NanoWisdoms Suggested Reading: Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III’s 1946 lecture at the Dar es Salaam Cultural Society, ‘World Peace and Its Problems’

Almost 70 years ago — within a year of the Allies’ World War II victory, the establishment of the United Nations and the partition of India — Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III, noting that ‘what is history except on rare occasions one long, long story of war and warfare?’, delivered this sweeping, global assessment outlining out potential contributions the major actors on the world stage — the United States, Europe, Russia and China — could offer to ensure world peace.

While Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah singles out the United States and Britain as the linchpins for a peaceful, post World War II world — explaining that “without a common peace policy of these two central world powers … we will be building on the sands of the seashore” — he also issues a cautionary note that it was also essential to draw the curtain on the era of “plantation” colonialism, lest the colonies themselves become “apples of discord” and “breeding grounds for future world warfare.”

Particularly noteworthy from his assessments are, firstly, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah’s observation that China has “from time immemorial [been] essentially peaceful … and has for thousands of years never shown any spirit of aggression and has been one of the bastions of moral peace and live and let live in the world.” And secondly — particularly in light the present Aga Khan’s call for nations to cooperate with one another on common issues through regional alliances — was his retrospection that “the absence of proper provisions for regional alliances organised under the League [of Nations] itself, for the maintenance of peace, was another, and perhaps the most serious, of the causes of its break-down when it came up against the realities of power politics.”

Notwithstanding that, given more recent events, informed observers are of the opinion that the United States has forgone the nobler role of peacekeeper it had assumed in the years immediately following World War II, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah’s global assessment, remains as relevant in today’s troubled times of as it was some 70 years ago.

Click here for this NanoWisdoms’ Suggested Reading:
Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III’s 1946 lecture at the Dar es Salaam Cultural Society, ‘World Peace and Its Problems’ (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)

Their Highnesses the Aga Khans III and IV on tradition and modernity — Part 4/4: Innovate; “Discover new knowledge”

Reconciling Islamic values and traditions with modern times is a critical issue which faces the whole Muslim world. In this four part series, the NanoWisdoms Archive is pleased bring selected quotes from His Highness the Aga Khan outlining his views on the issue as well as his suggestions for addressing it.

In this final instalment, the Aga Khan asks: “Modernity cannot be denied. How do we merge [it with the past]?”. His unequivocal answer is: “The past cannot be repeated. By copying it, it proves that one cannot do better…. We have to come up with new solutions,” and notes that historically “the fundamental reason for the pre-eminence of Islamic civilisations lay … in their ability to discover new knowledge … and to build constructively upon it.”

Click here for Their Highnesses the Aga Khans III and IV on tradition and modernity — Part 4/4: Innovate; “Discover new knowledge”

Previous installments in the series:

Click here for His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 1/4: “Islam is for all places and all time”

Click here for His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 2/4: Towards “new understandings of essential principles”

Click here for His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 3/4: “Progress does not mean occidentalisation”

The NanoWisdoms Archive celebrates its second anniversary

Two years ago today, on April 14th, 2011, the NanoWisdoms Archive of Imamat Speeches, Interviews and Writings was granted the distinct honour of special permission by Aiglemont to publish His Highness the Aga Khan’s speeches and writings. As a unique website dedicated to the Ismaili Imamat’s knowledge, many, many thousands have visited the Archive, many of whom who also subscribe to our Quote and Reading Service.

On our second anniversary we thought it appropriate to summarise what has been accomplished so far and outline what remains to be done or is ongoing.

When the Archive was launched it contained some 500 speeches, interviews and writings. Today, thanks to contributions from our visitors, we have increased this by some 100 new readings, including many little known, but important, interviews such as the new one we are publishing today to commemorate our second anniversary.

Similarly, prior to our launch we had broadcast some 350 short quotes via Twitter. In the last two years we have broadcast some 1,000 additional short and extended quotes via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail and have created the largest public collection of Ismaili Imamat quotes. Furthermore, our entire collection is now organised and accessible by theme, with each quote also available in an attractive PDF format for jamatkhana notice boards, teaching aids, seminar handouts, discussion topics, general references, etc.

