Aga Khan IV

His Highness Aga Khan IV
Aga Khan IV receiving a gift of Trinitite, residue from the first nuclear bomb detonation, while visiting the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1959.
Personal
Religion	Shia Nizari Ismaili Islam
Spouse	Princess Salimah Aga Khan (1969–1995) Begum Inaara Aga Khan (1998–2011)
Children	Princess Zahra Aga Khan Prince Rahim Aga Khan Prince Hussain Aga Khan Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan
Parents	Prince Aly Khan (father) Princess Tajuddawlah Aly Khan (mother)
Military service
Rank	49th Nizari Ismaili Imām

Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM (Arabic: سمو الأمیر شاہ کریم الحسیني آقا خان الرابع; born December 13, 1936) is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan. The Aga Khan is responsible for the interpretation of the faith for his followers and as part of the office of the Imamate, endeavors to improve the quality of their lives and the communities where they live. Aga Khan claims to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, considered the first Imam in Shia Islam, and his wife Fatima az-Zahra, the Prophet’s daughter from his first marriage with Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.

Forbes describes the Aga Khan as one of the world's ten richest royals with an estimated net worth of $800 million USD (2010). Additionally he is unique among the richest royals as he does not preside over a geographic territory. In fact, he owns hundreds of racehorses, valuable stud farms, an exclusive yacht club on Sardinia, a private island in the Bahamas, two Bombardier jets, a 12-seat helicopter, a £100 million high speed yacht named after his prize racehorse, and several estates around the world, including an estate at Aiglemont, north of Paris. In 2007, after an interview with the Aga Khan, G. Pascal Zachary, of the The New York Times, wrote, "Part of the Aga Khan's personal wealth [used by him and his family], which his advisers say exceeds $1 billion [USD], comes from a dizzyingly complex system of tithes that some of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims pay him each year [one of which is called dasond, which is at least 12.5% of each Nizari Ismaili's gross annual income] - an amount that he will not disclose but which may reach hundreds of millions of dollars annually." No documented records whatsoever are kept - at least that are accessible to either the public or to the Nizari Ismaili community - of how the Aga Khan uses the tithes that are given to him, and to what extent they benefit the Aga Khan personally versus benefiting the Nizari Ismaili community (or others).

In a 1958 televised interview with London journalists, approximately one year after becoming the 49th Imam of the Nizari Ismaili community, the Aga Khan claimed that the tithes are voluntary and are used "...either to grant scholarships to students, to grant capital to a school or a hospital." He was not asked whether he keeps a portion of the tithes for himself and/or his family in the interview, and was not asked to expand on how the tithes are used beyond the few ways he mentioned, however. Aga Khan IV's statement in the interview on the tithes being voluntary contradicts the statement of his grandfather - the previous Nizari Ismaili Imam, Aga Khan III - based on the latter's 1948 farman (confidential pronouncement intended only for Nizari Ismailis) documented at a well-known Nizari Ismaili website, which indicates that the giving of tithes is the "first of all duties" of a Nizari Ismaili. Additionally, according to a 1949 blockbuster cover story on the Aga Khan III in Life Magazine, the giving of tithes to the Aga Khan is a "religious duty." In this same story, Aga Khan III claimed to the author that he "uses only about 10%" of the tithes collected from Nizari Ismailis for his own personal use. Assuming Aga Khan III's claim is accurate, it indicates an amount collected by the Aga Khan for personal use that is almost certainly at least in the hundreds of millions annually (incidentally in concordance with the amount reported by G. Pascal Zachary of the New York Times). Tithes not only include dasond (at least 12.5% of the gross annual income of each Nizari Ismaili), but, also a vast and extensive array of other amounts to be paid in the course of private worship services (not open to the public or other Muslims) at Nizari Ismaili jamatkhanas (places of worship) - as indicated in the High Court of Bombay's 1908 Haji Bibi Case, in which Aga Khan was the main defendant.

The Aga Khan is particularly interested in the elimination of global poverty; the advancement of women; the promotion of Islamic culture, art, and architecture; and promoting pluralistic values in society. He is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, one of the largest private development networks in the world. The organization works toward improvement of environment, health, education, architecture, culture, microfinance, rural development, disaster reduction, the promotion of private-sector enterprise and the revitalisation of historic cities. Since his ascension to the Imamate, the Aga Khan has been involved in complex political and economic changes which have affected his followers, including the independence of African countries from colonial rule, expulsion of Asians from Uganda, the independence of Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan from the former Soviet Union and the continuous turmoil in Afghanistan and Pakistan. During his visit to India in 1983, the Aga Khan said:

There are those who enter the world in such poverty that they are deprived of both the means and the motivation to improve their circumstances. Unless these unfortunates can be touched with the spark which ignites the spirit of individual enterprise and determination, they will only sink back into renewed apathy, degradation and despair. It is for us, who are more fortunate, to provide that spark.

