah, His Highness the Aga Khan III. We have updated the original post as we mark the 48th Imam's 144th birth anniversary on November 2, 2021. Several ...
Ismaili Center Houston design preview to air live on The Ismaili TV
Global -- Join us for an exclusive design presentation event from Houston, Texas, USA, on Monday 15 November 2021. The live event will feature the London-based design architect Farshid Moussavi and landscape architect Thomas Woltz, to preview the design for the upcoming Ismaili Center and surrounding area. The Ismaili Centre, Houston, will symbolize the permanent presence, cultural heritage, beliefs, core values ...
Mawlana Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, a statesman and notable visionary
"Life is a great and noble calling, not a mean and grovelling thing to be shuffled through as best as we can but a lofty and exalted destiny." Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III, Memoirs of Aga Khan: World Enough and TimeMawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah. Photo: Aga Khan Studs Mawlana Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III was born on ...
Naheed Nenshi (@nenshi): An exemplary statesman, a humble sevadari, and a dedicated community-builder
Born in Toronto, Canada, in 1972, Nenshi moved with his family to Calgary, Alberta, when he was two years old. He made headlines at Queen Elizabeth High School when he was ...
Prince Amyn and Portuguese President inaugurate NOVA University's Westmont Hospitality Hall
Global -- President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was joined by Prince Amyn earlier today for the inauguration of the Westmont Hospitality Hall at NOVA University in Lisbon, Portugal. The newly opened space will serve as a home for the Westmont Institute of Tourism and Hospitality at NOVA University's School of Business and Economics (SBE), which is celebrating the third anniversary of ...
From the archives: Prince Amyn Aga Khan "This dialogue - silent, musical, literary - is what binds us all together in a common cultural heritage"
"Our hope is that the Aga Khan Museum will also be a centre of learning, of education, revealing the connections between the arts of Muslim civilisations and those of other civilisations, indeed between the arts of the different Muslim civilisations themselves. This dialogue - silent, musical, literary - is what binds us all together in a common cultural heritage that we ...
Artistic portraits and wood carvings by Khalil Najmi
Khalil Najmi is a medallion portrait artist from Pakistan who carves high finishing portraits in Bas-relief; he recently painted a portrait of His Highness the Aga Khan. His hand carved portraits ...
Ismaili Center Houston Project Update from the Jamati Institutions
USA -- As you may recall, on March 22, 2018, during his Diamond Jubilee visit to the United States, Mawlana Hazar Imam gave permission to start planning to build the seventh Ismaili Center in the world to be located in Houston, Texas. We are deeply grateful to Mawlana Hazar Imam for his oversight of this project and for visiting Houston in ...
A Photo Tribute to Prince Rahim Aga Khan on His 50th Birthday on Tuesday October 12, 2021
A portrait of Prince Rahim Aga Khan taken in 1979 when he was 8 years old. Photo: Bahadur Hirji/Ilm, December 1979, Vol 5. Nos. 2 & 3, published by UK Ismailia Association (now ITREB) Introduced and Compiled by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) Many fond memories come to mind as we think of Prince Rahim, eldest son of Mawlana Hazar ...
Suleman Raheemani - Singer, Composer and Music Producer
Singer, Composer and Music Producer Suleman Raheemani was around fifteen years old when he came across a toy guitar and started playing along with an old tape recorder with some random ...
September 18, 2021: A Lovely Photo Tribute to Princess Zahra Aga Khan on Her Birthday
Prepared and compiled by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) Most of the Ismaili Jamat that is now settled in Canada and other western countries were still in Africa, Asia and the Middle East when Prince Zahra was born on September 18, 1970, almost a year after Mawlana Hazar Imam got married to Begum Salimah in October 1969. We received ...
September 12, 2021: Barakah's Tribute to Prince Amyn Aga Khan on His 84th Birthday; and Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre Mark 7th Anniversary of Opening
...it is with deepest admiration that I thank the person whose guiding hand has been so important at every stage of this project: a member of my family, my brother, Prince Amyn Aga Khan -- Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, Opening of Ismaili Centre, September 12, 2014. Introduced by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos)Opening day, September ...
Mawlana Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, a notable visionary and statesman
"Life is a great and noble calling, not a mean and grovelling thing to be shuffled through as best as we can but a lofty and exalted destiny." Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III, Memoirs of Aga Khan: World Enough and TimeImage: Daftary, The Ismaili Imams Mawlana Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III was born on November 2, 1877 ...
