Islamic center adds to Houston diversity, understanding

"The words `Muslim' and `Islam' have themselves come to conjure [up] the image of anger and lawlessness in the collective consciousness of most Western culture," and there "are powerful reasons that we cannot overlook, for which the West and the Muslim world must seek a better mutual understanding."

Those words, by the Aga Kahn, were reported in the Chronicle not in the wake of Sept. 11, but in 1996, when he prophetically spoke them at a Brown University commencement.

The Aga Khan is a philanthropist and spiritual leader of an Ismaili branch of Shia Islam, which has roots in Central Asia. He will be joining Gov. Rick Perry and other dignitaries today in opening the $10 million Ismaili Jamatkhana, a house of worship and community center in Sugar Land. One of the largest Ismaili Muslim centers in the United States, the new building also will serve as national headquarters for the Aga Khan's social-service and community networks in this country.

It is hoped the center also will act as a bridge to the greater Houston area, members say.

The opportunity for such a bridge, which we now recognize is more important than ever, marks this occasion not only for the thousands of Houston-area Ismailis, but also for all Texans.

It's another opportunity for Houston, as an important city with a global outlook, to build on its particular mix of cultural heritages and look beyond oversimplifications and misinterpretations.

The center will be a spiritual and architectural landmark. It should also be welcomed as another of this area's many building blocks of understanding and acceptance.