[I]n much of the world where we work, our problem is volatility -- volatility in economics, in governments and so on and so forth. I think what we've learned is that the best answer to this volatility, in the countries where we are, is civil society and very often civil society is not an expression everyone is comfortable with. But I'll ...
His message is simple. If we help societies create their own support systems, for health, education and economic development "... then societies will evolve positively and without too much difficulty. Now that sounds over optimistic, and it might well be but that's the goal." Some say our world is getting flatter, some say hotter, but here is proof it is getting ...
By Mohib Ebrahim Editor and Publisher, NanoWisdoms Editor's note: Mohib Ebrahim has contributed numerous articles to Simerg. We are delighted to inform our readers that he recently launchedNanoWisdoms.org. The following piece by him briefly introduces the Website for the benefit of Simerg readers. A year ago NanoWisdoms launched its Twitter microblog, which publishes a few words of wisdom from our Imams, ...
Serena Taj, right, with her Asian American Coalition of Chicago's "Youth Who Excel" award INTRODUCTION: Three Ismaili Youth with roots from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India were recipients of prestigious Awards in the State of Illinois, USA, for their academic achievements and community services. Simerg asked Mr. Sadruddin Noorani of Chicago to interview Zahra Lalani, Serena Taj and Zul Kapadia about their ...
By Norreddin Mahammed Hubble's Deepest View of Universe Unveils Never-Before-Seen Galaxies. The faintest and reddest objects in the image are galaxies that formed 600 million years after the Big Bang. No galaxies have been seen before at such early times. Credit: NASA, ESA, G. Illingworth (UCO/Lick Observatory and the University of California, Santa Cruz), R. Bouwens INTRODUCTION: Where do we come ...
3 - 5 Palace Gate in 1975, Photo: London Metropolitan Archives. © City of London. By Navyn Naran it was home away from home the only place you could plant your feet and know you belonged; 5 Palace Gate, 1970s before '57 it was at Kensington Court Mawlana Sultan Mohamed Shah's memoirs a photo with young Ismaili children and parents who ...
Kenya -- As owners of a Kenyan beach resort, the Visram family maintains a firm belief in improving the lives of the local community. Their efforts to help people understand the real and present dangers of illegal human trafficking earned them a nomination for the first-ever Business Leader's Award to Fight Human Trafficking, for which Mawlana Hazar Imam was a jury ...
Global -- In February 2011, a group of seven 10-foot high installations called Tolerance was unveiled at Harmony Walk in Houston near the site of the planned Ismaili Center, Houston. The statues were created by Spanish artist, Jaume Plensa and funded by City of Houston together with Mawlana Hazar Imam and a few private donors. ...
Racing and sales success for the Gilltown Stud sire. AZAMOUR has enjoyed a spectacular week in Newmarket on both the Rowley Mile racecourse and Tattersalls sales ring followed by European Pattern wins over the weekend. On the Newmarket track, his son NATIVE KHAN confirmed his Guineas potential with a smooth victory in the Gr. 3 Craven Stakes on Thursday, and a ...
Portrait of Averroes, half-tone reproduction from Spanish Encyclopaedia. Credit: Wellcome Library. Copyright. Editor's note: This reading is reproduced from a special issue of the UNESCO Courier magazine (September 1986) dedicated to two great figures of universal learning, Averroes and Maimonides, the former a Muslim and the latter a Jew. We begin with an introduction excerpted from the Courier's editorial, followed by ...
It has never been easy for people to live together. Wiping away superficial misunderstandings will not by itself allow a spontaneous spirit of accommodation to blossom. To do so will require concerted, deliberate efforts to build social institutions and cultural habits which take account of difference, which see diversity as an opportunity rather than a burden. We can begin by looking ...
Global -- In celebration of Navroz, the Aga Khan Development Network hosted a reception at the Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe. Over 300 people attended the celebration, which was held on 20 March 2011 and was the first Navroz event ever held at the Centre. Tajik Government and Parliament officials, Ambassadors, heads of international organisations in Dushanbe, and Jamati members were in attendance. ...
NanoWisdoms is pleased to announce the launch of the NanoWisdoms Archive, the first website dedicated to His Highness the Aga Khan's speeches, interviews and writings. As a dedicated repository, the NanoWisdoms Archive enables precise, narrow searches returning results only with the Aga Khan's remarks since the Archive contains no other content. Furthermore, searches are comprehensive as the Archive encompasses material scattered ...
