The Noble Month of Ramadan Kareem - 1443 Hijri - 1st April 2022
By: Sadruddin Noorani, Chicago, USA In the Holy Qur'an (2:185), Allah, says: "Ramadan is the month in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also as clear ...
The Prophet prescribed a prayer to his daughter to help her in times of difficulty
One of the most important female figures for the roles of women is Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad and his first wife Khadija. She was born around 604 CE in Mecca, the youngest of three sisters: Zaynab, Ruqayya, and Umm Kulthum. Hazrat Fatima was reportedly close to her father. When the Prophet emigrated (hijra) to Medina in 622 CE initiating ...
Rex Murphy: Cutting honours programs and keeping smart kids down proves the silliness of 'inclusivity'
NATIONALPOST.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 2006: "Our goal, then, is not to provide special education for a privileged elite -- but to provide an exceptional education for the truly exceptional."] ARTICLE: Most educators strive to further student excellence. Absurdly, the Vancouver School Board is doing the opposite. Under what has now become the idolatrous trinity of diversity, inclusion and equity, the school board has chopped classes for those who are gifted in mathematics and science. They chopped the honours English program five years ago. The children of other nations, particularly poorer nations, are not shunting their brightest and best off to some sidecar of mediocrity. They appreciate talent; they applaud excellence. The school board is also cutting all sports programs and competitions. They will also end all coaching for students who show special skills at hockey, track and field, wrestling and ping pong. "Sports competitions are ... deeply at variance with equity and inclusion goals." said one staff member. I wonder ...
California Leftists Try to Cancel Math Class
INDEPENDENT.ORG -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 2005: "The reality is that not all students are created equal intellectually."] ARTICLE: The proposed California Math Framework states "We reject ideas of natural gifts and talents." It repeatedly recommends teachers use the troubling document, "A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction" which states that (a) forthrightly addressing students' mistakes, (b) a focus on "getting the right answer," (c) requiring students "show their work" and (d) grading them on demonstrated knowledge are all indicators of "white supremacy in the mathematics classroom." The manual also says that "the concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false" and that "upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuates 'objectivity.' " The framework rejects preparing students for Algebra I in 8th grade. Students in Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan master Algebra I in 8th grade or even ...
#Ramadan Special Presentation: Tasbih
Tasbih, a set of 33, 66 or 99 prayer beads used as a counting aid to recite the Names of Allah. Tasbih is a devotional song composed by Salim-Sulaiman featuring Ustad ...
Aga Khan lines on offer at Inglis Easter
Three yearlings for sale in partnership with Arrowfield. Buyers at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale will get the chance to buy into the bloodlines of the Aga Khan, as three yearlings will be up for auction in partnership with Arrowfield Stud. This partnership has most famously produced exciting young sire THE AUTUMN SUN, a five-time Group 1 winner and record breaker ...
Soul's Imaginal Motion in Abū Ya'qūb al-Sijistānī's (fl. 10th CE) Kitāb al-Maqālīd and Risālah al-Bāhirah
Events -- 28th April 2022 -- Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series Register to attend this lecture. What is Soul and what is Soul's domain? In many respects these two ideas formed one of the starting points of debates and discussions in the classical and medieval periods of Islamic intellectual history, especially in the works authored by scholars affiliated with the Fāṭimid ...
![Nizamuddin Basti Renewal Project - Sustainable Development of a 700-Year Old Culture Hub [by Aga Khan Trust for Culture] @TravelSeeWrite @NandaRatish](https://ismailidigest.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/d8b0f61006-1024x563.jpeg)
Nizamuddin Basti Renewal Project - Sustainable Development of a 700-Year Old Culture Hub [by Aga Khan Trust for Culture] @TravelSeeWrite @NandaRatish
Archana Singh: Nizamuddin Basti Renewal project has created a blueprint on how organisations can use conservation for people's social and economic upliftment. Image: Archana Singh Named after the Sufi saint Hazrat ...