However, despite this progress, two key activities are ongoing and require your continued assistance if the Archive is to fulfil its founding objective to become a definitive resource of Imamat knowledge for both Ismailis and the public in general.

Firstly, although the Archive with some 600 speeches, interviews and writings is today the most comprehensive, publicly available collection of Imamat knowledge, there are some 80 speeches and interviews by the Aga Khan which are known to exist but which are missing from and a further 120 readings for which we only have excerpts. We are appealing to the Jamat, world-wide, to assist us in obtaining these items from their local public, university and ITREB libraries and/or publisher’s archives. Click here for the list of missing and incomplete readings.

Secondly, although thousands have become aware of and visited the Archive, for each of these ten more are unaware of it and so we kindly request you to keep informing your families, friends and Jamats about the Archive. In addition, to help you introduce and make your local leadership aware of the Archive, we have prepared an information kit, at the following link, which you may print or e-mail to them. Click here to learn how you can help your Jamat learn about the NanoWisdoms Archive.

Finally, we would like to thank all those who have sent us contributions, supported us during these initial years or sent us good wishes and appreciation.

Mohib Ebrahim
Editor and Publisher

His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 3/4: “Progress does not mean occidentalisation”

Reconciling Islamic values and traditions with modern times is a critical issue which faces the whole Muslim world. In this four part series, the NanoWisdoms Archive is pleased bring selected quotes from His Highness the Aga Khan outlining his views on the issue as well as his suggestions for addressing it.

Building on the first two instalments, “Islam is for all places and all time” and Towards “new understandings of essential principles,” in this third instalment, “Progress does not mean occidentalisation” the Aga Khan cautions that in the headlong rush of Muslims to “modernise” themselves, the West is not a model which should be followed uncritically and the Ummah must “avoid following blindly the course of Western society without taking the trouble to raise guards against the latter’s weaknesses and deficiencies.”

Click here for His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 3/4: “Progress does not mean occidentalisation”

Previous installments in the series:

Click here for His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 1/4: “Islam is for all places and all time”

Click here for His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 2/4: Towards “new understandings of essential principles”

His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 2/4: Towards “new understandings of essential principles”

Reconciling Islamic values and traditions with modern times is a critical issue which faces the whole Muslim world. In this four part series, the NanoWisdoms Archive is pleased to bring selected quotes from His Highness the Aga Khan outlining his views on the issue as well as his suggestions for addressing it.

Building on the first instalment, “Islam is for all places and all time” — where we summarised the Aga Khan’s emphatic rejection that Islam is a “faith of the past” — in this second instalment, Towards “new understandings of essential principles,” the Aga Khan explains his interpretation of Islam as one which is opposed to “formalistic approaches” of interpretation because they “tend to anchor a faith in one time.” On the contrary, the Aga Khan is of the same mind as his predecessor, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III, who said: “the interpretation of the precepts and laws which regulate the lives of the Faithful, as laid down in the Qur’an and in the Traditions of the Prophet, can be done at any time and for any generation.”

Click here for His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 2/4: Towards “new understandings of essential principles”

Previous installments in the series:

Click here for His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 1/4: “Islam is for all places and all time”

His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 1/4: “Islam is for all places and all time”

Reconciling Islamic values and traditions with modern times is a critical issue which faces the whole Muslim world. In this four part series, the NanoWisdoms Archive is pleased bring selected quotes from His Highness the Aga Khan outlining his views on the issue as well as his suggestions for addressing it.

In the first instalment, “Islam is for all places and all time,” the Aga Khan makes clear his emphatic rejection of the notion that Islam is a “faith of the past.”

Click here for His Highness the Aga Khan on tradition and modernity — Part 1/4: “Islam is for all places and all time”

Navroz Mubarak, 2013, from the NanoWisdoms Archive

The NanoWisdoms Archive of Imamat Speeches, Interviews and Writings wishes all Navroz Mubarak.

The Archive is a unique website dedicated solely to the Ismaili Imamat’s speeches, interviews and writings and has been granted special permission to reproduce His Highness the Aga Khan’s speeches. With over 500 readings — from akdn.org, iis.ac.uk, theismaili.org, aku.org, archnet.org, pluralsim.ca, institutional publications, printed materials, media Web sites and other sources — and 1,000 quotes it is the most comprehensive, public collection of Imamat knowledge available today.