Early life

Born Prince Karim Aga Khan, the Aga Khan IV is the eldest son of Prince Aly Khān, (1911–1960) and his first wife, Princess Tajuddawlah Aly Khan, formerly the Hon. Joan Barbara Yarde-Buller (1908–1997), the eldest daughter of the 3rd Baron Churston. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 13, 1936, Prince Karim was declared healthy despite being born prematurely. The Aga Khan's brother, Prince Amyn, was born less than a year later. Their parents divorced in 1949, in part due to Prince Aly Khan's extramarital affairs , and Prince Aly Khān shortly after married Rita Hayworth, with whom he had a daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, half-sister of Aga Khan IV. Aga Khan IV also had a half-brother, Patrick Benjamin Guinness (1931–1965), from his mother's first marriage, as Joan Yarde-Buller was previously married to Loel Guinness, of the banking Guinnesses.

Aga Khan IV spent his childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, where his early education was done by private tutoring. His grandfather, Aga Khan III, engaged Mustafa Kamil, a scholar from Aligarh Muslim University, for both Aga Khan IV and Prince Amyn. The Aga Khan later attended the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland for nine years. He graduated from Harvard University in 1959 with a BA honors degree in Islamic history. The young Aga Khan was a competitive downhill skier, and he skied for Iran in 1964 Olympic Games where he ranked 30th in the slalom event.

As a youngster the Aga Khan would have preferred to attend MIT and study science, but his grandfather Aga Khan III vetoed the decision and Prince Karim attended Harvard where he studied Islamic studies. When his grand father passed away he was thrust into the position of the Aga Khan, and he went from being a student at Harvard to replacing his grandfather as the new Nizari Ismaili Imam.

Overnight, my whole life changed completely. I woke up with serious responsibilities toward millions of other human beings. I knew I would have to abandon my hopes of studying for a doctorate in history.

Paul Ress, of Sports Illustrated, writes that the young prince turned Aga Khan, having responsibility to go with his wealth, did not live the playboy lifestyle of his father. He did, however, increase the speed of his family yacht, and he drove his Italian car at more than 100 miles per hour. Ress writes about traveling to Chantilly in one of the young prince's Maseratis. The chauffeur, Lucien Lemouss, slowed to 80 miles per hour as they fell in behind a slower moving Ferrari, and the young prince had the chauffeur pull over, took over the driver's seat, and swiftly passed the Ferrari.

Marriages, divorces and children

The Aga Khan married his first wife, former British model Sarah ("Sally") Frances Croker-Poole, who assumed the name Begum Salima Aga Khan, on October 22, 1969 (civil) and October 28, 1969 (religious), at his home in Paris, France. The couple were married for 25 years, during which they had three children. However, it was not long into their marriage before the Aga Khan engaged in multiple extramarital affairs - a habit his father was known to have - much to his wife Sarah's discontent . By 1984, Sarah and the Aga Khan took to separate lives. However, their marriage did not officially end by divorce until 1995. The Aga Khan agreed to pay £20 million in a divorce settlement, and Sarah sold jewels she received as gifts, including the Begum Blue diamond, for £17.5 million. The Aga Khan and Sarah had three children together - one daughter and two sons:

• Princess Zahra Aga Khan (born September 18, 1970)
• Prince Rahim Aga Khan (born October 12, 1971)
• Prince Hussain Aga Khan (born April 10, 1974)

The Aga Khan married for the second time with Princess Gabriele zu Leiningen, who assumed the name Begum Inaara Aga Khan, at his vast walled compound and chateau near Chantilly, France, in Aiglemont, on May 30, 1998. But, on October 8, 2004, an announcement was made that the Aga Khan and the Begum Aga Khan were to seek a divorce. Gabriele (like the Aga Khan's previous wife, Sarah Croker-Poole), claimed the Aga Khan was having an affair while being married. Specifically, Gabriele claimed that, during her marriage to the Aga Khan, the Aga Khan was having an affair with an air hostess. In September 2011, a divorce settlement was reached, and Gabriele was to receive a settlement amount of £50 million - overturning a lower court ruling of one fifth of this amount, after the French court overseeing the divorce found the Aga Khan was exclusively at fault for adultery. It was revealed in the case that Gabriele had hired a private detective to track Aga Khan's alleged affair with an air hostess. An intra-marriage liaison of the Aga Khan with Beatrice von der Schulenburg, whom the Aga Khan has been close to for five years and whom it is expected the Aga Khan would marry following completion of the divorce with Gabriele, was also highlighted by Gabriele's lawyers. However, the £50 million settlement was contested by the Aga Khan to France's highest court, shortly after being announced. The matter is still ongoing and could take several years to resolve. By Gabriele, the Aga Khan has a son:

• Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan (born March 7, 2000)

Nizari Ismaili Imamat

Following the death of his grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan, Prince Karim, at the age of 20, became the 49th Imām of the Nizari Ismailis, bypassing his father, Prince Aly Khān, and his uncle, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, who were in direct line of succession.

