Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

OTTAWA – Ismaili Muslims’ spiritual leader Aga Khan, the Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) arrived in Vancouver this week as part of an 8-day visit to Canada on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee. The Aga Khan, who is in Canada as a guest of the Government, is commemorating his fifty years of leadership as Imam of the Ismaili Muslims.

The Aga Khan arrived in Ottawa on Tuesday and traveled to Toronto, where he met with Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario. He presided over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between McMaster University and the Aga Khan University (AKU), which has campuses and programs in eight countries in South Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

In Vancouver, the Aga Khan me with the Mayor of the City of Burnaby, Derek Corrigan, as well as The Honourable Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia. The Aga Khan also met and addressed the gatherings of the Ismaili community in each of cities he visited.

He is scheduled to return to Ottawa for the official inauguration of the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat building on Sussex Drive, on December 6, 2008. The Delegation will serve a representational role for the activities of the Imamat including the AKDN, and will mark a new phase in the Imamat’s partnership with Canada.

The Aga Khan Development Network has a long-standing relationship with Canada and Canadians. Over the past 25 years, the AKDN, particularly through Aga Khan Foundation Canada, has collaborated with a diverse set of institutions, including universities, government departments, the private sector and civil society organizations, to bring the best of Canada’s human, intellectual and technical resources to bear on the challenges of the developing world.

The Aga Khan leads a community of 15 million Ismaili Muslims living in some 25 countries around the world and is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). As part of the commemoration of His Highness the Aga Khan’s Golden Jubilee which began on 11th July 2007, he has been paying official visits to some 35 countries, using these occasions to recognize the friendship and longstanding support of leaders of state, government and other partners in the work of the Ismaili Imamat, and to set the direction for the future, including the launching and laying of foundations for major initiatives and programs.