In keeping with the theme of our Navroz card, we would like to share with you some important quotes by His Highness the Aga Khan and from the Qur’an on conflicts and resolving them.

Click here for: The Qur’an and Imams on conflict resolution

His Highness the Aga Khan’s interview published in the 2011 book: Racing and Breeding Tradition: The Horses of the Aga Khan’ by Philip Jodidio

In this lengthy interview, titled Fifty Years of Racing and Breeding: A Conversation with His Highness the Aga Khan, His Highness the Aga Khan talks freely and in detail about his thoroughbred activities.

Revealing himself to be an astute entrepreneur — with the courage to make difficult, yet wise investment decisions (even against the advice of his experts) — the Aga Khan describes the fragility of the operations he took over, this due to the “damage that was done to the stock by the two inheritance sales” arising from his grandfather’s and father’s deaths. With focused determination, and no knowledge of the business, the Aga Khan not only set about learning the business but also innovated new techniques and methods, bringing the operations back from the brink to what is, arguably, one of the most successful breeding and racing operations in the world today.

Click for the interview at NanoWisdoms:
His Highness the Aga Khan’s interview published in the 2011 book 羨 Racing and Breeding Tradition: The Horses of the Aga Khan’ by Philip Jodidio (Aiglemont)

New Interview Transcript: 2007 Kuala Lumpur interview, with an unidentified media outlet, featured in the documentary ‘Let the Beauty We Love Be What We Do’

‘Let the Beauty We Love Be What We Do: A Profile of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’, produced by AKDN, is a feature length documentary on the projects of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and features excerpts from an interview His Highness the Aga Khan granted, we believe, in 2007 while he was in Malaysia for the 10th Aga Khan Award for Architecture awards ceremony.

The NanoWisdoms Archive is pleased to make available the interview’s transcript for all to study and reflect over.

The documentary discusses the vision and objectives behind the Trust for Culture’s activities and features some of the Trust’s marquis projects in Mali, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan. In the interview, the Aga Khan notes that “the Islamic world probably has the highest concentration of historic cities of any world culture” and asks “can this concentration of assets become a trampoline for economic and social development?” The answer, he says, is “very clearly yes” and offers his insights and lessons learned on achieving precisely that objective.

Click for the interview transcript at NanoWisdoms:
His Highness the Aga Khan’s 2007 Kuala Lumpur interview, with an unidentified media outlet, featured in the documentary ‘Let the Beauty We Love Be What We Do: A Profile of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’

New Interview Transcript: His Highness the Aga Khan’s 2008 Syrian TV Interview (Aleppo, Syria)

In August 2008, following the Opening Ceremony of the Aleppo and Masyaf Citadels and the Castle of Salah ad-Din, His Highness the Aga Khan gave Syrian TV a wide-ranging and important interview. The NanoWisdoms Archive is pleased to make available the interview’s transcript for all to study and reflect over at these critical times.

Among the many topics covered, the Aga Khan discusses AKDN’s extensive development plans for Syria, the role of culture as a development strategy and his firm belief in employing public-private partnerships to meet societal needs. The interview ends with the Aga Khan’s message to the Syrian people and the Ummah, setting out Syria’s unique place in Islam’s history and informing the Ummah, twice, that “progress does not mean occidentalisation” and that Muslim “values systems are massively important for the future.”

Click for the interview transcript and video at NanoWisdoms:
His Highness the Aga Khan’s 2008 Syrian TV Interview (Aleppo, Syria)

NanoWisdoms Suggested Reading: His Highness the Aga Khan’s 2008 book ‘Where Hope Takes Root – Democracy and Pluralism in an interdependent World’ (Canada)

Published in 2008, Where Hope Takes Root is a collection of 13 of the Aga Khan’s principal speeches, made between 2002 and 2006, along with his important 2006 interview with the CBC’s Peter Mansbridge. Focused on the theme “democracy and pluralism in an interdependent world,” the book — which deserves to be read repeatedly — could arguably be subtitled as “The Essential Aga Khan.”

