Who was the Aga Khan IV? And who are the Nizari Ismailis, the community he led?

Twelver, Sevener, Fiver Shias

By the clip of the Prophet’s decease successful 632 CE, Islam had taken clasp implicit overmuch of Arabia. His demise sparked a conflict of succession, and divided the community.

Some argued that enactment should beryllium awarded lone to qualified individuals, portion others insisted that it beryllium passed solely done Muhammad’s bloodline. The erstwhile radical went connected to go the Sunnis, portion the second became the Shias.

The 2 main branches of Islam disagree fundamentally connected matters of doctrine, law, ritual, and spiritual organisations. However, neither subdivision is simply a monolith.

Among the Shias, for instance, determination are 3 main denominations: the Twelvers, the Ismailis, and the Zaydis. All 3 hint the descent of Muhammad done a concatenation of Imams oregon spiritual teachers, but they disagree successful the specifics of what the enactment of descent comprises.

Twelver Shias, the largest of these denominations comprising 90% of the full Shia population, travel a enactment of 12 divinely-ordained Imams, with the 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, believed to beryllium live and successful occultation.

The Ismailis oregon Sevener Shias concur with the Twelvers till the sixth Imam, aft which the 2 lines split.

The Zaydis oregon Fiver Shias divided from the different lines aft the archetypal 4 Imams.

Nizari Ismailis & the Aga Khan

Among the Ismailis, determination are 2 much subsects — the Nizari Ismailis and the Dawoodi Bohras. The cardinal quality betwixt the 2 communities is that portion the Nizaris hint the Prophet’s hereditary descent each the mode to the Aga Khans, the Dawoodi Bohras recognise nonstop descent lone till the 18th Imam, and travel contiguous a enactment of Dais who are representatives of the concealed Imam.

The rubric of Aga Khan was bestowed connected Hasan Ali Shah, the 46th Imam of Nizari Ismailis by the Iranian king Fath-Ali Shah Qajar successful the 19th century.

Today, the Nizari Ismailis are dispersed retired crossed much than 30 countries, though astir hint their root to Persia oregon the Indian subcontinent. They are not a bulk assemblage successful immoderate location.

Following a woody with the Portuguese authorities successful 2015, the Aga Khan IV declared Lisbon arsenic the planetary spot of the Nizari Imamate.

‘Imam of the Atomic Age’

Born successful Geneva successful 1936, Prince Karim was the eldest lad of Prince Aly Khan and the grandson of Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, oregon the Aga Khan III. After increasing up successful Nairobi and Switzerland, helium went to Harvard to get a grade successful Islamic history.

Prince Karim’s gramps passed distant successful 1957. In his will, the Aga Khan III named his grandson arsenic his successor, bypassing some his sons.

He wrote: “In presumption of the fundamentally altered conditions successful the world…including the discoveries of atomic science, I americium convinced that it is successful the champion interests of the Nizari Ismaili assemblage that I should beryllium succeeded by a young antheral who has been brought up and developed during caller years and successful the midst of the caller age…”

And bring a modern outlook Prince Karim did.

The “Imam of the Atomic Age”, arsenic immoderate of his followers similar to telephone him, became a transcendent figure. As the British mag Tatler wrote successful its obituary: “Few radical bridged truthful galore divides — betwixt the spiritual and the material; East and West; Muslim and Christian — arsenic gracefully arsenic helium did.”

Spiritual person with taste

The Aga Khan was a antheral who appreciated the bully things successful life. He inhabited a satellite of luxury superyachts and backstage jets, had a peculiar penchant for thoroughbred horses, and adjacent owned a backstage land successful the Bahamas.

He moved with radical from the highest echelons of society, and if not for his title, mightiness person enjoyed planetary renown arsenic a task capitalist alone.

Yet, helium was the spiritual person of his flock, and a antheral who helped Nizari Ismailis navigate situation aft situation successful the 20th and 21st centuries, “from the extremity of the Cold War, the extremity of colonialism successful Africa and communism successful Central Asia, and the continuous turmoil successful the Middle East, wherever militant Sunni[s]… marque the mean Ismaili arsenic apostates,” Tatler’s obituary said.

“An imam is not expected to retreat from mundane life,” the Aga Khan erstwhile told Vanity Fair. “On the contrary, he’s expected to support his assemblage and lend to their prime of life.”

Aga Khan’s philanthropic work

The Aga Khan Development Network, the Aga Khan’s main philanthropic organisation, deals chiefly with healthcare, housing, education, and agrarian economical development. With an yearly budget of much than $1 billion, it works successful immoderate 30 countries.

“The engagement of the Imamat successful improvement is guided by Islamic ethics, which span religion and society. It is connected this premise that I established the Aga Khan Development Network… it has agelong been progressive successful areas of Asia and Africa to amended the prime of beingness of each who live,” helium said astatine a symposium successful 2004.

Among the astir salient entities that are a portion of this web — and possibly a crushed wherefore galore successful India and particularly Delhi, are acquainted with the Aga Khan’s sanction — is the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

Seeking to “impart a much informed knowing of the divers cultures of the Muslim world”, the Trust works to beforehand artists and musicians, renovate and refurbish important monuments, and support live traditions of creation and civilization crossed the Islamic world.

According to its website, the Trust’s largest taste task to day has been the restoration and revitalisation of the Humayun’s Tomb Complex, including its gardens and the neighbouring Nizamuddin area, on with the rehabilitation of Sunder Nursery successful Delhi. In Hyderabad, the restoration and translation of the Quli Qutb Shahi Tombs into a practice parkland is presently underway.