Aga Khan IV
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- The Aga Khan IV, KBE, CC, BA, (Prince Karim Aga Khan or Prince Karim El Husseni), (Arabic: آغا خان الرابع), (born December 13, 1936) is the current (49th) Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. He has held the title since July 11, 1957. He is referred to by members of his community as Hazar Imam, or "Present Imam".
At the age of 20 he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahommed Shah, as Imam. He is the 49th direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through the Prophet's daughter, Fatima, and her husband, Ali, the first Shia Imam, although this is controversial amongst many Muslims (both Sunni and Shia).
The Aga Khan IV is the son of Prince Aly Khan (June 13, 1911–May 12, 1960), and his first wife, Hon. Joan Yarde-Buller, daughter of the 3rd Baron Churston, renamed Princess Tadjudowlah, (b. 1908). He was born in Geneva. He spent his early childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, and then attended the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. He graduated from Harvard University in 1959 with a BA Honors Degree in Islamic history.
Early education included private tutoring, with Prince Sadruddin, by Mustafa Kamil, a scholar from Aligarh Muslim University engaged by his grandfather, the Aga Khan III.
He married his first wife, former model Sarah Frances (Sally) Croker-Poole, titled HH Begum Salima Aga Khan, on 22 October, 1969. The marriage, which ended in divorce after 25 years, produced three children. According to The Times, severance fees amounted to £20,000,000 [link], Aga Khan IV has British nationality.
He married his second wife, HSH Princess Gabriele zu Leiningen (born in Frankfurt-am-Main on 1 April, 1963), in Aiglemont on 30 May, 1998. Princess Gabriele, a lawyer and UNESCO consultant has formerly been the wife of Karl-Emich, Prince zu Leiningen. Her fourteen year old daughter Princess Theresa zu Leiningen is 112th in line to the throne of the United Kingdom.
Prior to her marriage and her conversion to Islam, the couple jointly chose the Muslim name "Inaara" (derived from the Arabic "nur", meaning "light", and Princess Gabriele became HH the Begum Aga Khan IV. On March 7, 2000, their son Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan was born. On 8 October, 2004, an announcement was made that the Aga Khan and the Begum Inaara Aga Khan[link]were to seek a divorce. In fact, the couple presently live separated although still married.
The Aga Khan is founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network ([AKDN]), one of the largest private development networks in the world. Its partners include numerous governments and several international organizations. AKDN agencies operate in social and economic development as well as in the field of culture. The network includes the Aga Khan University ([AKU]), the University of Central Asia ([UCA]), the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development ([AKFED]), the Aga Khan Trust for Culture ([AKTC]), the Aga Khan Foundation ([AKF]), the Aga Khan Health Services ([AKHS]), the Aga Khan Education Services ([AKES]), the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services ([AKPBS]), the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance ([AKAM]), and more. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture ([AKAA])is the largest architectural award in the world. In addition, FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance, an affiliate of the AKDN, is responsible for emergency response in the face of disaster. Recent examples include the massive earthquake in Pakistan ([AKDN earthquake response]) and the South Asian Tsunami.
He is also the Chairman of The Institute of Ismaili Studies, which he founded in 1977.
Significant recent or current projects led by the Aga Khan include the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat on Sussex Drive in Ottawa, Canada, the Global Centre for Pluralism ([GCP]) in Ottawa, Canada, the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada, the Al-Azhar Park ([link]) in Cairo, Egypt, and a network of full IB residential schools known as the Aga Khan Academies ([AKA]}. See [link]
Children
By Princess Salima [formerly Begum Salima]- Princess Zahra Aga Khan (b. September 18 1970)
- Prince Rahim Aga Khan (b. October 12, 1971)
- Prince Hussain Aga Khan (b. April 10, 1974)
See also
External links
- [Aga Khan Development Network]
- [The Institute of Ismaili Studies]
- [Order of Canada Citation]
- [Aga Khan article at SIPA (Columbia University)]
- [Brown University President Vartan Gregorian's introduction of the Aga Khan (1996 baccalaureate address)]
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