Prince Karim Al Hussaini, better known as the Aga Khan IV, died aged 88 in Lisbon on Tuesday. The Aga Khan was the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims.
The Aga Khan was a high-profile figure in popular culture, his name synonymous with old-world glamour. Born in Switzerland in 1936, his high net worth and the trappings of his lifestyle – a royal title, an elite education, racing stables, private islands and private jets – provided European tabloids with ample fodder throughout his life. He was an Olympic skier, too, representing Iran at the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria.
All of that is worth mentioning at the outset, only so that it can be dispensed with quickly. In truth, it is a footnote to a more complicated, extraordinary and impactful life that combined religious duty with secular philanthropy on an unprecedented scale.
Today, the Aga Khan Development Network, grown out of a foundation started by Prince Karim in 1967, is one of the world’s largest development agencies, employing nearly 100,000 people and spending $1 billion a year in about 30 countries. While it is perhaps best known for its work in rural development and heritage restoration, the network operates non-denominational schools, universities, banks, hospitals, telecoms companies, power plants, airlines, hotels and industrial factories from northern Pakistan to Mali. Its footprint is greatest in places that are underserved by national aid agencies. In Burkina Faso, the network is the country’s largest private employer. In Kyrgyzstan, it operates the largest bank.
Prince Karim was a 20-year-old undergraduate studying Islamic history at Harvard University in 1957 when his grandfather, the previous spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, died and unexpectedly passed the title to Prince Karim in his will.
“Overnight, my whole life changed completely,” Prince Karim later told a journalist. "I woke up with serious responsibilities towards millions of other human beings. I knew I would have to abandon my hopes of studying for a doctorate in history.”
The leader’s role is to interpret the teachings of Islam for Ismaili Muslims. Prince Karim was obliged to carry out this responsibility even as he completed his undergraduate degree. Ismailis from western China to southern India, and eastern Iran to northern Syria, sent him letters or had his picture in their homes.
The burden was no doubt made greater by the Ismaili community’s geopolitical vulnerability. Despite there being 15 million Ismailis when Prince Karim became leader, the community was largely impoverished and spread thinly. This was a product of its dispersion after the fall of its empire, the Fatimid Caliphate, which founded Cairo, in the 11th century, persecution in the Levant during the Crusader period and massacres by the Mongols in the 13th century. By the 20th century, the Ismailis were religious and national minorities in the post-colonial nation states in which they lived. The community’s social insularity and practice of gender equality made it an object of suspicion for secular nationalists and religious extremists alike.
A duty to manage this situation against the volatility of the Cold War turned the young Aga Khan into a sort of statesman without a state. His emphasis on economic development helped his community to prosper, but its well-being grew more precarious. The Baathist revolution of 1963 divided the Ismailis of Syria along political fault lines. In 1972, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin expelled Ismailis and the Aga Khan had to arrange for the community to be moved to the West (mainly to Canada). The Iranian revolution in 1979 forced Ismailis in the country into permanent hiding – their houses of worship still operate under the radar.
Perhaps the most remarkable display of the Aga Khan’s leadership came amid Tajikistan’s civil war in the 1990s, which killed up to 150,000 people. The predominantly Ismaili region of Badakhshan, which is divided by a river from an Afghan province of the same name, became the primary staging ground for anti-communist opposition forces. Amid a siege that threatened to starve the population, the Aga Khan Foundation arranged a humanitarian corridor in co-operation with a US aid agency.
What few Badakhshan residents expected, however, was for the Aga Khan to land in a jet in one of the region’s remote valleys, in May 1995. A crowd of 50,000 of his followers gathered to sit on thousands of carpets hastily laid on the bare earth. Above, the roar of Russian attack helicopters had many in the crowd shuddering as they strained to hear the Aga Khan’s words. On the Afghan shore of the river, more Ismailis arrived to catch a glimpse of Prince Karim as he spoke.
Although Tajikistan’s civil war ended decades ago, the plight of Ismailis in the country remains. Since the start of a protest movement in 2021, the Tajik government has banned Ismaili religious symbols in public spaces and curbed the community’s prayer gatherings. Threats have proliferated elsewhere, too – Ismailis in Syria and Pakistan have been the victims of ISIS attacks, while the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has spurred the community's retreat from public life.
It has been announced that his son, Rahim Al-Hussaini, would succeed him to become the Aga Khan V. He will be expected to give spiritual guidance in a changing world. The task is not getting any easier.
But if Prince Karim’s legacy is to serve as any guide, then optimism is warranted. His persistent faith in efforts to make peace, for the community and beyond, was best articulated in his address in Badakhshan that day in 1995. “Differences,” he said, “must be resolved within the ethic of our faith, through dialogue, through generosity, through forgiveness.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
De De Pyaar De
Produced: Luv Films, YRF Films
Directed: Akiv Ali
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Rakul Preet Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jaaved Jaffrey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
Shows signs of depression or isolation
Ability to sleep well diminishes
Academic performance begins to deteriorate
Changes in eating habits
Struggles to concentrate
Refuses to go to school
Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings
Begins to use language they do not normally use
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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The years Ramadan fell in May
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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Borussia Dortmund 0
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Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Naga
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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The%20specs
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Jawan
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
