Eleventh of July has constantly been celebrated as Imamat Day, in the whole Ismaili world, for the past forty nine years. In 1957 Shah Karim Al Hussaini acceded to the throne of Imamat, according to the wishes of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, surpassing his father, Prince Salman Aly. Next year would be celebrated as Diamond Jubilee Year of the half century long Imamat of His Highness the Aga Khan IV. He was called the Imam of “Atomic Age”, by his appointee.

The entire period of his Imamat has been volatile, eventful and uncertain. The years after fall of the Ottoman Caliphate, in Turkey, were particularly woeful for majority of Muslims. In every corner of the world Muslims were victim or procreators of resistive and oppressive movements. From Bosnia to Palestine and Kashmir to Afghanistan, Muslims were engaged in wars. Iran and Iraq fought a very long war. The Gulf was attacked by a Coalition led by USA. Pakistan went on war with India, on three occasions.

Islam was in forefront throughout this time. Revolution of Iran was a turning point in history of the world. USSR was defeated in Afghanistan due to a feeling of heated JIHAD fueled and funded by western powers. The rise of Taliban is a consequence of that Jihad. The same feeling replicated itself in the form of Al-Qaeeda, run by a CIA trained Jihadi. All these were events that included Muslims, and thus Islam became involved for one or the other reason. The involvement of resistive Muslim forces in political mayhem rose to a point of no return. The resistive movements used luring Jihadi slogans to recruit Muslim youth. As a result the image of Islam got tarnished. The Jihadi forces engaged in sectarian clashes and lost the support of moderate Muslims.

The lack of nuclear leadership, acceptable to all sects, was a retrogressive factor for Muslims. Attempts were made on more than one occasions to bring the fifty seven Muslim states together, but to no avail. Speaking at Seerut Conference, organized by Government of Pakistan in Karachi, his highness the Aga Khan had warned the participating Muslim Scholars about the necessity to find a durable answer to the needs of the Ummah. He urged the scholars to find durable answers for the questions raised by the fast industrializing world. He analyzed that a lot of questions were not being answered and that was not very good for Muslim youth who are opening their eyes in very different world. The confusion, however, was not confined to the Muslim youth, only.

Confusions also aroused on the global level. The basic ideology of Islam came under Western scrutiny. Media played a very important role in defacing Islam and propagating anti- Islam sentiments in the west.

Then, Samuel. P Huntington came out with his theory of Clash of Civilizations (COC). This theory, however realistic, is disastrous for harmony. The theory needed to be discouraged lest people create the COC unnecessarily, or for political purposes! Islam had been presented as a rogue religion in the western media. The lack of central earthly authority led to silence or unheard uproars over this bigotry of the west. We were able to feel the heat only when Jyllandus-Posten, a newspaper based in Norway, published caricatures of The Holy Prophet, satirizing Islamic beliefs and presenting Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) as a suicide bomber. The reaction, though late, was really outrageous, all around the world.

While the world was busy in trumpeting the theory of clash of civilizations, there were very few who had realized the consequences and were thinking for the remedy. His Highness the Aga Khan was leading them. He strongly negated the COC and termed it as a clash of ignorance. He, very rightly, said that the clash was not due to our adherence to civilizations rather it was due to our ignorance. Ignorance, according to him is due to lack of interactions amongst the various civilizations. He urged all the intellectuals to “build bridges” among their civilizations and nurture the feelings of peaceful coexistence. The Aga Khan did not confine himself to words. He embarked upon a very calculated, visionary and ambitious plan of rectifying the distorted image of true Islam.

ARCH NET is a live example of his far sighted approach. Initiated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Aga Khan Foundation and Harvard University, ARCHNET is the world’s largest resource on architecture. It houses the architectural legacy of the Muslim civilization, along with other examples of sheer architectural excellence. It is a symbol of how we can share the merits of our civilizations, in order to build good will, harmony, acceptance and feelings of peaceful coexistence. It is a locus of our common interest. It is a showcase of our civilization, supported by representatives of our “rival civilizations”.

