Sunday
His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (Spiritual Leader) of the Shia
Ismaili Muslims, on Saturday married German-born Princess Dr Gabriele zu
Leiningen.
The private religious and civil ceremonies were held at the Aga
Khan's French residence, Aiglemont, in the presence of close family members
and 20 leaders of the Ismaili Community and their wives from around the
world.
The Muslim religious ceremony was conducted by the Rector and
the Grand Mufti of the Paris Mosque. The subsequent civil ceremony was
performed by the Mayor of Gouvieux, M. Patrice Marchand. This is the second
marriage for both the Aga Khan and Princess zu Leiningen.
A reception to celebrate the wedding with the families' numerous
guests will take place in France in October.
The Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Ismaili Community,
was born in Geneva on December 13, 1936, son of Prince Aly Khan and Princess
Joan Aly Khan. He spent his early youth in Nairobi. After attending Le
Rosey School, Switzerland, he graduated with honours in Islamic History
from Harvard University in 1959. On July 11, 1957, Prince Karim, then a
20- year-old student at Harvard, succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan
Mahomed Shah Aga Khan.
The Ismaili community of some 12-15 million people live in more
than 25 countries. Over the past 40 years, the Aga Khan has developed and
expanded the institutions established by his grandfather while also founding
new ones. Today, the Aga Khan Development Network, one of the world's largest
private sector entities involved in the developing world, includes the
Aga Khan Foundation, which is involved in programmes relating to health,
education and rural development primarily in countries of South and Central
Asia and East and West Africa, the Aga Khan University, the first private
university in Pakistan; the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development which
promotes private-sector industrial, tourism and financial activities in
developing countries; and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture which supports
programmes fostering a better understanding of Islamic civilisations.
Princess Dr Gabriele zu Leiningen was born in Frankfurt-am-Main
on April 1, 1963, from the marriage of Renate Thyssen to Helmut Friedhelm
Homey. The Princess' mother and her present husband Ernest-Theodor Henne,
both successful industrialists, live primarily in Germany and in Switzerland.
The Princess, who was educated at Salem School on Lake Constance and at
L'Ecole de Roches in Normandy, studied law in Munich and Cologne and graduated
magna cum laude with a doctorate in International Law in 1990. She
speaks English and French in addition to German. Her daughter Theresa (six)
from her first marriage to Karl-Emich Prince zu Leiningen, will now live
with her mother in Switzerland and France.
Princess zu Leiningen is currently a consultant at Unesco, and
the Aga Khan has requested the Begum to continue, for the time being, her
work which focuses on the promotion of the status of women and gender equality.
Her interest in Islam arose from her work at Unesco and she was also influenced
by the work of the world-renowned German Islamic scholar Dr Annemarie Schimmel.
On her conversion to Islam, she and the Aga Khan chose for her the Muslim
name Inaara, derived from the Arabic word "nur", meaning "light".
The Aga Khan is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, through
his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, the first Imam and his wife Fatima, the
prophet's daughter. The hereditary title Aga Khan was conferred on the
46th Imam, Aga Hassanaly Shah, by the Shah of Persia in the 19th Century.
The Aga Khan has three children from his first marriage to the
English-born Princess Salimah: Princess Zahra (28), who married Mr Mark
Boyden in June 1997, Prince Rahim (27) and Prince Hussain (24), all pursuing
the family tradition of involvement in international affairs and the welfare
of Third World countries.
Aga Khan marries German Princess
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