In his will, the Aga Khan III explained the rationale for choosing his eldest grandson as his successor:

In view of the fundamentally altered conditions in the world has provoked many changes, including the discoveries of atomic science, I am convinced that it is in the best interests of the Nizari Ismaili community that I should be succeeded by a young man who has been brought up and developed during recent years and in the midst of the new age, and who brings a new outlook on life to his office.

In light of the request expressed in his grandfather's will, the Aga Khan has sometimes been referred to by Nizari Ismailis as the Imam of the Atomic Age.

Upon taking the position of Imam, the Aga Khan stated that he intended to continue the work his grandfather had pursued in building modern institutions to improve the quality of life of the Nizari Ismailis. Takht nashini (installation) ceremonies occurred at several locations over 1957 and 1958. During this time, the Aga Khan emphasized to his followers the importance of fostering positive relations among different ethnicities; this message was highly appropriate considering the racially tense atmosphere in East Africa. During the installation ceremonies in the Indian subcontinent, he stressed his commitment to improving the quality of life of Nizari Ismailis and encouraged cooperation with individuals of other religions and ethics. The main themes that the Aga Khan emphasized during these first few months of his Imamat were development, education, interracial harmony, and confidence in religion.

In Africa, Asia and the Middle East, a major objective of the Community's social welfare and economic programs, until the mid-fifties, had been to create a broad base of businessmen, agriculturists, and professionals. The educational facilities of the community tended to emphasize secondary-level education. With the coming of independence, each nation's economic aspirations took on new dimensions, focusing on industrialization and modernization of agriculture. The community's educational priorities had to be reassessed in the context of new national goals, and new institutions had to be created to respond to the growing complexity of the development process.

In 1972, under the regime of the then President Idi Amin of Uganda, Nizari Ismailis and other Asians were expelled despite being citizens of the country and having lived there for generations. The Imam undertook urgent steps to facilitate the resettlement of Nizari Ismailis displaced from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and also from Burma. Owing to his personal efforts most found homes, not only in Asia, but also in Europe and North America. Most of the basic resettlement problems were overcome remarkably rapidly. This was due to the adaptability of the Nizari Ismailis themselves and in particular to their educational background and their linguistic abilities, as well as the efforts of the host countries and the moral and material support from Nizari Ismaili community programs.

In view of the importance that Islam places on maintaining a balance between the spiritual well-being of the individual and the quality of his or her material life, the Imam's guidance deals with both aspects of the life of his followers. The Aga Khan has encouraged Nizari Ismailis, settled in the industrialized world, to contribute towards the progress of communities in the developing world through various development programs. Indeed the Economist noted that Nizari Ismaili immigrant communities integrated seamlessly and did better at attaining graduate and post graduate degrees, "far surpassing their native, Hindu, Sikh, fellow Muslims, and Chinese communities".

The Aga Khan has described his role as Imam as being a guide to Nizari Ismailis in the daily practice of Shia Islam, a duty which requires an understanding of Nizari Ismailis and their relationship with their geographic location and their time. He elaborated on this concept in a 2006 speech in Germany stating:

The role and responsibility of an Imam, respectively, to interpret their religion to his community, and to do his utmost to improve the quality, and security of their quotidian. [sic]

This engagement is not limited to the Nizari Ismaili community but also extends to the people with whom the Nizari Ismailis share their lives, locally and internationally.

During the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy, he said: "I have two reactions to the pope's lecture: There is my concern about the degradation of relations and, at the same time, I see an opportunity. A chance to talk about a serious, important issue: the relationship between religion and logic"

Being the Imam of the Nizari Ismailis, He is one of the "Ulama" signatories of the Amman Message, which gives a broad foundation for defining who can be considered a Muslim.

