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Un imam des chiites ismaéliens appelle à empêcher la famine en Afghanistan

LE MONDE | 31.10.01 | 13h59

Selon Karim Agha Khan, imam des chiites ismaéliens, "il faut d'abord empêcher que des gens meurent de faim en Afghanistan, puis reconstruire une société civile".

"quel est votre plan pour l'avenir de l'afghanistan ?

Interview with His Highness the Aga Khan

by Robert Ivy, FAIA Editor in Chief, Architectural Record
(Aiglemont, August 31, 2001)

Robert Ivy: As Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, you lead a religious community that is an important branch of Islam and that resides on four continents. You have personally expressed an affinity for Islamic architecture. How have Muslim traditions and Islamic teaching affected your appreciation for architecture? Which great works of architecture have had special meaning for you?

The Aga Khan: 'I am amazed by the ignorance of Islam'.Says the leader of the Ismaelits: this is not a conflict between civilisations but of reciprocal prejudices and stereotypes.'.

The Taliban: 'Through the Koran, they condemn themselves. The Koran prohibits the enforcement of a religious practice or of a faith. This is why the regime of the Taliban condemns itself, but it is not right to associate it with Bin Laden and to associate Bin Laden with Islam.'.

Imran: Good evening ladies and Gentlemen, we have a very distinguished visitor here this evening. Somebody who has always been a great friend of Pakistan, he is the Spiritual Leader of the Ismaili Muslims, an illustrious son of Islam, and as I said earlier, every time he visits, the People of Pakistan look forward to it. Look forward to his interventions and to his great vision, which is always translated eventually into reality. I'd like to welcome His Highness the Aga Khan.

-Aga Khan: Thank you very much indeed.

Imran: Welcome to Pakistan.

Aga Khan: Thank you very much.

Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, is the spiritual and temporal leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims. His grandfather named him to the Imamate in 1957--when Karim was an undergraduate at Harvard University--passing over Karim's father, Prince Aly Khan, and also Aly's brother, Prince Sadruddin. Karim is among the world's wealthiest men, with business investments strewn around the globe but particularly in Africa, Europe and Asia. Excerpts from an rare interview :

What makes you tick?

Mildred F. Schmertz: You founded the Award twenty years ago, and have sustained it without interruption right up to now. In today's architectural world, new ideas and agendas often have a very short life. At the beginning some observers thought that at best, your architectural award program would last about six years. Instead, in two decades it has become and remained the most outstanding in the world, and continues to hold that leadership. What were the goals that led you to establish the Award?

If ever East meets West, it could be said to do so at Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan's 17th-century home, the Château de Bellerive on the shores of Lake Geneva. Flanked by two square towers, the
stone façade of the château with its tiled roof, wooden shutters and arched doors of studded oak is austere but arrestingly beautiful.

While the outside may be simple, the rooms inside are crammed with exotic bibelots, orchids, oriental

While the outside may be simple, the rooms inside are crammed with exotic bibelots, orchids, oriental rugs and textiles. But then Prince Sadruddin is the younger son of Sir Sultan Mohamed Shah, Aga Khan III - the Imam, or leader of the Ismaili Shia Muslims. Their family's bloodline can be traced back to the Prophet.

Pour la troisième année consécutive, la princesse Salimah Aga Khan a fait le voyage à Tahiti, pour rendre visite au village d'enfants dont elle est la marraine. Une action humanitaire qui a vu le jour au moment où sa vie prenait une nouvelle direction.

"Lorsque l'ombre de la nuit, Déchire mon coeur d'enfant, Dans le noir, la solitude qui m'attend, Et pourtant tu est là près de moi, Très chère maman, belle princesse, Ton amour est une caresse, J'ai besoin de toi, oui de toi".

Forty ninth Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, Karim Aga Khan, at 59 years of age, is the spiritual leader of 20 million faithful. His religious mission ties-in with [H]is humanitarian concerns. Considered one of the richest men in the world, [H]e allocates 700 million Francs each year to the Muslim Third World by means of [H]is development network. He also travels regularly to the twenty-five countries in which the Ismailis are spread out, often accompanied by [H]is daughter, Princess Zahra, whose presence symbolizes the new role of the modern woman in the Islamic world.

The spiritual leader of 15 million Ismailis - of which 2500 live in France - has made his 24 year old daughter Zahra his privileged partner. The princess grew up in Paris, was schooled in Switzerland, then obtained her degree in Economic Development in the Third World at Harvard. During her trip to Pakistan with her father, the Aga Khan reserved a comprehensive social action program for her. The man who is called the 'richest man in the world', invests around 140 million dollars (700 million French Francs) in the third world each year.

Just before leaving Aswan to spend the summer in Cannes, Princess Yvonne Aga Khan, wife of the late Aga Khan gave a rare interview to YOUSSEF EL-DEEB

Shortly before his death in 1957, Sultan Mohamed Shah Agha Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili sect of Islam, chose as his resting place a solitary sand dune on the West Bank of the Nile at Aswan. Princess Yvonne Agha Khan, known as the Begum, a French national and the Sultan`s third wife, has cared for this tomb ever since, staying at their house nearby for six months of the year and spending the summer at their villa in Cannes.

Shortly before his death in 1957, Sultan Mohamed Shah Agha Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili sect of Islam, chose as his resting place a solitary sand dune on the West Bank of the Nile at Aswan. Princess Yvonne Agha Khan, known as the Begum, a French national and the Sultan`s third wife, has cared for this tomb ever since, staying at their house nearby for six months of the year and spending the summer at their villa in Cannes.

The quiet revolutionary
By Akbar S. Ahmed
The (Manchester) Guardian Weekly, August 18, 1991
Picture caption: The Aga Khan: paradox

PERSONAL FILE 1936 Born in Geneva as Prince Karim. Educated at the College du Rosey, Switzerland, and Harvard University 1957 Becomes Aga Khan, Imam of the Ismaili Moslems, on the death of his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III 1967 Establishes the Aga Khan Foundation 1983 Founds Aga Khan University, Pakistan 1984 Establishes Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development 1990 Named Commander of French Legion d'Honneur for eminent services to humanity'

PRINCE OF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

The Aga Khan speaks to William Dawkins and Edward Mortimer

UNESCO Courier May 1991.

Courier: You have been associated with the United Nations system for many years. Did you feel a vocation to serve the UN?

Turgut Ozal is the president of Turkey. Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, a Geneva-based leader of the Ismaili Muslims, a sect scattered from Iran to Pakistan, is the special representative of the secretary general of the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs relating to issues arising from the Iran-Iraq War. Ozal's statement and the * question-and-answer exchange that follows with Aga Khan took place in Davos, Switzerland, during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.