Russia names alternative to Western 'amorality'
RT.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 1967: Western societies "face social and moral conflicts far more daunting than Asia or Africa.... It is my deepest conviction that if Islamic society is to avoid following blindly the course of Western society without taking the trouble to raise guards against the latter's weaknesses and deficiencies, a thorough rediscovery, revitalisation and reintegration of our traditional values must be achieved." ~~ Hazar Imam, 2001: "[In Islam, marriage] is a contract between a man and a woman."] ARTICLE: Russia's Ministry of Culture published a draft order setting out "traditional values" that must be protected from encroachment by foreign ideas amid a "global crisis" for public morality. The document provides "the foundations of government policy for protecting and strengthening traditional Russian spiritual and moral values" such as "a strong family and prioritizing the spiritual over the material." Last month, President Putin told journalists that he "sincerely hopes that our society has the moral armor to protect us against" progressive Western ideas infiltrating Russia. Following a nationwide vote, he signed a series of constitutional reforms including the stipulation that marriage is defined solely as a union between a man and a woman. In 2013 ...
Journalism is ...
AZQUOTES.COM -- "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations." -- George Orwell ...
Erevann makings a winning start
Dubawi colt remains unbeaten. Beautifully bred three-year-old EREVANN made a winning start to 2022 in the hotly contested Prix Comrade at Saint-Cloud finishing ahead of Haya Zark, a son of ZARAK. His trainer Jean-Claude Rouget said after the race: "I've always liked this colt: he is a nice horse, easy-going and he finishes his races well. He's by Dubawi out of ...
Cancelling Russia
THEEPOCHTIMES.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 2016: "Often, we find it easier to define our identity by what we are against, than by what we are for."] ARTICLE: Cancel culture penalises anyone with views not approved by the left. Now, it's targeting the whole of Russia and all things Russian. Besides America, Western countries are all getting into the game. One of the world's great chess players was banned because he supports the Russian president, people, and army. If India invaded Pakistan -- rightly or wrongly -- 99% of Indians will support the Indian prime minister, people and army. An international cat federation has banned Russian cats and a global tree festival has banned a tree planted almost two centuries ago by a great Russian writer. There is something comic in all this. Will all this virtue signalling really make Putin change his mind? Why should the Russian people ...
Online learning at UCA: a story of adaptation
Global -- On 15 March 2020, during the spring semester, the University of Central Asia (UCA) campus in Naryn closed abruptly, to stop the spread of Covid-19. Students and teachers were faced with a challenging question: how to continue classes and learning, when everyone had been asked to stay at home? Like all other educational institutions, UCA had to find a ...
Aga Khan Foundation Canada: Statement to the Special Committee on Afghanistan @AKFCanada
The House of Commons of Canada convened a Special Committee on Afghanistan in Ottawa on 21 March 2022 to examine Canada's response to the situation in Afghanistan and how Canada can ...
VIDEO: Maro Vyaapar Maari Pragati 2.0 Session 16 - Decision Making
Learning the art of making strategic decisions that benefit a business and help the business grow significantly. If you enjoyed the session and want to be a part of Maaro Vyaapar, Maari Pragati 2.0 (MVMP 2.0), you can register for the upcoming sessions at the link below Sessions are held in Hindi and Gujrati, every alternate Sunday ...
VIDEO: AKEB, I presents: Career Options for Chartered Accountants - a session by Amrin
This webinar will help students and professionals explore and learn more about the emerging career opportunities in the field of accountancy. ...
VIDEO: Aga Khan Development Network | Quote of the Week
#Address by His Highness the #AgaKhan to the #ParliamentofPortugal in Lisbon, Portugal on 10 July 2018 Read the full speech here: For more about the Aga Khan Development Network, visit ...
