Aga Khan IV
Aga Khan IV
Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, KBE, CC was born on 13 December 1936, in Geneva, Switzerland. He is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailism, a denomination of Isma'ilism within Shia Islam consisting of an estimated 15 million adherents. The Aga Khan is a British business magnate, racehorse owner and breeder. He has held this position of Imam, under the title of Aga Khan IV, since 11 July 1957, when, at the age of 20, he...
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth13 December 1936
CityGeneva, Switzerland
real ignorance two
The Muslim world, with its history and cultures, and indeed its different interpretations of Islam, is still little known in the West... The two worlds, Muslim and non-Muslim, Eastern and Western, must, as a matter of urgency, make a real effort to get to know one another, for I fear that what we have is not a clash of civilisations, but a clash of ignorance on both sides.
art book past
My grandfather was a most gifted person, and amongst his many qualities, one of them had always particularly impressed me. While the past was a book he had read and re-read may times, the future was just one more literary work of art into which he used to pour himself with deep thought and concentration. Innumerable people since his death have told me how he used to read in the future, and this certainly was one of his very great strengths.
diversity democracy safe
We cannot make the world safe for democracy unless we also make the world safe for diversity
community identity depth
A secure pluralistic society requires communities that are educated and confident both in the identity and depth of their own traditions and in those of their neighbours.
successful unique mind
Canada is today the most successful pluralist society on the face of our globe, without any doubt in my mind.... That is something unique to Canada. It is an amazing global human asset.
islamic humility men
In Islamic belief, knowledge is two-fold. There is that revealed through the Holy Prophet (s.a.s.) and that which man discovers by virtue of his own intellect. Nor do these two involve any contradiction, provided man remembers that his own mind is itself the creation of God. Without this humility, no balance is possible. With it, there are no barriers. Indeed, one strength of Islam has always lain in its belief that creation is not static but continuous, that through scientific and other endeavours, God has opened and continues to open new windows for us to see the marvels of His creation
long greed ethical
There is nothing wrong with being well off as long as money has a social and ethical value and is not the object of one's own greed.
powerful generosity progress
If our animosities are born out of fear, then confident generosity is born out of hope. One of the central lessons I have learned after a half century of working in the developing world is that the replacement of fear by hope is probably the single most powerful trampoline of progress.
struggle opportunity thinking
The search for justice and security, the struggle for equality of opportunity, the quest for tolerance and harmony, the pursuit of human dignity - these are moral imperatives which we must work towards and think about on a daily basis.
powerful motivation humans
The right to hope is the most powerful human motivation I know.
understanding tolerance survival
Tolerance, openness and understanding towards other peoples' cultures, social structures, values and faiths are now essential to the very survival of an interdependent world.
pluralism-is progress development
Pluralism is no longer simply an asset or a prerequisite for progress and development, it is vital to our existence.
determination motivation mean
There are those... who enter the world in such poverty that they are deprived of both the means and the motivation to improve their lot. Unless these unfortunates can be touched with the spark which ignites the spirit of individual enterprise and determination, they will only sink back into renewed apathy, degradation and despair. It is for us, who are more fortunate, to provide that spark.
ahead cultural social work
If you try to put social and cultural development ahead of economic development, it doesn't work. You have to do it all together.