The NanoWisdoms Archive is pleased to make this seminal collection available at the link below for those who have not had the opportunity to read it.

Click here for this NanoWisdoms’ Suggested Reading:
His Highness the Aga Khan’s 2008 book ‘Where Hope Takes Root – Democracy and Pluralism in an interdependent World’ (Canada)

Related search: http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/?s=%22Where+Hope+Takes+Root%22&submit=Search

New Interview: Excerpts from His Highness the Aga Khan’s February, 2013, interview with Vanity Fair (USA)

This month, Vanity Fair published an extensive article about His Highness the Aga Khan and his efforts to restore cultural assets in his neighbourhood of Chantilly. Excerpts from their interview with the Aga Khan, included in the article, touched on his feelings when he learned he was appointed the Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, his role as Imam and the Chantilly development.

Click for the interview at NanoWisdoms:
His Highness the Aga Khan’s 2013 interview (excerpts) with Vanity Fair (USA)

Earlier related at Ismailimail

His Highness the Aga Khan’s the little known September 1957 MovieTone interview (London, United Kingdom), just 3 months after becoming the Imam

In September 1957, just three months after ascending the throne of the Ismaili Imamat, His Highness the Aga Khan gave a short interview to MovieTone in which he discussed the Ismaili community, the type of community and family leader his grandfather was as well as his educational plans.

Click to watch interview or read the transcript at NanoWisdoms: His Highness the Aga Khan’s 157 MovieTone Interview(London, United Kingdom)

New Interview: Paris Match Interview (5th) with Caroline Pigozzi (Paris, France)

In July this year His Highness the Aga Khan granted a short interview with Paris Match where he discussed his efforts to restore cultural assets in his neighbourhood of Chantilly.

Click for the interview at NanoWisdoms:
New Interview: Paris Match Interview (5th) with Caroline Pigozzi (Paris, France)
All related at Ismailimail

His Highness the Aga Khan’s preface to the 2011 book ‘The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme: Strategies for Urban Regeneration’ edited by Philip Jodidio (Aiglemont) « NanoWisdoms

In this weighty preface, to the 2011 book The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme: Strategies for Urban Regeneration, His Highness the Aga Khan explains his rational and vision behind the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, highlighting four key principles behind his “effort to defend the value of culture.”

In contrast to “conventional thinking suggests that there is a sequence that must be followed in every instance — first addressing humanitarian and social needs, then economic challenges and finally, perhaps, culture,” the Aga Khan forcefully argues, however, “that the equation is not so simple, [and] culture itself can be the catalyst for social and economic development.”

Click to read the full article at NanoWisdoms:
Preface to the book ‘The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme: Strategies for Urban Regeneration’ edited by Philip Jodidio (Aiglemont)

Happy New Year, 2013, from the NanoWisdoms Archive

The NanoWisdoms Archive of Imamat Speeches, Interviews and Writings wishes all happy New Year.

The Archive is a unique website dedicated solely to the Ismaili Imamat’s speeches, interviews and writings and has been granted special permission to reproduce His Highness the Aga Khan’s speeches. With over 500 readings — from akdn.org, iis.ac.uk, theismaili.org, aku.org, archnet.org, pluralsim.ca, institutional publications, printed materials, media Web sites and other sources — and 1,000 quotes it is the most comprehensive, public collection of Imamat knowledge available today.

Click here to visit the NanoWisdoms Archive

‘A Man of the World,’ the little known 1967 video documentary and interview with His Highness the Aga Khan « NanoWisdoms

To commemorate Salgirah, the NanoWisdoms Archive of Imamat Speeches, Interviews and Writings is pleased to bring this important documentary for all to enjoy and learn from.

During the 1960s HIS HIGHNESS the Aga Khan, then a young man in his 20s, led a consortium of private investors in the transformation of some 35 miles of desolate, untouched Sardinian coast line at Costa Smeralda, into a world class tourist destination. At an estimated 1969 cost of £70 million (approximately $200 million then, or £1.1 billion ($1.7 billion) today), the development was among the largest private construction projects of its time and put up some 9,000 buildings.