THE ROLE OF PERSIANS IN FATIMID EGYPT By Hatim Mahamid Published earlier: Persians in Fatimid Egypt: (I) Their Role in the ArmyPersians in Fatimid Egypt: (II) Their Role in the Da'wah and Ismaili Doctrines Abstract: This paper deals with the role of Persians and their impact on the life of Fatimid State in Egypt. After the Fatimid conquest of Egypt and ...
Mrs. Seema Kapadia and son Zul, in his younger days, pictured with President Obama when he was not yet in the White House. Photo: Sadruddin Noorani. INTRODUCTION: Three Ismaili Youth with roots from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India were recipients of a prestigious Award in the State of Illinois, USA, for their academic achievements and community services. Simerg asked Mr. Sadruddin Noorani ...
Healthy Hints Moong beans are a healthy pulse vegetable, and in a vegetarian diet they can supply an important source of iron. The lemon and lime help to increase the absorption of that iron, which is particularly significant if you don't eat meat. 350 ml water 130 g whole green moong beans, rinsed 2 tomato, diced 1 small onion, diced ½ ...
Vadamar and Baraan impress in view of Epsom and Chantilly. H.H. the Aga Khan's pair of DALAKHANI colts VADAMAR and BARAAN have entered the Derby and Jockey-Club picture with stylish wins recently in France. VADAMAR earned his place in the Classic reckoning when accelerating well to lift the Listed Prix François Mathet over 10.5 furlongs at Saint-Cloud on his seasonal debut ...
News story -- The Institute of Ismaili Studies has awarded its doctoral scholarships for the fifteenth year. The two recipients of the 2011 cycle of the scholarship programme are Zarangez Karimova from Tajikistan and Ula Zeir from Syria.Zarangez Karimova completed the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) at the IIS in 2009. Whilst studying at the IIS, she conducted field ...
News story -- During his academic career, spanning more than five decades, Prof. Arkoun was an outstanding research scholar and a rigorous critic of the theoretical tensions embedded in the field of Islamic Studies. He was a courageous public intellectual who was a powerful voice in the frequently contentious debates on Islamic modernism and humanism. A native of Algeria, Mohammed Arkoun was ...
News story -- "Our student body personified a colourful, multicultural mosaic. The rich diversity represented at the Summer Programme on Islam makes it possible to extend a concept like pluralism beyond theoretical boundaries to a shared experience." (SPI 09 participant). The programme provided a structured intellectual forum for an introductory study of Islam to reflect on contemporary issues relevant to Muslim societies. ...
By Mohezin Tejani Enclosed inside the O-shaped housing complex of Madras Gardens, stands a three-tiered grassy field that we Ugandan boys--some thirty of us including Sikhs, Hindus, Punjabis, Bagandas, and Muslims, both Shia and Sunni--use as much more than a playground. It is our life-after-school haven that we sprint to as soon as the three o'clock bell of the last period ...
News story -- From 2006 to 2010, Dr Vellani was the Associate Director of the Critical Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania and also served as a Senior Fellow for Penn's College Houses and Academic Services. There he managed all aspects of academic administration for over 3,000 students every year, as well as undertaking teaching and curriculum development. Prior to moving ...
Filly out of Zarkava half-sister among trio sold at Australian Easter Yearling Sale. This sale of a trio of youngsters underlines the success of the first cycle of this joint venture between the Aga Khan Studs and Arrowfield Stud. In 2008, an initial group of six blue-blooded young mares were exported to Australia to join John Messara's Arrowfield Stud and these ...
News story -- The IIS hosted a book launch at the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon to launch two recent publications: Spiritual Quest: Reflections on Qur'anic Prayer According to the Teachings of Imam 'Aliand the Portuguese translation of Justice & Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam 'Ali. The event was attended by Dr Reza Shah-Kazemi, the author of the books, as well as ...
Artist: Rubina Rajan Location: Vancouver, Canada Profile: Currently based in Vancouver, I spent my formative years in Kigali, Rwanda. This land of a thousand hills has intilled a deep reverence for Nature. After Rwanda, I lived in Belgium before moving to Canada. Professional art-making came after many years of working in various fields including French-English translation. To date, I have had ...
From l to r: Serena Taj, Zul Kapadia and Zahra Lalani - recipients of a prestigious Award in the State of Illinois. Photo: Sadruddin Noorani INTRODUCTION: Three Ismaili Youth with roots from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India were recipients of a prestigious Award in the State of Illinois, USA, for their academic achievements and community services. The Award event, which was organized ...
