Monday, June 24,
2002
By: PAM EASTON
Associated Press Writer
http://www.reporternews.com/2002/texas/cent0624.html
Texas governor helps
Islamic leader open Houston cultural center
SUGAR LAND, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry joined the
49th descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Prince Karim Aga Khan,
in opening a new Ismaili Muslim worship and cultural center Sunday
just south of Houston.
Aga Khan is considered a progressive Muslim leader of the world's
15 million Ismaili Muslims. The new Houston center houses the
national offices of the Ismaili Council for the United States
and will serve the 15,000 Ismailis who call Houston home.
“Nine eleven has scarred America, but not just America. It
has scarred the Islamic world,” Aga Khan, a Harvard graduate,
said before he unveiled a plaque officially opening the center.
“It is in this context that I request that you view the Ismaili
Jamatkhana and Center, Houston, as much, much more than a place
of congregation and a home for administrative offices.
“The center will be a place of peace, humility, reflection
and prayer. It will be a place of search and enlightenment, not
of anger and of obscurantism.”
The center, located on 11.5 acres, took two years to build. The
$10 million facility, which includes a community center, a prayer
hall and classrooms for religious education, is constructed of
muted red and black brick and surrounded by courtyards containing
symbolic landscaping, a fountain and sculptures that embody teachings
of Islam.
“Islam does not deal in dichotomies but in all encompassing
unity,” Aga Khan said of the importance of the architecture
and landscape of the center for which he was the principle financier.
“Since all that we see and do resonates on the faith, the
aesthetics of the environments we build and the quality of the
interactions that take place within them reverberate on our spiritual
lives.”
Hanif Mamdani, who volunteers on behalf of the center, said similar
Jamatkahana, or gathering places, are located in Dallas, Atlanta,
Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
Aga Khan said the collapse of the Soviet Union and prolonged difficulties
in Afghanistan have forced Ismaili Muslims to find new homes during
the last half century.
“Bolstered by a long tradition of self-reliance, and a strong
system of community organizations, Ismailis have established themselves
quickly as productive members of society in their new homelands,”
he said. “This has been particularly true in the United States
with its long history of welcoming immigrants.”
Perry said Ismaili Muslims who call Texas home already have left
a lasting imprint on the state, and the new center only enhances
that.
“Texas is a better place because of your contributions and
sacrifices,” Perry said. “I come here today to pay tribute
to a people who have demonstrated time and time again that their
faith is more than just a belief, it is a call to action.”
Aga Khan and Perry said they believe the center will help visitors
concentrate on common bonds instead of age-old differences.
“For more than a millennium, the Ismaili tradition has been
rooted in understanding, enlightenment and tolerance,” Perry
said. “You have welcomed peace while shunning discord. You
have practiced love while speaking out against hatred. Your faith
has been a reservoir of hope for those seeking light.”
The Ismailis belong to the Shia branch, which is one of the two
major sects of Islam. Sunni Muslims make up the other branch.
Ismaili Muslims live in 25 countries, mostly in Asia, Africa and
the Middle East.
Aga Khan and Perry were scheduled to spend Monday in Austin and
meet again Tuesday before Aga Khan's departure to Washington.
“It was two summers ago that I had the great fortune to meet
His Highness during a trip to France,” Perry recalled for
the 100 or so invited guests at the center's opening.
“It was a visit I will cherish for as long as I live,”
he said. “On that day, I witnessed the compassion, love and
character of the Islamic faith all embodied by the leader of the
Ismaili Muslim Community, His Highness the Aga Khan.”