Hodja, deep in thought, was walking down a road near the palace when he bumped into a man. The man got very angry and began shouting at Hodja. "Do you know who I am!", he screamed. "I am the king's advisor in his court!" "That is nice", said Hodja. "As for me I am King," he added. "A King?" asked the ...
Introduction: Shams-e-Tabrizi (d.1248) was an Iranian Sufi mystic born in the city of Tabriz in Iranian Azerbaijan. He introduced Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, usually known as Rumi in the West, to Islamic mysticism, for which he was immortalized in Rumi's poetry collection Diwan-e Shams-e Tabriz-i ("The Works of Shams of Tabriz"). Shams lived together with Rumi in Konya, in present-day ...
21 April 2009 Why? Worldwide 200 million children under five years of age are not achieving their development potential due to poverty, poor health and nutrition, and lack of stimulation and learning opportunities. The vast majority of these children are from disadvantaged households and communities in low-income countries. Early childhood lays critical foundations for a person's entire life - a finding ...
One day a Dervish arrived in a village while he was crossing a desert with his donkey. He was exhausted and decided to rest at an inn in the village. First, he placed his donkey in the care of a boy at a stable beside the Inn. The inn was filled to capacity with men of different backgrounds. Some were upright ...
Introduction: Saadi Shirazi or Saadi was an Iranian poet who was born in Shiraz in 1184. He wrote the Bustan (in Persian, meaning "The Orchard" ) in 1257, the Golistan (in Persian, meaning "The Rose Garden" ) in 1258, and a collection of lyrics (Divan). When Saadi was very young, he left Shiraz for Baghdad to study Arabic literature and Islamic ...
Introduction of His Highness the Aga Khan by Vartan Gregorian, 16th President of Brown His Highness the Aga Khan at "The Green" at Brown University, 1996. Simerg Photo. At the Class of 1996 baccalaureate service, Brown President Vartan Gregorian introduced His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, leader of the Ismaili Muslims, who delivered the baccalaureate address. The University's 232nd baccalaureate ...
Carnegie Corporation of New York on April 7, 2009 announced an initial $10 million investment to enrich the quality of America's public dialogue on Islam and Muslim societies. Many of the foundation's long-term programmatic priorities-from international security and immigrant integration to journalism and support for individual scholars-have integrated a focus on Islam into their grantmaking. The Corporation's comprehensive strategy focuses on ...
Hodja, Questioning God's Wisdom. Illustration by Jillian GilliandIntroduction: Nasreddin Hodja is Turkey's (and perhaps all of Islam's) best-known trickster. His legendary wit and droll trickery were possibly based on the exploits and words of a historical imam. Nasreddin reputedly was born in 1208 in the village of Horto near Sivrihisar. In 1237 he moved to Aksehir, where he died in the Islamic ...
A parable is a brief, succinct story, in prose or verse, that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human characters. (Wikipedia definition) In many faiths and cultures, the teaching of ethics and morals is often taught by parables. ...
This is a Place for Uninvolved People. But you never know - you could get involved, by reading something in Sidelines where you will get opinions and perspectives on any subject that matters. Sidelines (latest at top) Five East African Serena Resorts in Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice AwardsOur Incredible 'Yellowstone' Holiday: Part III - The Yellowstone Caldera and Geysers of ...
Earth Day is celebrated every April 22 and is the largest celebrated environmental event worldwide. First launched as an environmental awareness event in the United States, one billion people across the globe now participate in various Earth Day activities every year. Six million of these participants are Canadian. Over the years, Earth Day has grown into Earth Week and Earth Month ...
17 April 2009 - The district of Surkh-e-Parsa lies at the upper end of the Ghorband Valley, not far from where the road begins to climb the bare hills to the Shibar Pass. Three green valleys converge at the district centre of Lolinj. The local people grow wheat and tend their fruit trees, but they have always been poor. For them, ...
The springtime of a friend of 'Ali is always full of the efflorescence of 'Ali; None deserves eminence and praise among the people except he who befriends 'Ali. The heart of every Shi'i is protected from Satan in the fortress of 'Ali; As 'Ali is from the Prophet's family the true Shi'i belongs to the family of 'Ali. 'Ali's cave is ...