Divine Nature of the Aga Khan

During the time of the 46th, 47th, and 48th Imams (Aga Khan I, Aga Khan II, and Aga Khan III) of the Nizari Ismaili community, respectively - and particularly prior to the creation of the independent country of Pakistan (a major hub for Nizari Ismailis) in 1947 - virtually all available sources of information indicate that the position of the Imam in Nizari Ismailism to be that of a living god, the incarnation of God, and/or the manifestation of God. According to the 1866 Khoja Case (also known as the "Aga Khan Case"), presided over by Justice Sir Joseph Arnould in the High Court of Bombay, and where Aga Khan III (grandfather of Aga Khan IV and the 48th Imam) served as defendant, the Imam was described as "...an incarnation of God..." to his community of followers. This assertion was reaffirmed in the 1908 Haji Bibi Case , presided over by Mr. Justice Russell in the High Court of Bombay, where Aga Khan III also served as defendant. In this latter case, the Imam was referenced by virtue of the thrice daily main prayer of the Nizari Ismaili community, the "Doowa," as:

...God, the High, the Great, the Merciful, the Magnanimous, the Good, the Great Holy Providence (Who is) in the district of Chaldea, in Persia, in human form, descended from the seventy-seven Patras (ancestors) and who is the forty-eighth Imam (Spiritual Chief) the tenth Naklanki Avatar, our Master, Aga Sultan Mahomed Shah [the given name of Aga Khan III], the Giver.

Note: The word Naklanki or Nakalanki means the stainless one, and it is a name of the tenth avatar originally identified with Ali.

It was also revealed in the Haji Bibi case that the Doowa had gone unchanged since the time of the 46th Imam (Aga Khan I), other than for accounting for changes in the name of the Imam as one passed and a new one was introduced. Additionally, Aga Khan III wrote in a public letter entitled "I Belong to No Country," in 1934, that:

I am a direct descendant of the Prophet and a large number of Muhammadans numbering about 20 millions acknowledge me as their head. They pay me tribute and worship me, who have the blood of the Prophet in my vein.

In the mid-20th century, Norman Lewis wrote, "The Aga Khan is the spiritual and temporal head of the sect and possesses attributes of divinity." Meanwhile, in a paper discussing the theology of East African followers of the Aga Khan, H.S Morris quotes a Nizari Ismaili that was living in East Africa and educated in England, but, who had never visited India, as saying:

Our Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, is like your Jesus Christ. Even Hindus believe that God will never leave the world deserted, we believe that God, that is Vishnu, descended to earth in Ali [as the Tenth Avatar] and has never left us. When the Imam dies the Light moves on to his son: it follows like the sacred blood—like the King. The King never dies.

However, since a certain number of undefined years after the formation of the independent country of Pakistan (a major hub for Nizari Ismailis, as indicated earlier) in 1947, and particularly since the advent of the 49th Imam, Aga Khan IV, in 1957, the bulk of the public information available on the position of the Imam in Nizari Ismailism indicates that the position is 'less divine' than during the lives of previous Nizari Ismaili Imams - or, even, a non-divine position. For instance, in 1967, Thomas Thompson, of Life wrote: "His [Karim Aga Khan's] authority is roughly analogous to that of the Pope in Roman Catholicism, and he is considered the only mediator between his people and God. The Aga Khan is not considered divine." A report was also issued at the 1975 "Ismailia Association Conference" to address the question of the divinity of the position of Imam, according to the view of Aga Khan IV. It mentioned: "The Imam to be explained as 'mazhar' [epiphany] of God, and the relationship between God and the Imam to be related to varying levels of inspiration and communication from God to man." Additionally, in response to a December 1983 Life magazine article, Aga Khan IV's representatives stated that it was incorrect for Life magazine to interpret him as either "a living god," or as a "spokesman for Allah." The same response stated that the oneness and uniqueness of Allah, "Tawheed," is a fundamental principle of Islam. Finally, in 1987, while writing how the Aga Khans III and IV adjusted Khojah Nizari Ismaili religious practice, which historically contained "mystical-Indian" Hindu aspects, to conform more with "prophetic-Arabic" Islamic practice, Ali S. Asani noted that Khojah Nizari Ismailis accepted changes in part because of their strong belief and trust in the guidance offered by their "divinely-appointed" Imams.

There may be a discrepancy between the publicized position of Aga Khan IV in Nizari Ismailism, according to him and his representatives, versus the position he truly occupies in the private worship services of Nizari Ismailis (which are not open to the public nor other adherents of Islam, and are kept secret). For instance, one prominent Nizari Ismaili website has publicly indicated that the position of Imam is that of the bearer of the "Noor [Light] of Allah [God],". It is unclear whether the "Noor of Allah" is a portion of God that Aga Khan IV is believed by Nizari Ismailis to have inside of him, or the same as God. Additionally, "The Encyclopedia of Ismailism," by Mumtaz Ali Tajddin, a Nizari Ismaili, states that: "The Imam is the mazhar (manifestation) of God on earth as the electric bulb is a device of manifestation of electricity, which itself is invisible. The bulb plays the same role as the body of the Imam. Thus, the Imam is held to be the manifestation of the divine light, which is ever-present in the world." Both of these sources, which come from inside the Nizari Ismaili community, strongly indicate that Aga Khan IV is viewed by Nizari Ismailis as the incarnation of God or as having a portion of God inside of him (and thereby being divine) - as was the case with his grandfather (based on available historical information), Aga Khan III. This is despite Aga Khan IV's own indications to the contrary in the public eye.