Mawlana Hazar Imam: "we can always find, in the flow of refreshing water, a reminder of Divine blessing"
In the Quran, nature and water are explained as signs of God (ayah), which is also the term used for each verse of the sacred text. "That means that, like the words of God written as verses in the sacred text, nature and water specifically are signs of God on which people are called to meditate. Hence, nature is a scripture ...
Dr. Zubaida Sirang (@ZSirang) honored with the Pride of Pakistan Award
"Women play a critical role in the development of nations. An educated girl is a truly empowered girl. Women education, therefore, is vital for the success of not only her own, ...
Ontario students still struggling to make the grade in math, EQAO scores show
THESTAR.COM -- Following the 2019 [pre-pandemic] release of Ontario provincial test scores, the Toronto District School Board can't explain why most math results are dropping. Across Ontario only 58% (down from 63% and 71%, 4 and 9 years earlier) of 3rd graders are performing at or above provincial standards. And just 48% (down from 50% and 61%, 4 and 9 years earlier) of 6th graders are performing at or above provincial standards. In Toronto, the largest school board in Canada with 246,000 students, 3rd and 6th graders are doing worse than the provincial average. Only 61% of 3rd graders and 53% of 6th graders are meeting standards. At the Toronto Catholic District School Board, just 58% of 3rd graders and 44% of 6th graders met standards. In Peel District ...
VIDEO: Why do Ismailis seek help from Hazrat Ali and the Imams?
As part of our new series, What Ismailis Believe, this short video explains why Ismailis seek help from Hazrat Ali and the Imams. Read more at SCRIPTWRITING - Aleem Karmali & Zaitoon Murji NARRATION - Ziyana Vasaya DESIGN - Danish Shiraz Virani EDITING & ANIMATION - Salman Tarani & Sameed Makhani DIRECTORS - Aleem Karmali & Karim K. Dossani PRODUCER - Shahed ...
Why do Ismailis seek help from Hazrat Ali and the Imams?
Global -- Many religious communities around the world, including both Sunni and Shia Muslims, believe in the concept of intercession, which means to plead or intervene on behalf of another. Believers ask those who are considered close to God to intercede with the Lord on their behalf. Many religious communities around the world, including both Sunni and Shia Muslims, believe in ...
Dar sangue, dar vida
Portugal -- O Ismaili CIVIC Portugal dinamizou hoje uma campanha de dádiva de sangue no Centro Ismaili, em Lisboa. O Príncipe Hussain e a Ministra da Saúde estiveram presentes na campanha, organizada com o objetivo de aumentar as reservas de sangue no país. English O serviço voluntário há muito que faz parte da tradição Ismaili, assim como o reconhecimento da santidade ...
Giving blood, gifting life
Global -- Ismaili CIVIC Portugal hosted a blood donation campaign today at the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon. The Portuguese Minister for Health and Prince Hussain attended the pop-up clinic, organised to boost blood reserves in the country. Em Português Service and volunteering have long been part of Ismaili tradition, as has the recognition of the sanctity of human life. In the ...
Who Benefits From Cancelling Achievement Standards?
ZEROHEDGE.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 2007: "The path to meritocracy in leadership is meritocracy in education."] ARTICLE: In 2021 there's an outright holy war against scholastic achievement. Oregon passed a bill that says high school students don't need be able to read, write, and do math to graduate, even though the latest Rasmussen survey finds that 81% of American adults oppose such laws and only 12% favor them. Mathematics, we are told, should be replaced by "social justice" mathematics, in which there are no correct answers and, in English, students should not be judged on the quality of their writing. Recruitment of future scientists and science teachers and researchers should no longer be based on achievement, merit, and potential, but on "diversity, equity, and inclusion." Opinion polling shows that a supermajority of Americans, including every racial minority group, oppose ...
