Ismaili Centres Archive
“Diversity is not a burden to be endured, but an opportunity to be welcomed,” said Melia Belli, Associate Professor of South Asian art history at the University of Victoria, in her opening remarks. The occasion was the Islamic Art Symposium entitled “Intersections: Visual Cultures of Islamic Cosmopolitanism,” held at the Dallas Museum of Art between May 4-5. It was cosponsored with the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History, Islamic Art Revival Series, and the Aga Khan Council for the Central United States.
For the first time, Ismaili youth from a range of schools and backgrounds gathered at the Ismaili Centre Dubai in March 2018 to participate in i-Robotics, an event held to prepare participants to enter the First LEGO League. Such i-Robotics events are attended by over 100 schools with over 1000 participants around the world.
On 6 September 2018, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) hosted a celebratory event at the Aga Khan Centre to commemorate the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between SOAS University of London and the IIS. The Memorandum of Agreement is a formal arrangement whereby SOAS will award MA degrees for the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) and the Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP).
See below for Ismaili CIVIC Day (Quebec & Maritimes) activities in your area.
As part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board for Pakistan (AKYSBP), in collaboration with the Ismaili Councils for Lower and Upper Chitral and the Regional and Local YSB, organised a “Diamond Jubilee Youth Festival” that celebrated Art and Culture, Sports, Leadership and our admirable Ismaili Scouts and Guides.
When Zoya Surani and her sisters began iConquer in 2012, little did they know that their idea would evolve into a nutrition curriculum that would be sought after by numerous states around the nation, and commended by a Canadian Senator.
In 2011, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer initiated Orlando Cares, a service initiative which includes The Garden is an impactful volunteering program.
The very first revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was a command to read. Thus, from the very beginning, learning and education has held a special place in Islam. For all communities and societies today, learning and education rests on literacy, or, the ability to read and write. The recently-established Gulshan-e-Noor Library and Reading Room in Pakistan aims to enhance the literacy of its visitors by providing them with access to knowledge, a space to hold educational programming, and a team of well-trained staff to facilitate learning.
Dr Fazila Lalani, a full-time emergency physician with the Aga Khan Health Services, Tanzania, is working in her ideal job, and it started as a TKN assignment.
On August 18 and 19,650 members of the Midwest Jamat and neighboring communities of Chicago, Glenview, Milwaukee and Naperville, collaborated with Illinois' Feed My Starving Children to prepare and pack nutritionally complete meals for malnourished children around the world. In six hours, this group of volunteers was able to pack over 155,000 meals, enough to provide food for 420 children for a full year.
It's that time of the year again - back to school for children! If you're a parent trying to find creative ideas to ensure a healthy meal for your child, we've got you covered! Nutritionist, Shameera Somani and Afshan Khoja have prepared some handy tips to help make lunchbox packing a breeze, and a yummy treat that children won't be able to resist!
It was 9 a.m. on Friday, August 31, 2018, Primary and Secondary students and teachers of Dhaka Religious Education Center gather in the housing colony all excited and enthusiastic much ahead of time. Everyone boards the bus to start the thrilling and educational journey to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo Theatre.
The.Ismaili brings you Sahil Badruddin’s interview with Karen Armstrong, an internationally acclaimed scholar and bestselling author of numerous books on religion. She won the 2008 TED Prize launching The Charter for Compassion, which has over two million signatories. She discussed her insights on compassion, the Golden Rule, nationalism, materialism, cosmopolitan ethics, religious literacy, the future of religion, perceptions of religious people, religious institutions, personal search, and her vision for the future.
Previously featured in “Students’ Plans for the Impoverished,” Sanya Pirani, then eight years old, embarked upon a mission to feed children around the world. She partnered with Feed My Starving Children to feed a 700-person village in Letant, Haiti, for an entire year. Sanya successfully raised $16,000 dollars. Her efforts in charity did not stop there. She raised money for a crisis nursery and collected non-perishables for a food-drive held at local libraries. These are only a few of Sanya’s contributions to help humanity.
Atlanta’s Ismaili Muslims marked the festival of Eid-al-Fitr by honoring public safety and civic leaders of DeKalb and Fayette counties at an Appreciation Tea, hosted at the Ismaili Jamatkhana.
The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India (AKAHI) team in Rajula facilitated the plantation of one hundred different types of saplings to ensure environmental diversity and security. The tree plantation program was organized in collaboration with the Gujarat Forest Department at the Khakhbai Old Police Line area in Rajula, Gujarat. Police Inspector Udaysinh Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and his team guided and supported their efforts.
High stakes examinations have long since been a subject of concern for parents, students and the education fraternity globally, owing to the huge pressure it carries. Add to it, in a country that accounts for almost a fifth of the world’s population, entrance tests are often deemed tests of elimination rather than qualification. And yet, these are not the only challenges faced by young achievers of our community, who have done us proud in more ways than one.
“The history of the word prayer means to beg or to entreat, which means to negotiate. This notion of negotiation—of finding common ground—began to strike me as the meaning of interfaith prayer. While religions are different in many ways, we can find common ground only if we listen, are still, and make time to be in each other’s presence.” -Doug Shipman.
In celebration of Eid ul-Fitr, Ismaili volunteers on the West Coast, led by the Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board, helped 10 Food Banks in 10 cities to pack and distribute over 910,000 meals.