Silver Jubilee Year

From July 1982 to July 1983, to celebrate the present Aga Khan's Silver Jubilee, marking the 25th anniversary of his accession to the Imāmat, many new social and economic development projects were launched. These range from the establishment of the US$450 million international Aga Khan University with its Faculty of Health Sciences and teaching hospital based in Karachi, the expansion of schools for girls and medical centers in the Hunza region, one of the remote parts of Northern Pakistan bordering on China and Afghanistan, to the establishment of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program in Gujarat, India, and the extension of existing urban hospitals and primary health care centers in Tanzania and Kenya. These initiatives form part of an international network of institutions involved in fields that range from education, health and rural development, to architecture and the promotion of private sector enterprise, and together make up the Aga Khan Development Network.

Golden Jubilee Year

July 11, 2007 marked the 50th Anniversary of the Aga Khan's reign of Imamat. On this occasion, leaders representing Nizari Ismailis from all over the world gathered at the Aga Khan's residence to pay homage to the Imam on behalf of Nizari Ismailis around the world. During his Golden Jubilee from 2007–2008, marking 50 years of Imamate, the Aga Khan commissioned a number of projects. As part of the Jubilee Year, Aga Khan made official visits to various countries, using these occasions to recognise the friendship and longstanding support of leaders of state, government and other partners in the work of the Nizari Ismaili Imamat, and to set the direction for the future, including the launching and laying of foundations for major initiatives and programmes.

The countries visited include:

Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Madagascar, United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, India, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Syria, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Canada, Singapore and France.

A number of International Programmes were launched as part of the commemoration of Aga Khan's Golden Jubilee. The programmes addressed themes such as heritage, culture, devotional music and physical well-being, while promoting Community unity and worldwide collaboration.

Aga Khan also organised a sports meet in Kenya, and teams from all over the world came to play this event.

Family tradition of international service

In recent generations, the Aga Khan’s family has followed a tradition of service in international affairs. The Aga Khan’s grandfather was President of the League of Nations and his father, Prince Aly Khan, was Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations. His uncle, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations’ Coordinator for assistance to Afghanistan and United Nations Executive Delegate of Iraq-Turkey border areas.

The Aga Khan’s brother, Prince Amyn Aga Khan, joined the United Nations Secretariat, Department of Economic and Social Affairs following his graduation from Harvard in 1965. Since 1968, Prince Amyn has been closely involved with the governance of the principal development institutions of the Imamat. He is Director of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and a member of the Board of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and Chairman of its Executive Committee. Prince Amyn was also deeply involved in the establishment and the development of the Tourism Promotion Services (TPS). He is also a Director of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).

The Aga Khan’s eldest child and daughter, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, graduated from Harvard in 1994 with a BA (Honours) Degree in Development Studies, and is the Head of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) located within the Secretariat of the Aga Khan in France. She has policy and management responsibility for the health, education, and planning and building service companies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). She also plays a key policy role with respect to the other social development institutions of the Network.

Prince Rahim Aga Khan was born on October 12, 1971, in Geneva, Switzerland, and is the second of His Highness the Aga Khan’s four children. Based at the Secretariat of His Highness the Aga Khan at Aiglemont, north of Paris, France, Prince Rahim is an executive Director of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) – the economic development arm of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). He also serves as an Executive Director at the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM). A graduate of Brown University, Rhode Island, USA with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Comparative Literature awarded in 1996, Prince Rahim received his secondary education at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. In 2006, Prince Rahim completed an executive development programme in Management and Administration at the University of Navarra IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. Prince Rahim travels regularly to Asia and Africa to oversee the industrial plants, hotel properties and financial institutions, including microfinance programmes, of the Aga Khan Development Network.

The Aga Khan’s second son, Prince Hussain Aga Khan, graduated from Williams College (USA) with a Bachelor of Arts degree and has a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) where his main area of study was Economic and Political Development with a regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa.

His youngest son Prince Aly Muhammad was born in 2000.

In consonance with this vision of Islam and a long-standing tradition of service to humanity, the Ismailis have elaborated a well-defined institutional framework to build capacity and improve the quality of life within the communities in which they live. Under the Aga Khan’s leadership, this framework expanded and evolved into the Aga Khan Development Network, a group of institutions working to improve living conditions and opportunities in specific regions of the developing world. In every country, these institutions work for the common good of all citizens regardless of their origin or religion. Their individual mandates range from architecture, education and health to the promotion of private sector enterprise, the enhancement of non-government organisations and rural development.