California State University Permanently Ends Standardized Test Requirements for Admissions
THEEPOCHTIMES.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 1978: "Some might say that our academic systems [in Aga Khan schools] are a little old-fashioned. Yes, we believe in examinations."] ARTICLE: California State University, the largest public university system in the United States, said it will no longer use entrance exams in undergraduate admissions. ACT criticized the move, arguing that it is more likely to harm than help students, especially those of underrepresented demographics who depend on standardized test scores to showcase their academic achievements. "Abandoning objective assessments, like the ACT test, introduces greater subjectivity and uncertainty into the admissions process," ACT said in a statement. "Solving the prevailing education inequities requires focus on root causes, rather than dismissing the tools that substantially improve our understanding of them," the company added. Both Cal State and UC administrators suspended ...
Religious Education -- BoAI Vol #1
GOOGLE.COM -- I hope my frank remarks will not be taken too harshly. With this fear of offending others, we have failed to communicate our real feelings. In reviewing Mr. Amin Amershi's report, "The problems facing the Ismaili Youth in East Africa," I think he is not far wrong about the our youth's total ignorance of Ismailism and Islam. Has the Association [now ITREB] ever taken a survey to find out how much our young people know? Mr. Amershi states "The young people have isolated religion from life and now consider religion as useless. In this state of ignorance Western religious scepticism poses a serious threat." The youth is frustrated in no uncertain ...
Springtime: Celebrating new beginnings
Global -- In Tajikistan, Navroz is a four-day public holiday and an opportunity for families to come together in celebration of traditions, particularly with the youngest members of the family. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), parents play a particularly key role in influencing development in the early years. In order to support young families, the Aga Khan Education ...
Resilience in spite of challenges: An interview with Amir Baig, President of the Ismaili Council for Afghanistan
Global -- Following recent political and economic instability in Afghanistan, The Ismaili conducted a special interview with Amir Baig, President of the Ismaili Council for Afghanistan, who explained the conditions facing the Jamat, and how Jamati and AKDN institutions are responding. The situation in Afghanistan has grown ever more complex over the past 40 years. Amidst droughts and insecurity, the country ...
Book Review: "Humanizing Medicine: Making Health Tangible" - Memoirs of Engagement with the Aga Khan Development Network
Humanizing Medicine: Making Health Tangible - Memoirs of Engagement With A Global Development Network by Azim H. Jiwani, MD 300 pp. FriesenPress, US$ 30.99 (Hardback), US$ 24.99 (Paperback) and US$ 7.99 (eBook) all via FriesenPress Also available in all editions at Amazon.ca and Indigo.ca. BOOK REVIEW BY NIZAR MOTANI, PhD Dr. Azim Jiwani's book was a surprise gift from ...
Religious Architecture: The Chamber Church, China
ARCHDAILY.COM -- The ChamberChurch aims to create a spatial container that both respects the past and looks towards the future. It provides a religious experience and secular touch. To create a modern icon, we needed to create a pure shape, that's still evokes the archetype of a church. The design echoes the memories associated with them, but interprets them in a timeless modernity creating a sense of the future. The design still features the classic components associated with a church, but abstracted. The landscape part of the exterior features an artificial lake to ...
Religious Architecture: Yasamkent Mosque, Turkey
ARCHDAILY.COM -- Yasamkent mosque in this respect represents a research towards creating a sense of consciousness towards creating a peaceful continuity between traditional and modern values of cultural accumulation. Located in a relatively small plot within the new development area of Ankara, Yasamkent mosque is the search for balance between open and closed areas, modesty and expression, identity and convention as well as modernity and tradition. The reinforced concrete and glass, the abstract and solid geometries, modest simplicity and minimalist architectural attitude directly refers to a contemporary architectural language whereas abstract Kufic expression of the minaret, as well as ...
Religious Architecture: Lagares Church, Portugal
ARCHDAILY.COM -- Designing a church seems to us to be an ideal instrument in searching for a symbolic, mystical and expressive dimension. As history has taught us, the alliance between art and religion offers mankind unique, magical and exalting moments that enrich life, mind and soul. The church, as a material construction and human representation of the Divine, plays a very important role in the development of sensibility. For believers and lay people, it is a living sign that conveys a transcendent meaning that makes us look beyond what we see, and take time to feel our lives at a deeper level. The first impressions and ideas emerged ...