ARCHNET is just an example. The list of initiatives directed towards bringing the Muslim civilization into the global mainstream is quite impressive, both, in magnitude and quality. Institute of Islamic Civilization, based in London, is an AKDN project where scholars of international repute are teaching Islamic values to the west.

The Islamic Museum opened in Ottawa, the Capital of Canada, is another example in the series. The museum is another showcase of the great Islamic heritage, which makes the most essential part of our civilization. The Museum is to be a repository of Manuscripts pertaining to Islamic civilizations. Another venture, the Indian Ocean Maritime Museum, would be constructed in Zanzibar, in a redeveloped Stone Town. The Museum would be built around the theme of the Indian Ocean trade, whereby people of various civilizations used to interact, exchange goods, ideas, cultures and diversity.

Historic Cities Support Program is another renowned initiative for saving our heritage, our culture and the symbols of the lost Glory of Islamic Civilization. Cities that had gathered dust and were on the verge of extinction have been renovated and preserved for the world. These renovated cities attract millions of tourists. The tourists, apart from being source of income, are ambassadors of their civilizations. When they return to their homes, they definitely are going to return impressed by the glory that is exhibited by the walls, doors, gardens and construction style of Islamic civilization. Recently Al-Azhar Park was visited by Prince Charles and Kamila Parker, along with the Aga Khan. The historical park has been renovated recently by the Historic Cities Support Program. “It also raises the question as to how to creatively re-connect an age-old heritage with the opportunities and demands of rapidly changing modern life, an issue which has been very much on my mind since the creation of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture over 20 years ago”, wrote His Highness the Aga Khan, about Cairo, in preface to a publication of the Historic Cities Support Program. These words written by the Aga Khan are a mirror of his vision. It also reflects upon his love and affiliation for Islam, its heritage and its people.
In the recent past, His Highness the Aga Khan has spoken at various occasions, using his position as a speaker to rectify the image of Islam. When he speaks in front of university students, professors and other scholars and narrates to them the legacy of Islam, rectification is in process. Speaking in Germany the Aga Khan remarked, “Our spiritual understandings, like those of your Academy, are rooted, of course, in ancient teachings. In the case of Islam, there are two touchstones which I have long treasured and sought to apply. The first affirms the unity of the human race, as expressed in the Holy Qu'ran where God, as revealed through the Holy Prophet Muhammad, May peace be upon him, says the following:
“O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from the twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.” (4:1)
The Aga Khan has explicitly said on many occasions that the major obstruction in the way of an Islamic Revival (Renaissance) is negligence towards education. “In various periods of history the locus of control has moved from one center of learning to other…….we must go out and get he world’s knowledge, wherever it may be”, said Aga Khan while speaking at a university in Cairo. Aga Khan University, Karachi, University of Central Asia, Institute of Ismaili Studies, Institute of Islamic Civilization, Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) are some of the wonderful educational facilites that have been envisioned by the Aga Khan. His forefathers had envisioned Al Azhar University Cairo, his grand father lead the Muslims in India, after the demise of Sir Syed, and turned the MAO College into Ali Garh Muslim University. The desire to spread of knowledge is in the veins of the Aga Khan. His efforts are leading, concrete and he is the only leader that Islam has, in the true sense of the world leader.

The Aga Khan is using his wealth, according to the wishes of Quran. [24:22] “those among you who are blessed with resources and wealth shall be charitable towards their relatives, the poor, and those who have immigrated for the sake of GOD. They shall treat them with kindness and tolerance; do you not love to attain God’s forgiveness? GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.” He has not confined his wealth to the ones narrated in the book of our God. He is using his wealth for the welfare of entire humanity. The initiatives of AKDN in Africa, South Asia, Middle East, Central Asia and other impoverished regions of the world has changed the lives of millions of people. The philosophy behind his philanthropy is, undoubtedly, rooted in Quran.

German Foreign Minister, Dr Frank-Walter Stein Meier, while presenting the Tolerance Award to His Highness the Aga Khan said, “A man who shows us a face of Islam that many of us do not know and sadly all too often we do not want to know: an Islam that is open, tolerant and willing to engage in dialogue. An Islam that is not in conflict with free, democratic and pluralistic societies. In short: I cannot imagine a more appropriate winner of the Tolerance Award than His Highness the Aga Khan.” The German foreign minister further said, “We honour an exceptional man, we honour a huge friend of humankind, we honour a courageous visionary and we honour a person building bridges between societies”.