Canada -- Professor Arif Babul is an astrophysicist whose research into the origins of the universe is just one aspect of his multi-faceted career. A Distinguished Professor at the University of Victoria, he directs the Canadian Computational Cosmology Collaboration, and is an advocate for strengthened Muslim-West relations. "How did all the stars get in the sky?" asks a child of her ...
Call Yourself A Barefooter for a Week, Serve a Purpose...and Become Stress Free Become a Barefooter and Leave Your Imprint Barefooter Going 'barefoot' (also 'barefooted') means for a person not to use, or to go without, any type of foot covering. It is traditional to go barefoot in many developing world, but less common in industrialized due to greater societal taboos, ...
Al-Hazen discussed the density of the atmosphere, and correctly explained the refraction of light in the atmosphere. From his studies of refraction he determined that the atmosphere has a definite height, which he calculated to be about 50 km, and also that twilight is caused by refraction of solar radiation from beneath the horizon. For his pioneering work in these areas, ...
Hazrat Ali (a.s.) was a person of deep knowledge and wisdom. There were many people who came to him for guidance. He taught them about Islam, the meaning of the Quran, and how to live together as good Muslims. Hazrat Ali's words are remembered to this day by Muslims everywhere. Here are some of the sayings of the first Shia Imam: ...
All Images shown below are from the Private Collection of Mr. Bruno Freschi, 1985. Photos by Mr. Gary Otte. Please click on image for larger version of the photo. Please note that the larger images are not necessarily high resolution images.A Sketch of the Burnaby Darkhana Jamatkhana.Foundation Ceremony: July 26, 1982; Opening Date: August 23, 1985; Site Area: 14171.8 square metres; Area ...
All Images shown below are from the Private Collection of Mr. Bruno Freschi, 1985. Photos by Mr. Gary Otte. A Sketch of the Burnaby Darkhana Jamatkhana. Foundation Ceremony: July 26, 1982; Opening Date: August 23, 1985; Floor Areas: Site 14172 square metres, area covered by building 3870 square metres, parking 134 spaces. The Aga Khan noted at the Foundation ceremony: "I succeeded ...
News story -- The event was organised by local Ismaili institutions. The Chairman of ITREBFrance, Aziz Khetani, spoke of the importance of the launch of this book in French. He said that Dr Daftary's seminar would enable those present to understand the elaboration of a myth over a period of thousand years. He further said that the talk would explain the nature ...
Poem Composed by: Fida'i Khurasani He is always present a witness with his followers; but who has seen his beauty except the blessed? He who is the cupbearer of the fount of paradise is aware altogether of the hearts of his followers He is the Imam of the time the guide and comforter the protector of his followers whether young or ...
Dalakhani's son Kadabi takes the Prix de Pépinvast Hurdle at Auteuil. KADABI became the latest in a succession of former Aga Khan graduates to excel for his new connections when lifting Tuesday's Gr 3 contest against the best French hurdlers of his generation. He therefore follows in the footsteps of recent success stories under both codes such as Triumph Hurdle hero ...
Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 9 April 2009 - Every year communities in the mountainous regions of Tajikistan are subject to natural hazards such as landslides and debris flows. In an effort to reduce the resulting risk run by those communities, the Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Tajikistan and Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) signed an agreement to hydro-insulate a water channel in ...
A Brilliant Architect and a Visionary Imam Combine to Build First Iconic Ismaili Landmark in North America Twenty Four Years Ago Mr. Bruno Freschi pictured recently at Vij's restaurant in Vancouver. Photo: Nurin Merchant In a personal message to Mr. Bruno Freschi dated 20th October, 1985, His Highness the Aga Khan wrote: "With my deep and sincere gratitude for conceiving, designing ...
Following the dual-purpose successes of Aga Khan graduates such as recent Triumph Hurdle hero Zaynar and Hong Kong Group 3 scorer Eyshal, as well as French champion hurdler Zaiyad and multiple Group winner TASHELKA, the Aga Khan Studs are now offering some 14 individuals for private sale on their website. The 14 three-year-olds include representatives of several leading Aga Khan families, ...
