President Karim AM was appointed by His Highness the Aga Khan as President of the Ismaili Council in 2015, tasked with overseeing the mandate of the social governance of the Ismaili community across Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. He has been serving the Ismaili Community in various volunteer and leadership roles since his arrival to Australia in 1984. President Karim’s AM governance over the years, with the support of hundreds of volunteers has involved establishing settlement and social welfare programs; life-long learning and youth empowerment initiatives; Sports, Arts and Culture Festivals and celebrations to mark the Jubilees of His Highness.
The Ismailis are a richly diverse community of the Shia branch of Islam who are united by their belief in a living Imam in direct descendant from Prophet Mohammed (may peace be upon him and his family). The Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, a global, multi-ethnic community whose members comprise a wide diversity of cultures, languages and nationalities living in Central Asia, the Middle East, South-East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, North America, the far east, Australia, and NZ. In ANZ, the Ismaili community has been established for close to 50 years, settling in all the major cities and many regional townships.
In keeping with the ethic of Islam, the Ismaili Community is focussed on improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable populations and is active in civil society, working in diverse fields to contribute their time and knowledge of the communities in which they live. The Ismaili Community globally unite in rendering this service through Ismaili Civic, a global program emanating from a centuries old tradition of serving humanity reflecting the community’s ethic of civic engagement, good citizenship and exemplifying Islam’s ethics and core values of service, peace, and compassion.
Under the leadership of President Karim Sumar AM, Ismaili Civic in Australia and New Zealand have played an important role within local communities achieving greater than 10,000 hours of voluntary service in one year, including the contribution of hundreds of Christmas Hampers and Ramadhan Food drive donations annually, alleviating poverty through feeding the homeless, conducting blood drives and participating in Clean up Australia campaigns, and other sustainability initiatives. Also establishing partnerships with St Vincent’s de Paul Society and the Salvation Army, local and national Government Councils and Civil Society groups.
In 2019, when His Highness The Aga Khan became the Global Founding Patron of The Prince’s Trust, with His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, President Karim AM was appointed as a Trustee of Princes Trust Australia (PTA) by the Board. PTA is a national charity whose mission is to inspire veterans and their families into entrepreneurship and self-employment.
https://www.princes-trust.org.au/
The Ismaili Community wishes to express its sincere appreciation to President Karim AM, as he acknowledges the volunteers and family members who have stood by his side and the letters of congratulations received by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Chairman Malik Talib, Chairman of the Leaders International Forum, and the leadership of the Aga Khan Development Network.