Shah Karim Al Hussaini is leading the Ismailies for only forty nine years, so far, but his principles are ancient, according the book of Allah and in conformity with the teachings of the holy prophet and the Imams of all times. His leadership is universal and so are his teachings. He has the dream “of leaving the world a better place”, and he has already gathered support for the cause.

Sharing the Cost of Development

No program directed at an overhaul of social makeup can succeed without objective, active and effective participation of the target group. International development agencies, like AKDN, have successfully implemented development schemes in collaboration with the beneficiaries of their schemes. In Gilgit-Baltistan, in particular, these programs have attained exemplary successes.



What does involvement mean? Definitely the target groups would be prone to the various programs intended at them. What exactly, then, is the dogma of involvement? In many cases it has been seen that the target beneficiaries are alienated. They either want to take the fruit only, or are completely unaware of whatever is going around. Involvement then, is the art of making them a partner in the process of development. This partnership, even, can be in financial terms. When the Aga Khan University, Karachi, embarked on the establishment of its Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) people overwhelmingly supported the cause and millions of dollars were provided by civil society organs. The Ismaili community, like always, was in the fore front. Nevertheless, visionary non Ismailies came forth with immense zeal to support the cause and hence a wonderful example of a venture for the public was organized by the public. Of course the Aga Khan Development Network is to provide the remaining half of the costs but now the public, in general, has a moral, financial, spiritual and cordial stake in that future centre of excellence.



The money gathered from various Jammat Khanas (The worship place of Ismailies), NGOs, individual donors and other so many sources exemplifies the potential of the public to financially support a cause of their own interest. Capitalizing on this potential needs a strong presence, an honest and visible performance and the desire to come forth and offer a visible change.



In lower economic classes money must not be expected, but shall also not be kept aside completely. Grameen Bank, in Bangladesh, found out that eighty seven percent of the impoverished people would return the micro loans provided to them. That the people are poor does not, always, mean that they can’t share. These people can use their physical potentials to gain the intended objectives. Their mental capacities must not be ignored either.



Hunza, recently, has experienced change of a different order. AKDN started so many projects in the whole northern areas to improve the living standards, standards of education and the economy. Most of the projects were entirely funded by the AKDN, in the initial stages of the program. But recent trends show that now the public is eager to share in the projects of mutual development. In many cases only money and planning came from AKDN, the execution (labor, logistics, maintenance) were carried out by the local population, free of cost. In many cases, when school buildings were being constructed, the people would purchase land, arrange for most of the raw materials (like wood, and material for concrete, with the exception of Cement). Each house contributes to the cost and thus major portion of the project is sponsored by the public itself.



These successful initiatives in the northern areas have inspired many around the country. NRSP, PPAF and other organizations working for a revival of the social getup have copied the same. The results are stunning. The transition has not confined itself. Now the Union Councils, though not equal to their likes round the country, have also started inducting local people into their schemes. Khushal Pakistan, for instance, appoints a team leader for a project and the project is executed through paid labor. This has reduced the customary fraudulent acts of the Thekedar System, to greater level. The team leader, however influential, is answerable directly to the people and thus frauds and usurpations have receded, if not eliminated entirely.



It is not that we have not realized the philanthropic potentials of our people; the enigma is that this potential has been abused widely. The Kiosks and donation boxes seeking support for the “Mujahidins”, for “eliminating Kufr” and for sustenance of our “faith” are not empty, anytime. I wish and I hope that development agencies utilize this philanthropic potential of our nation to fight illiteracy, malnutrition, water issues and dozens of other social evils that haunt us day and night. I wish there comes a day when the mundane people of Pakistan realize their potentials and step forth to be sincere partners in our surge for sustainability and growth.

The last snow fall of the season. Hunza blooms, as the snow moves up the mountains, retreating into its pouch, to come later. Pakistan's ultimate mountain beauty.

Visit
www.apnahunza.com