Must See Video: Bruno Freschi Provides Great Insights Into the Making of the First Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre in Canada, and Reflects on His Highness the Aga Khan
Introduced by MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/Editor Simerg, Barakah andSimerg Photos I first met met Bruno Freschi, the architect of the Ismaili Centre Vancouver, in Washington D.C., when Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, was awarded the Vincent Scully Prize in January 2005 at the National Building Museum. After meeting him at the door, I politely intruded into a conversation the Aga ...
A Tribute to Late Nurbanu Abdulrasul Rashid (1923-2019) of Zanzibar and Toronto
Nurbanu Abdulrasul Rashid (1923-2019) celebrating her 95th birthday in Toronto. Photo: Kamrudin Rashid & Family Collection. Submitted by KAMRUDIN RASHID & FAMILY Nurbanu Abdulrasul Rashid, our dearest mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great-grandmother and an extremely respected elder in the entire family passed away on July 15, 2019 at the age of 96. She enjoyed a wonderful life with her entire family, ...
Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan: The 62nd Year of His Imamat - (I) The Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in Lisbon, Portugal
Compiled and prepared by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) with Excerpts from Eyewitness Accounts by ZAFEERA KASSAM (Kenya), AZIM MAHERALLY (USA) and RAHIM HIRJI (UK) Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, ordains the instrument to designate the Henrique de Mendonça Palace as the Seat of the Ismaili Imamat on July 11 2018, to be known as the ...
Singing together in the spirit of harmony
Global -- The festival of Eid al-Adha celebrates the common humanity and ethical heritage shared by the three Abrahamic faiths. A new musical composition performed by artists in the UK harnesses a long-standing relationship between three faith communities and illustrates the strength found in diversity. Commissioned by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the song features contributions from each of the ...
From the Archives: Mawlana Hazar Imam's Jubilee Initiatives
During Mawlana Hazar Imam's Imamat, there were rapid political, economic, and technological changes in newly-emerging nations from colonial rule that required bold initiatives and new programmes to reflect the developing national aspirations. Mawlana Hazar Imam strengthened and expanded the work of his grandfather in the fields of health care, education, and poverty alleviation in the poorest parts of Africa and Asia ...
Footprints III - Post-Diamond Jubilee Work of Mawlana Hazar Imam and AKDN
Following the Diamond Jubilee commemoration year, Mawlana Hazar Imam met his Excellency President Michael Higgins of Ireland and his wife Sabina Mary Coyne, at their official residence Áras an Uachtaráin (August 11, 2018). Accompanied by Princess Zahra, Mawlana Hazar Imam joined world leaders at the funeral of former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan in Accra, Ghana (September 13, ...
I-CERV transitioning to Ismaili CIVIC
USA -- "The Council and the Jamat wish to express our gratitude to all the volunteers, especially our youth, who have been instrumental in I-CERV's remarkable work, even throughout the pandemic. It has become a valuable and recognized partner for many other organizations, while helping improve the understanding of Islam's message of care for the vulnerable. This is something for which ...
Kamal Haji (@Kamalhaji): #ImamatDay2021 Reflections
Imamat Day Mubarak to all my Ismaili Muslim brothers and sisters around the world! I hope you all have been able to get vaccinated and are following safety protocols, as per ...
Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, is Well into the 7th Decade of His Imamat: Our Pictorial Series Looks at Years 61-64 of His Hereditary Reign
Compiled and prepared by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) I know the power of your network; I know what you have built. And we need more networks of people determined to say this is a world of good, this is a world of standing by each other, and this is what we honor here tonight -- Josette Sheeran, Asia ...
Simerg's Special Series on Books by Ismaili Authors: "Faith and Ethics: The Vision of the Ismaili Imamat" by M. Ali Lakhani of Vancouver - a Must Read in Preparation for Mawlana Hazar Imam His Highness the Aga Khan's 64th Imamat Day on July 11, 2021
by MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/Editor Simerg, Barakah andSimergphotos Simerg's series entitled "Books by Ismaili Authors" continues with Canadian writer M. Ali Lakhani's book "Faith and Ethics: The Vision of the Ismaili Imamat". We follow the same Q/A format as our recent presentations of books written by Nizar Sultan, Nargis Fazal, Nazlin Rahemtulla, Azmina Suleman, Alnasir Rajan, Shafeen Ali, Mansoor Ladha, Zeni Shariff and ...
As Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, Prepares to Deliver a Virtual Address for University of Central Asia's First Ever Convocation, Barakah Brings You Some of the Earliest Speeches He Made on Building a University Specialized on Educating High Mountain Populations
University of Central Asia: From 1998 to 2000 to 2016 to 2021 Prepared and Compiled by MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos) [Several months before Mawlana Hazar Imam's Diamond Jubilee year began on July 11, 2017, Barakah compiled countless speeches that he had delivered since becoming the Imam in 1957 from multiple internet sources (including AKDN, Ismaili.net, Nanowisdoms), printed speech ...
A Visit to the Ismaili Cemetery at the Victory Memorial Park: I Bid Farewell to My Mum, "Mrs. Merchant," and Pay My Deep Respects to My Beloved Dad and Other Deceased Members of the Jamat
By MALIK MERCHANTPublisher/Editor Simerg, Barakah andSimergphotosAlwaeza Malek J. Merchant pictured in Lisbon, Portugal, in July 2018 during the Diamond Jubilee of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan. As I reached the burial sites of my parents on Thursday, April 29, 2021, I was deeply gratified when a Bangladeshi woman walked over to me and offered me two stems of ...
From the Archives: During his Diamond Jubilee, Mawlana Hazar Imam was gifted a rare copy of Nasir Khusraw's Diwan
Born in 1004 in Marv in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan, Nasir Khusraw followed the family tradition and worked for the government in a financial capacity. During his adulthood, he began to search for answers to his inner discontent - "some answer to the question of why all this exists. This restless searching and inner discontent lasted until it all ...
The Ismaili Imamat
Portugal -- The Ismaili Imamat is a supra-national entity representing the succession of Imams since the time of the Prophet. Today, the Ismailis are the only Shia community, who throughout their history have been led by a living hereditary Imam, in direct descent from the Prophet. His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan became Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims on ...
From the Archives: During his Diamond Jubilee, Mawlana Hazar Imam was gifted a Qur'an manuscript written in China
Islam has a long history in the People's Republic of China, dating to the seventh century. The earliest Muslims in China were traders who came to the south eastern ports as part of the Indian Ocean trade as well as along the Silk Route, an ancient network of routes stretching for over six thousand miles from China across Central Asia to ...
Photo of the Day: The Beautiful Handwriting of Ismaili Teacher and Missionary Jehangir Merchant
By MALIK MERCHANT (Publisher-Editor, Barakah, Simerg and Simergphotos)Jehangir Merchant (1928 - 2018). Photo: © Jehangir Merchant Family Collection. I am addressing this post to friends and colleagues of my late dad, Alwaez Jehangir (December 13, 1928 - May 27, 2018), as well as my own family members and relatives around the world. And may I also include another group of people: ...
The Kulliyat of S'adi is considered a mastery of Persian literature
Abu-Muhammad Muslih al-Din bin Abdallah Shirazi (ca. 1210-1291/2), better known by his pen-name Sa'di, after the local prince Sa'd ibn Zangi, was born in Shiraz in Persia (modern-day Iran). At a young age, he went to the Nezamiyeh College in Baghdad to study. Shortly thereafter, the unrest caused by the Mongol invasions forced him to leave the region and travel to ...
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, passes away at the age of 99: Messages from the Government of Canada, and Jubilee Memories of Her Majesty's Family with Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan
The Chief Justice of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable Richard Wagner, P.C., is currently serving as the administrator of the Government of Canada until such a time as the next governor general is installed. His message on the death of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh was released by him on Friday April 9, 2021, and is reproduced after ...
Prince Hussain Aga Khan's Journey of Sea Exploration and Discovery Began at the Age of 5: Barakah Marks His 47th Birthday With Stories of His Love, Concern and Passion for Marine Life
From the first Costeau film I saw and the fish I started keeping at the age of five, the first octopus and cuttlefish that squirted ink at me....I knew I couldn't, wouldn't stop exploring the sea -- Prince Hussain Aga Khan On photo of the dolphin on the front cover of his photo book Diving Into Wildlife: This image is burned ...
