Content Tagged with Community

World Health Day is commemorated on 7 April all over the world, to raise awareness and draw attention towards the importance of global health. To mark this occasion, The.Ismaili highlights the need to take care of one’s well being in the face of increasing public health concerns.

The Aga Khan Foundation is hosting the “Rays of Light” exhibition at the Serena Hotel Islamabad from 2-3 April 2019. 

Members of the Canadian Jamat participate in a music video for the devotional song "Aaya Mawlana" written and composed by Zaheed Damani and Alya Bejaoui.

In 1978, the Canadian Jamat awaited Hazar Imam’s first visit to Canada with excitement. Shamshu Jamal, a talented Vancouver musician, expressed his joy on this blessed occasion by composing “Maara Mawla Canada Padhaarshe,” the devotional music piece that would go on to become an iconic musical tribute in the Canadian Ismaili community for generations.

Rafiq at the National Sawdust Concert, Brooklyn, New York, April 2018.

What is your first memory of music? Can you remember a time when you were so engrossed in a musical compilation that you forgot where you were physically? Many members of the Jamat use music as a connection to their heritage, their upbringing, and their community. In this article we will explore some of their stories.

Salim-Sulaiman perform at a Jubilee Concert in Houston, Texas.

Renowned artists and composers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant have obtained accolades in the Indian film industry and have performed in a number of prominent spaces including at the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their memorable songs such as ‘Jubilee Mubarak’, ‘Ali Mawla’, and ‘Shukran Allah’, which were performed on the occasion of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee, still resonate in our minds. To coincide with the upcoming Aga Khan Music Awards, we spoke with the two brothers about their journey.

Read the story of Samir Firasta who saved the life of a stranger during his morning walk; about how this Ismaili’s presence of mind gave a new life to a renowned architect.

Let us reflect on how we too can contribute to make a difference in somebody's life.

Films from the Jubilee Arts International Film Festival, which took place in July 2018 during the Diamond Jubilee Celebration in Lisbon, are now available to view online at https://the.ismaili/jubilee-arts/IFF2018.

Entrance into the Ismaili Centre, Dubai — a plurality of perspectives.

Over the past decade since its opening, the Ismaili Centre Dubai has become established as a multidisciplinary hub of culture, faith, education, and community identity. Exemplifying the core values of Ismaili Muslims, the Centre offers a platform for dialogue, unity, and progress within the Jamat and the wider community.

In this age of constant connectivity, there is both an expectation and perhaps a desire to always be contactable, in a plethora of ways.

It is estimated that at the end of 2018, 51.2 per cent of the global population, or 3.9 billion people, were using the Internet. While the Internet has brought about many positive changes, there have also been some undesirable effects of its growth and increased usage.

The Jamat singing traditional songs at the Roz-e-Nur event in New York.

Jamatkhanas and Ismaili Centres play an important role in the lives of the Ismaili community in the USA but they also play a very important role in promoting diversity and pluralism in the communities where they exist.

Late last year, a diverse group of interfaith leaders visited the Aga Khan Museum to explore its exhibitions, architecture, and facilities. As the United Nations has decreed the first week of February World Interfaith Harmony Week, The.Ismaili is pleased to share the experiences of these visitors in an article written by Ruth Broyde Sharone, first published on 15 November 2018 by The Interfaith Observer.

UK-based architect Farshid Moussavi has been selected to lead the design of the Ismaili Center, Houston — the first Ismaili Center in the USA.

A façade of interspersed openings facing the courtyard at the Ismaili Centre, Dubai

Situated in six cities around the world, the Ismaili Centres are places of contemplation and congregation, peace and prayer, humility and hope, discovery and dialogue, and equanimity and enlightenment.

Professor Mona Siddiqui delivers the annual lecture commemorating Milad-un-Nabi on the topic of “Hospitality, Global Conflicts and Migration: From Divine Imperative to Social Conscience.”

On 15 January 2019, world-renowned public intellectual Professor Mona Siddiqui, OBE, delivered the annual lecture commemorating Milad-un-Nabi, to an audience of over 250 government and community leaders, academics, and members of the Jamat on the topic of “Hospitality, Global Conflicts and Migration: From Divine Imperative to Social Conscience.” 

Established recently, UCA’s Green Community Club promote awareness of ecological issues and encourage environmentally sustainable practices.

An enthusiastic group of students at the Khorog campus of the University of Central Asia (UCA) have formed an initiative to promote awareness of ecological issues and encourage participation in environmentally sustainable practices.

Our days can become inundated by frivolous scrolling through endless social media feeds, and responding to a constant stream of messages.

The digital age has changed our lives in many parts of the world, inextricably tethering them to the Internet for the simplest to the most sophisticated of tasks. In the first of a new series of articles on how to use digital media safely, Altaf Jiwa outlines the role that the Internet and social media have come to play in our daily lives.

International Talent Showcase participants performed the official Jubilee Arts song at the finale of the event.

Performances from the Jubilee Arts International Talent Showcase, which took place in July 2018 during the Diamond Jubilee Celebration in Lisbon, are now available to view online at https://the.ismaili/jubilee-arts/ITS2018.

Ismailis around the world may be cheering for a Canadian sailor at the 2020 Olympics.

Hazar Imam discursa perante líderes do Jamat por ocasião da designação da sede do Imamat

As we mark the beginning of 2019, we would like to share with you a video recapping the events of 2018. We wish the Jamat good health, success, and happiness in the new year.

Dancers perform during the Rihla performance in Vancouver.

Audience members at Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall were taken on an inspiring musical journey as Rihla: from Roots to Dreams completed its cross-Canada performance tour on 22 December 2018.