The Aga Khan has been a familiar figure on the World Stage & holds a protocol of Head of the State in every country. He frequently visits several countries to review the activities of AKDN and to discuss matters with High Government Officials.

Promotion of Islamic architecture

In 1977, the Aga Khan established the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, an award recognizing excellence in architecture that encompasses contemporary design and social, historical, and environmental considerations. It is the largest architectural award in the world and is granted triennially. The award grew out of the Aga Khan’s desire to revitalize creativity in Islamic societies and acknowledge creative solutions for buildings facilities and public spaces. The prize winner is selected by an independent master jury convened for each cycle.

In 1979, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) respectively, established the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA), which is supported by an endowment from Aga Khan. These programs provide degree courses, public lectures, and conferences for the study of Islamic architecture and urbanism. Understanding contemporary conditions and developmental issues are key components of the academic program. The program engages in research at both institutions and students can graduate with a Master of Science of Architectural Studies specializing in the Aga Khan program from MIT's Department of Architecture.

Aga Khan Development Network

The Aga Khan is founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), one of the largest private development networks in the world, which coordinates the activities of over 200 agencies and institutions, employing approximately 80,000 paid staff, the majority of whom are based in developing countries. Its partners include numerous governments and several international organizations. AKDN agencies operate in the fields of health, education, culture, rural development, institution-building and the promotion of economic development, with special focus on countries of the Third World. It is dedicated to improving living conditions and opportunities for the poor, without regard to their faith, origin or gender. Half a billion dollars are given out in charity and development every year through this huge network. The AKDN’s annual budget for non-profit development activities in 2010 was approximately US$ 625 million. The network operates in more than 35 of the poorest countries in the world and is statutorily secular.

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), and the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM). One of the companies AKFED wholly owns is the famous Serena - a group of luxury hotels, resorts, and lodges that operate throughout parts of Africa and Asia. Many of Serena's properties have bars and serve alcohol to guests - including in Muslim nations like Pakistan - despite the prohibition on alcohol for most Muslims, including Nizari Ismailis. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA)is the largest architectural award in the world.

Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS), 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.

Aga Khan is also the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, which he founded in 1977. He is also a Vice-President of the Royal Commonwealth Society.

Significant recent or current projects led by the Aga Khan include the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat and the Global Centre for Pluralism (GCP) in Ottawa, the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, the Al-Azhar Park ([1]) in Cairo, the Bagh-e Babur restoration in Kabul, and a network of full IB residential schools known as the Aga Khan Academies (AKA). See [2] Since 2001, the Aga Khan has mobilized over $750 million in Afghanistan. His personal contribution has been larger than any single donor and more than most countries.

The Aga Khan has expressed concern about the work of the AKDN being described as philanthropy. In his address to the Tutzing Evangelical Academy in Germany, he described this concern:

Reflecting a certain historical tendency of the West to separate the secular from the religious, they often describe [the work of the AKDN] either as philanthropy or entrepreneurship. What is not understood is that this work is for us a part of our institutional responsibility – it flows from the mandate of the office of Imam to improve the quality of worldly life for the concerned communities.

Thoroughbred horse racing

Racing silks of Aga Khan

At his Aiglemont estate, at Gouvieux in the Picardie region of France, about 4 kilometres west of the Chantilly Racecourse, he operates the largest horse racing and breeding operation in the country. In 1977, he paid £1.3 million for the bloodstock owned by Anna Dupré and in 1978, £4.7 million for the bloodstock of the late Marcel Boussac.

The Aga Khan owns Gilltown Stud near Kilcullen, Ireland, and Haras de Bonneval breeding farm at Le Mesnil-Mauger in France. In March 2005, he purchased the famous Calvados stud farms, the Haras d'Ouilly in Pont-d'Ouilly and the Haras de Val-Henry in Livarot. Haras d'Ouilly had been owned by such famous horsemen as the Duc Decazes, François Dupré and Jean-Luc Lagardère.

In 2006, the Aga Khan became the majority shareholder of Arqana, a French horse auction house.

On October 27, 2009 it was announced that Sea The Stars winner of the Epsom Derby (Eng-G1), Coral Eclipse Stakes (Eng-G1), Juddmonte International Stakes (Eng-G1), Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes (Ire-G1), and $5.8 million Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will stand stud at the Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud in Ireland.

