The spirit and emotion of Mawlana Hazar Imam's Golden Jubilee will once again come alive in cities across Canada. Shining through the Rocky Mountains, across the Prairies and beyond the Rideau Canal, RAYS OF LIGHT will soon be travelling across the country.
An exhibition devised as a Golden Jubilee International Programme, RAYS OF LIGHT: Glimpses into the Ismaili Imamat, will make its much-anticipated Canadian debut in Edmonton on 4 July 2013, providing a unique opportunity for the Jamat and the wider public to understand the scope and scale of Mawlana Hazar Imam's tremendous work across the globe.
The RAYS OF LIGHT exhibition is a multisensory experience setting the first 50 years of Mawlana Hazar Imam's Imamat, against the context of 1,400 years of Ismaili history. Initially conceived as one of six Golden Jubilee International Programmes, it was viewed personally by Mawlana Hazar Imam and Imamat family members at the time of the Golden Jubilee Darbar in Paris in December 2008. Since then, it has toured in the United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, and, most recently, in Uganda.
“[It is] a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn more about the personal life and history of the Imam,” says Canadian Amaan Ismail, who remembers the Paris exhibition. He describes it as a very emotional experience, and recommends everyone to take the opportunity to see RAYS OF LIGHT while it is in Canada.
RAYS OF LIGHT includes rare photographs from Mawlana Hazar Imam's public and personal life, and examples of the development work carried out during his Imamat. Designed to provide a personal experience for each individual Ismaili, the exhibition seeks to portray the dual elements of the institution of the Imamat, covering the Jamat's progress and wellbeing in the spiritual as well as material realms.
With Canada being home to several major Imamat initiatives, including the Ismaili Centre, Burnaby, the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, the Global Centre for Pluralism, as well as the forthcoming Aga Khan Museum and the Ismaili Centre, Toronto, RAYS OF LIGHT provides an insight and a context into Mawlana Hazar Imam's tireless efforts to improve the quality of life of the Jamat and the communities in which it lives.
Travelling from Edmonton to Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto during the summer of 2013, the exhibition will offer visitors a unique opportunity to reflect upon, and share with their families and friends, how Mawlana Hazar Imam's vision, commitment and ceaseless efforts have transformed the lives of the Jamat as well as other peoples of diverse faiths and nationalities across the globe.
Experience RAYS OF LIGHT: Glimpses into the Ismaili Imamat during its Canadian tour in 2013. For more information email [email protected].