Religious Architecture: Wong Dai Sin Temple, Canada
ARCHDAILY.COM -- The Wong Dai Sin Temple houses a dynamic Taoist community committed to their inner spiritual development through the ancient physical practice of tai chi. The Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism needed a new spiritual home in suburban Toronto that had to reflect not only the heart and soul of their religious beliefs but also the modern contemporary world of their congregants. The daily worship of one of the world's ancient religion of Taoism is embedded in the fabric of this modern sacred space. This new temple building demonstrates asymmetry and counterbalance while maintaining its equilibrium much like a measured tai chi pose. Inside the ...
Religious Architecture: Saint-Charbel Church, Lebanon
ARCHDAILY.COM -- Located in a site steeped in history, the challenge consisted of implementing a new larger church without overshadowing the smaller 18th-century chapel with its limestone vault structure. The roof of the church, an outdoor amphitheater cascading down towards the historical edifice, is suspended between two monolithic fair-faced concrete skeletons, punctuated by two big olive trees, ready to be covered with layers of green climbers. With its interior height ranging from 3m to 10m, the church enables a transcendental spatial experience that is further enhanced ...
VIDEO: AKHB NE Health Awareness: Kidney Health March 2022
AKHB NE Health Awareness: Kidney Health March 2022 ...
John Mearsheimer on why the West is principally responsible for the Ukrainian crisis
ECONOMIST.COM -- THE ECONOMIST -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: While we normally do not post on political matters, we are posting on the situation in Ukraine because it is an invaluable case study about Big Tech and Western media. ~~ Hazar Imam, 1996: "Even as the press has become more international, it has often left a trail of misunderstanding in its wake."] ARTICLE: The mainstream view in the West is that Vladimir Putin is an irrational, out-of-touch aggressor bent on creating a greater Russia. Thus, he alone bears full responsibility for the Ukraine crisis. But that story is wrong. The West, and especially America, is principally responsible for the crisis. The trouble over Ukraine started at NATO's Bucharest summit in April 2008, when the Bush administration pushed the alliance to announce that Ukraine and Georgia "will become members". The prevailing mantra in the West, portrays NATO expansion as irrelevant to the Ukraine crisis. The issue at hand is not what Western leaders say NATO's purpose or intentions are; it is how Moscow sees NATO's actions. None of this should be controversial. Prominent American foreign-policy experts have warned against NATO expansion for decades. America's Secretary of Defence at the time of the Bucharest summit ...
Candace Owens Goes Viral With Response To New York Times Reporter's Email Citing, Yup, The New York Times
DAILYWIRE.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: While we normally do not post on political matters, we are posting on the situation in Ukraine because it is an invaluable case study about Big Tech and Western media.] ARTICLE: "Hi there, I'm writing from The New York Times," an email from the reporter to Candace Owens started. "We note that you advanced the idea that Ukraine was a corrupt country, which matched comments we've seen from Russian state media," it continued. "I'm very confused by this email," Owens responded. "I educated myself about both the neo-Nazi problem in Ukraine and the unyielding corruption by reading your newspaper, not Russian state media. You guys have covered the corruption in Ukraine extensively. Here is a piece from the NYT Editorial Board titled, 'Ukraine's Unyielding Corruption.' Here are some more past articles written from reputable sources over the past few years about the corruption and neo-Nazi problem in Ukraine," Owens wrote. She also provided screengrabs ...
Louvre curator visits UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lahore Fort
Lahore, Pakistan, 24 March 2022 - Ethnologist and art historian Jean Baptiste Clais, curator of the Asian collection and European porcelains at the Department of Art Objects at the Louvre Museum in Paris, visited the historic Lahore Fort this week to view the restoration being undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). During the visit - part of the ...