Personal finances

The Aga Khan IV owns estates in several countries, jets, helicopters, hundreds of racehorses, yachts, a private island, and fancy cars. His two divorces have cost him over US$ 100 million personally in settlements. In 2007, G. Pascal Zachary, of the The New York Times, noted that part of the Aga Khan's income comes from donations from his many followers. While the actual amount is not disclosed, he may receive as much as hundreds of millions of dollars a year from a system of tithes, which is called dasond. In 2009, it was noted in Forbes that the Aga Khan's worth was $800 million, down $200 million from the previous year. Additionally, the Aga Khan owns and operates the biggest horse racing and breeding operation in France, and this operation is considered one of his main sources of income.

In the Encyclopaedia of Ismailism, Mumtaz Ali Tajddin, a Nizari Ismaili, describes the components of dasond that come from the gross income of the 15 million followers of Nizari Ismailism and that go to the Imam of Nizari Ismailism, Aga Khan IV:

The tenth part of the income [10% of gross income] is separated along with 2½ zakat [2.5% of gross income], making the deduction of 12½ from the income [12.5% of gross income]. The tenth part solely belongs to the Imam, while 2½ part being zakat for the welfare purpose. Both parts (10 & 2½) are presented to the Imam.

The Aga Khan is and has been involved is other business ventures such as luxury hotels. In the 1990s, the Aga Khan had a group of $400 a night Italian luxury hotels, called Ciga. This group embarked on an ill-timed expansion that lead to a $640 million debt. In attempt to combat this debt, the Aga Khan's holding company Fimpar S.p.A. planed to raise $200 million on the Milan stock exchange but the First Gulf War scared people off. Ultimately IMI Bank A.G. of Germany seized the assets of Fimpar S.p.A. Currently the Aga Khan, through his fund for economic development, is involved with the Serena Hotels chain.

Yacht Alamshar

The Aga Khan has purchased 49.99 meter yacht, Alamshar, with a price tag of £100 million. The yacht is named after a prized racehorse of his, and it was suppose to have a top speed of 60 knots in hopes of setting a new transatlantic speed record. The yacht reached a top speed of 30 knots at its initial trials.

Bahamas environmental impact controversy

The Aga Khan has recently sparked an Eco-Political debate in the Bahamas following his dredging of the sea bed and construction measures on his private island Bell, which is situated in the middle of Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park and where he is arranging for a new residence. The Aga Khan was involved in a controversy with politicians and environmentalists over a permit to dredge a channel for his yacht for a private island in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park in the Bahamas. The controversy involved the environment minister Earl Deveaux, "Helicopter Earl," using the Aga Khan's 12 seat luxury helicopter to survey the area prior to granting the permit and a $1 Million donation by the Aga Khan to Bahamas National Trust. A lawsuit was filed by an environmental group known as Save the Exuma Park (STEP) in attempt to prevent or reduce the dredging. Bahamas senator Jerome Fitzgerald claims that the dredging, on behalf of the Aga Khan, in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park has violated environmental impact requirements and caused considerable environmental degradation, potentially effecting the many Bahamian entrepreneurs rely on the park for their income.

Titles, styles and honours

Styles of The Aga Khan
Reference style	His Highness
Spoken style	Your Highness
Alternative style	Sir

Titles and styles

• 1936–1957: Prince Karim Aga Khan
• 1957–present: His Highness The Aga Khan IV

The title 'Prince' is used by the Aga Khans and their children by virtue of their ancestry from Shah Fath Ali Shah of the Persian Qajar dynasty. The title was officially recognized by the British government in 1938.

The hereditary title of 'Aga Khan' was first granted to Aga Hasan Ali Shah, the 46th Ismaili Imam, by Fat′h-Ali Shah Qajar, the Shah of Persia in the 1830s. In contradiction, Aga Khan III stated that the title Aga Khan is not an official hereditary title, but it is an alias or pet name that was given to his grandfather.

The style of 'His Highness' was formally granted by Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom in 1957 upon the death of his grandfather Aga Khan III. This has been a traditional gesture by British sovereigns since the first Aga Khan allied himself with Britain against Afghanistan.

The style of 'His Royal Highness' was granted to the Aga Khan IV by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran in 1959. The Shah of Iran was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The Aga Khan does not use this style and is internationally only named with the style 'His Highness'.

Over the years, the Aga Khan has received numerous decorations, honorary degrees, and awards in recognition of the various dimensions of his work, and for his service to humanity.