Vij's in Vancouver One can't plan for an evening dinner at Vij's with any certainty. The restaurant doesn't have a reservation policy - no exceptions. My requests to get one on the pretext that my daughter, Nurin, and I had travelled far or that our guest had to leave early were politely turned down. Vikram Vij himself sent me an email ...
An Invitation to all Visual Artists and Poets in the Ismaili Community Circular Plate showing leader watching his community celebrating. Issued by Midori Mint, Limited Edition Please click on the following links for works published at this website: Poetic Expressions: The Poets and their Poetry Visual Arts: The Artists and their Works ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SPECIAL PRESENTATION: THE FESTIVAL OF POETIC EXPRESSIONS Please ...
News story -- The book consists of stunning photographs and features over 40 contributions on the beautiful and historical gardens of Asia along with a foreword by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. The chapter by Professor Nanji is on a 17th century Mughal Garden in Lahore, Pakistan - the Shalimar Bagh. This UNESCO World Heritage Site, built during the reign of Emperor ...
Throughout history Ismaili pilgrims travelled far and wide to see the Imam of the Time. During the reign of Imam Gharib Mirza, one such Ismaili pilgrim tracked his way to Anjudan to see the Imam on behalf of the Jamats in Khurasan. The identity of the pilgrim is not very clear due to the poor quality of the manuscript but the ...
News story -- the conference papers encompassed a wide range of disciplines, from political science, anthropology, social work, film studies, economics, art history, to Islamic studies. This conference was unique due to the range of diverse yet politically engaged viewpoints represented in all the panels and plenary sessions. All the sessions were animated by vigorous and healthy debates on contemporary tensions shaping ...
News story -- Mr Keshavjee began by explaining ADR as a process that takes place when two or more people or institutions in a dispute seek to broker a solution without going through the state-based formal legal system. A third party intervener can help them arrive at a negotiated settlement, but the degree of control the third party can exert depends on ...
There is an ode of Imam 'Abd al-Salam in which he says that the talisman (anything that has magical powers) that can open the treasure trove of spiritual meaning of the Holy Quran is the Imam. This ode is lucidly explained by Dr. Shafique Virani in his book "The Ismailis in the Middle Ages". In the ode the Imam observes that ...
In "History in Quotations", which reflects five thousand years of World History, the authors M. J. Cohen and John Major write as follows: "Muhammad said: 'He of whom I am the Mawla (patron), Ali is his Mawla. O God, be the friend of him who is his friend and be the enemy of his enemy.' This became the proof text for ...
In the intellectual life of the Fatimid Period, the contributions of Qadi No'man are regarded as extremely significant. He played a great part in enriching the Fatimid period with his intellectual wealth and exerted enormous influence on his contemporaries and later writers. Qadi No'man wrote extensively on Fatimid Doctrines and Jurisprudence. In 952 CE when the Fatimid Caliph-Imam Al-Moiz ascended the ...
Said Imam Mustansir bi'llah in Pandiyat Jawan Mardi (Counsels of Chivalry): "O, believers, O, pious ones! Now is the time when you should strengthen religion (din), by helping each other, by trying to gain knowledge, by advancing the religious cause, and striving to make your faith complete. Gain safety by obeying the Imam of the time, and become completely obedient to ...
In 910 CE, the 11th Ismaili Imam, Muhammmad din Mahdi established and became the first Fatimid Caliph in Tunisia. His capital was called Al-Mahdiyya. A North African Poet composed the following poem to commemorate the Imam's arrival in the capital: "My congratulations, O generous prince, for your arrival upon which our epoch smiles You have established your camp in a noble ...
News story -- The speakers delivered presentations that focused on careers in five areas: (1) academia, (2) the non-profit sector, (3) the Aga Khan Development Network, (4) the Aga Khan Academies and (5) the IIS. Dr. Alnoor Dhanani, Head of Graduate Studies at the IIS, welcomed the guests and about 20 students and staff who attended the programme. This was followed by ...
Poet: Nasir Khushraw Run to the sanctuary of the safe house, which is surrounded by bliss and prosperity; "I have composed this poem like a necklace of pearls" - Khushraw He brings souls out of their darkness and draws out fruit from their outer skin You see him as the rising sun of clarity and as the river of abundant bounty. ...