News story -- One of the purposes of this trip was to enable students to visit historical sites connected to the Fatimid period such as the al-Azhar Mosque, arguably the most important building from Fatimid Cairo, and the mosque of al-Hakim, which lies between the two large monumental gates of Bab al-Nasr and Bab al-Futuh. The visit also gave students an opportunity ...
News story -- The 2003 recipient of the IIS' Dissertation Writing Scholarship, Dr Mir-Kasimov obtained his doctorate from the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Paris. His thesis was devoted to the reconstruction of the doctrinal views of the Hurufis, one of the messianic movements strongly influenced by Shi'i ideas which emerged in Iran in the 14th century CE. After defending his ...
News story -- The IIS is pleased to announce the publication of A Modern History of the Ismailis: Continuity and Change in a Muslim Community, edited by Dr Farhad Daftary, Co-Director of the Institute. This publication is the culmination of the most recent scholarship, in many cases based on field research, as well as oral traditions and community documents not published hitherto. ...
News story -- Using several examples of contemporary warfare, including the US-led war in Iraq, Professor Frost argued that military and political perspectives alone failed to explain the justifications advanced by various parties and their critics for their evolving positions. Rather, ethical reasoning on the basis of principles that emerge from the legal, political and social norms in international relations was the ...
News story -- Dr Nuha al-Shaar, Research Associate in the Institute's Qur'anic Studies Unitand an IIS Alumna,presented a paper as part of a panel entitled "Reason and Revelation" at MESA 2010 in San Diego. The panel also included a paper by Dr. Alnoor Dhanani, specialist in Islamic Intellectual History and former head of the Department of Graduate Studies at the Institute. Employing ...
THE ROLE OF PERSIANS IN FATIMID EGYPT By Hatim Mahamid Published earlier:Persians in Fatimid Egypt: (I) Their Role in the Army Abstract: This paper deals with the role of Persians and their impact on the life of Fatimid State in Egypt. After the Fatimid conquest of Egypt and Syria in 358-359/969, and the seat of the Fatimid caliphate had transferred from ...
Rewilding and Igugu are both out of Aga Khan bred dams. The depth and strength of H.H. the Aga Khan's breeding operation was demonstrated yet again over the weekend thanks to a rare cross-continent double of Gr 1 victories for progeny of Aga Khan Studs mares. At Meydan, Rewilding (Tiger Hill) lifted the Gr 1 Sheema Classic, while Igugu (Galileo) strolled ...
THE ROLE OF PERSIANS IN FATIMID EGYPT: THE ARMY, DA'WAH AND COMMERCE By Hatim Mahamid Abstract: This paper deals with the role of Persians and their impact on the life of Fatimid State in Egypt. After the Fatimid conquest of Egypt and Syria in 358-359/969, and the seat of the Fatimid caliphate had transferred from al-Mansuriyya in Ifriqiya to Cairo (Egypt), ...
Dr Hussein Rashid delivered a lecture titled Everyday Art: An Islamic Impact on American Art on 13 February 2011 at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. ...
Chapter Five of Pir Nasir-i Khusraw's Wajh-i Din A page from a 13th/19th century Persian manuscript of Wajh-i din by Nasir-i Khusraw. In this work, Nasir Khusraw masterfully applies ta'wil to the system of ideas and concepts propounded in earlier Fatimid texts. Image: The Institute of Ismaili Studies. Introduced and translated by Rukhsana Ali INTRODUCTION TO NASIR KHUSRAW AND WAJH-I DIN ...
Global -- From 28 August to 5 December 2010, the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia became a hub of Islamic calligraphic exploration. The Museum presented two complementary exhibitions that explored calligraphy in an interactive context. The two exhibitions titled Traces of the Calligrapher: Islamic Calligraphy in Practice, c. 1600-1900 and Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy ...
Tanzania -- When the Government of Tanzania requested support for the victims of an explosion on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, the Ismailis in the area were eager to help. The Ismaili Council for Tanzania partnered with the Aga Khan Hospital to organise a blood drive, and members of the Jamat donated emergency supplies to victims of the disaster. Every ...
Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 23 March 2011 - Her Excellency President Otunbaeva today officially inaugurated the new Head Office of the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB) in the presence of Prince Rahim Aga Khan -- the eldest son of His Highness the Aga Khan - the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) one of the organisations that ...
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 23 March 2011 - Her Excellency President Otunbaeva today officially inaugurated the new Head Office of the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB) in the presence of Prince Rahim Aga Khan -- the eldest son of His Highness the Aga Khan - the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) one of the organisations that helped ...