In 1986 the Aga Khan characterised the Costa Smeralda project as an enterprise “that probably one day will … come to be an important prop for our development efforts in the Third World,” (1). Indeed, Costa Smeralda is an invaluable case study (2), pioneering principles of environmentalism in the leisure industry and also impact investment — a concept the Aga Khan today considers as “one of the most important … in the last 50 years” (3) and a fundamental precept of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED).

“A Man of the World” is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the Sardinian development as well as the Aga Khan’s private and public life as Imam of the Ismaili Muslims. The programme, which features extensive excerpts from his interview, highlights his roles, objectives, principles and ethics which guided his vision and strategy in Sardinia.

Click to view the full video documentary at NanoWisdoms. The transcript, audio track and a 250 image slide show is also available for visitors who can’t view YouTube: ‘Pacemakers: A Man of the World – The Aga Khan’ (London, United Kingdom)

NANOWISDOMS NOTE: We would like to thank one of our visitors for providing us with this important documentary and interview. It is through the assistance OF you, our visitors, the NanoWisdoms Archive is able to continually uncover lost or forgotten interviews, such as this one from 1967, for the benefit of all. We kindly urge all our visitors to review our lists of material known to be missing or incomplete in the Archive and help us obtain it from the local public and ITREB libraries.
Click here for more information and the lists.

Refs: (1) CBC, Man Alive interview, 1986, (2) Philip Jodidio interview, 2007, (3) Synergos Foundation interview, 2012.

Salgirah Mubarak from the NanoWisdoms Archive

The NanoWisdoms Archive of Imamat Speeches, Interviews and Writings wishes all Salgirah Mubarak.

The Archive is a unique website dedicated solely to the Ismaili Imamat’s speeches, interviews and writings and has been granted special permission to reproduce His Highness the Aga Khan’s speeches. With over 500 readings — from akdn.org, iis.ac.uk, theismaili.org, aku.org, archnet.org, pluralsim.ca, institutional publications, printed materials, media Web sites and other sources — and 1,000 quotes it is the most comprehensive, public collection of Imamat knowledge available today.

Click here to visit the NanoWisdoms Archive

New Speech and Interview: Complete transcript of His Highness the Aga Khan’s Acceptance Remarks and Conversation with Peggy Dulany at the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award Ceremony hosted by the Synergos Foundation (London, United Kingdom)

In October this year His Highness the Aga Khan was awarded the “David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award.” Following the award ceremony, Peggy Dulany, Founder and Chair of the Synergos Institute, engaged the Aga Khan in an important and lengthy conversation which covered a wide variety of topics including the transfer of philanthropic values within his family, impact investing — a concept the Aga Khan characterised as “one of the most important” he could recollect in the “last 50 years” — and the underlying ethic behind Islam’s notion of help.

Earlier only a small fraction of the conversation was available, but we are pleased to inform our visitors that the full transcripts of both the Aga Khan’s acceptance remarks and his conversation with Peggy Dulany have been released and we are now able to bring them to you in their entirety.

Click for the transcripts at NanoWisdoms:
Complete transcript of His Highness the Aga Khan’s Acceptance Remarks and Conversation with Peggy Dulany at the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award Ceremony hosted by the Synergos Foundation (London, United Kingdom)

NanoWisdoms Archive announces its new e-mail Quote and Reading Service

NanoWisdoms is pleased to announce its new e-mail Quote and Reading Service for our visitors not on Facebook or Twitter.

Several times a week, the NanoWisdoms Quote and Reading Service e-mails a short or extended quote from His Highness the Aga Khan speeches, interviews, or writings — or from earlier Shia and Ismaili Imams (pbut), the Holy Prophet (pbuh) or the Qur’an in an attractive e-mail, like that shown below.

To date over 1,000 quotes have been published on Facebook and Twitter, all of which are available organized by theme in the Thematic Quote Browser for Facebook and the Thematic Quote Browser for Twitter, along with an attractive, PDF copy of each quote.

Also, twice a month, we will e-mail you our Suggested Readings selections and of course immediately notify you of any new speeches and interviews added to the Archive.

We invite all our visitors to share with us their personal collections of quotes so we may share them with the Jamat and public at large.

Click here to subscribe to the NanoWisdoms Quote and Reading Service.