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

Any man or woman who professes the Shahada is a Muslim. We are numerous. We live in so many parts of the world. We speak such different languages. We are of such different racial and cultural origin. All this profoundly convinces me that there is no such thing as one type of Muslim environment or one type of Muslim building. Each part of the Islamic world must create its own solution. We are enjoined to help the needy, the sick, the poor of whatever colour or origin.

Coming to Pakistan, it is a stark reality that, in the past decade, half of South Asia’s population has been affected by one or more climate-related disasters.
Between 1998 and 2019, Pakistan experienced 153 extreme weather events, lost nearly 10,000 lives and suffered tens of billions of dollars in economic loss causing 30 million climate migrants.

The World Health Organisation sees climate change as the greatest threat to human health in the 21st century with projected impact putting the wellbeing of billions of lives at risk. The global carbon footprint of healthcare is equivalent to about 4 to 5 percent of total global emissions – and likely to grow. Hospitals and healthcare make up a large sector of the economy of any country and decarbonizing healthcare in all countries, including low and middle-income countries, should be a priority.

Our fourth task is to make journalism a profession in the truest sense, to give it everywhere a status and a level of remuneration appropriate to its enormous responsibilities. Like teaching and nursing, journalism in too many areas today is a discredited profession at the very moment when its powers, and what the public expects of it, have risen to unprecedented heights.

“We need world-class recreational parks….Looking at the Forodhani Park in Zanzibar, we believe you can construct a big one that befits the status of Dodoma as a capital city….Allow me to extend an invitation to His Highness the Aga Khan to Dodoma when he comes to the country,”

What I would like my Jamats to understand, and I know that they already understand this, is that any individual, whoever he may be in the Jamat, who is doing good work in the interest of our children, needs and deserves support. And I will always give these spiritual children the support they deserve so long as they carry out their duties in the most logical and intelligent way which they can

It is as a Muslim, however, that I will conclude with the words of one pf Islam's great poets, Mohammed Iqbal, which can say better than any speech what the Awards mean. Speaking of Islam in his vision for tomorrow, he wrote; 'The journey of love is a very long journey. But sometimes with a sign you can cross that vast desert. Search and search again without losing hope. You may find sometime a treasure on your way'

A few centuries ago, architecture was one of the great Islamic art forms, but today our built environment does not do justice to our cultural past, nor does it accurately reflect the aims and ambitions of our present. Lacking a certain self confidence, Muslims began to absorb and import foreign architectural forms and expressions without thought or analysis.

But most of all, the hope we feel today is warranted by you, the graduands. By your hunger for knowledge. Your compassion for your patients. Your joy in sparking curiosity in your students. And your zeal to find the facts and share them with your fellow citizens, without fear or favour.

Convocation is a celebration of individual accomplishment. But it also reminds us of our connections and our dependence on one another. Each of us is a link in a chain that extends backwards and forwards in time, and outward across borders and boundaries. That is especially true at AKU, as this globe-spanning event testifies.

Hand in Hand is recognized for their commitment to building equality and understanding between Jewish and Arab students, families and communities through a network of bilingual and integrated schools across Israel. Education plays a fundamental role in fostering pluralism and building societies where diversity is valued.

I am not convinced yet that the total free market approach is healthy for all of human society today as it is. I am not totally convinced that democracy without the understanding of the way and the precondition of democracy is a healthy exercise. I think probably it's important to educate about democracy so that people can understand what are its goals.In countries of hundreds or millions of people that have never experienced democracy, I'm not sure how quickly that process can take place

In Islam there is no reason why a dichotomy should exist. Every Muslim no matter what sect he comes from, will tell you Islam is a way of life. If you read the Qur’an you will find that a very substantial part of Islam and Islam’s teaching has to do with the individual’s behaviour in society in totally secular matters — how you behave in your relations with other people in society, in your business transaction, in your family, in your friends.

some of the freedoms seem to bordering on license at times. I think also in terms of certain freedoms of comment, certain freedoms of attitude towards other people which to me are areas of concern. I think for example at times the media, some of the media, are involved in things which I disapprove of. I think they are damaging to society. They may have their justification … but I think at times they are disruptive.

I will begin by saying to you, that all civilized societies need to have an ethical framework. Otherwise, civil society cannot function in a serious and planned way. If civil society wants to be a major force at the national level, this is how I see the developed world accepting it. And so, civil society needs to be anchored in a set of ethical premises. I think these ethical premises are often anchored in faith, in religion.

True regime change occurs when liberty is guaranteed by a people free to create or support institutions of their own choosing. True regime change occurs when that strength and that freedom are defined by the depth, breadth and quality of education shared across the society in question.

Implicit in this approach is the need for humility, which is also a central Muslim value. We must all search for the answers to the challenges of our generation, within the ethical framework of our faith, and without pre-judging one another or arbitrarily limiting the scope of that search. Like the great Muslim artists, philosophers and scientists of centuries past, we must enthusiastically pursue knowledge on every hand, always ready to embrace a better understanding of Allah’s creation, and always ready to harness this knowledge in improving the quality of life of all peoples.

It should also be clear to anyone who has studied Islamic history or literature, that Islam is, and has always been, a quest that has taken many forms. It has manifested itself in many ways - in different times, amongst different peoples, with changing and evolving emphases, responding to changing human needs, preoccupations, and aspirations.

Our Ismaili tradition, however, has always accepted the spirit of pluralism among schools of interpretation of the faith, and seen this not as a negative value, but as a true reflection of divine plenitude. Indeed, pluralism is seen as essential to the very survival of humanity. Through your studies you have known the many Qur’anic verses and hadiths of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that acknowledge and extol the value of diversity within human societies

The untrue and unfair, but increasingly widespread equating of the words “Islam” and “Muslim” with “intolerance”, sometimes even with the word “terrorism”, could lead some Muslims to feel despair, indignation, or even shame. To me, however, the current global focus on the Muslim world, and on Islam itself, presents a golden opportunity for us to educate and enlighten, while actively exemplifying the counterpoint I mentioned before.