Honours

• Bahrain: Order of Bahrain, 1st Class (2003)
• Canada: Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada (2005)
• Comoros: Grand Cross of the Order of the Green Crescent (1966)
• France: Commander of the Legion of Honour (1990)
• France: Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (2010)
• Iran: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Crown (1967)
• Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. The Aga Khan is the first Muslim to receive the honour (1977)
• Italy: Knight of the Order of Merit for Labour (1988)
• Ivory Coast: Grand Cross of the National Order (1965)
• Kenya: Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart (2007)
• Madagascar: Grand Cross of the National Order of Malagasy Republic (1966)
• Mali: Grand Cross of the National Order of Mali (2008)
• Mauritania: Commander of the National Order of Merit of Mauritania (1960)
• Morocco: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Throne (1986)
• Pakistan: Nishan-i-Imtiaz (1970)
• Pakistan: Nishan-e-Pakistan (1983)
• Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (1960)
• Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (1998)
• Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (2005)
• Senegal: Grand Officer of the Order of the National Lion (1982)
• Spain: Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (1991)
• Tajikistan: Recipient of the Order of Friendship (1998)
• United Kingdom: Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2004)
• Upper Volta: Grand Cross of the National Order of Upper Volta (1965)
• Zanzibar: Grand Cross of the Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar (1957)

Honorary degrees

• Canada: Honorary LL.D. degree, McGill University (1983)
• Canada: Honorary LL.D. degree, McMaster University (1987)
• Canada: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of Toronto (2004)
• Canada: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of Alberta (2009)
• Canada: Honorary Doctor of the University degree, University of Ottawa (2012)
• Egypt: Honorary D.H.L. degree, American University in Cairo (2006)
• Ireland: Honorary LL.D. degree, National University of Ireland (2008)
• Kyrgyzstan: Honorary Professorship of the Osh State University (2002)
• Lebanon: Honorary D.H.L. degree, American University of Beirut (2005)
• Mali: Honorary Doctorate, University of Sankore (2008)
• Pakistan: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of Peshawar (1967)
• Pakistan: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of Sindh (1970)
• Portugal: Honorary Doctorate, University of Évora (2006)
• Tajikistan: Honorary LL.D. degree, Khorugh State University (1995)
• United Kingdom: Honorary D.Litt. degree University of London (1989)
• United Kingdom: Honorary LL.D. degree, University of Wales (1993)
• United Kingdom: Honorary D.D. degree, University of Cambridge (2009) The Aga Khan is the first Muslim in the World to be conferred with this degree in the university's 800 year history.
• United States: Honorary LL.D. degree, Brown University (1996)
• United States: Honorary LL.D. degree, Harvard University (2008)

Awards

• Canada: Key to the City of Ottawa (2005)
• Canada: Honorary Canadian citizenship, The Aga Khan is the fifth person and first Muslim in the World who has been honored with this citizenship, Ottawa (2009)
• France: Silver Medal of the Académie d'Architecture (1991)
• France: Insignia of Honour, International Union of Architects (2001)
• France: Associate Foreign Member, Académie des Beaux-Arts (2008)
• France: Philanthropic Entrepreneur of the Year, by Le Nouvel Economiste, Paris (2009)
• France: Receives the titles Grand Mécène (Grand Patron) and Grand Donateur (Grand Donor), Paris (2009)
• Germany: Die Quadriga Award, the United We Care Award (2005)
• Germany: Tolerance Prize of the Evangelical Academy of Tutzing (2006)
• Italy: Honorary Citizen of the Town of Arzachena (Sardinia) (1962)
• Italy: Gold Mercury Ad Personam Award, Non-State Organization (1982)
• Ivory Coast: Freeman of Abidjan, and presented with a Key to the City of Abidjan (1960)
• Jordan: One of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the world, by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, Amman (2009)
• Jordan: One of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the world, by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, Amman (2010)
• Kazakhstan: State Award for Peace and Progress (2002)
• Kazakhstan: Honoured Educator of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2008)
• Kenya: Honorary Citizen of the Town of Kisumu (1981)
• Kyrgyzstan: Named Personality of the Year by the International Association for Spiritual Renewal ("Ruhaniat") (2009)
• Madagascar: Key to the city of Majunga (1966)
• Mali: Honorary Citizen of the Islamic Ummah of Timbuktu (2003)
• Mali: Citizen of Honour of the Municipality of Timbuktu (2008)
• Norway: Addresses the Nobel Institute at the invitation of the Government of Norway (2005)
• Pakistan: Honorary Colonel of the 6th Lancers by the Pakistani Army (1970)
• Pakistan: Honorary Citizen of Lahore, and presented with a key to the city of Lahore (1980)
• Pakistan: Honorary Membership, Pakistan Medical Association, Sindh (1981)
• Pakistan: Key to the city of Karachi (1981)
• Pakistan: Honorary Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) (1985)
• Portugal: Key to the City of Lisbon (1996)
• Portugal: Foreign Member, Class of Humanities, by Lisbon Academy of Sciences (2009)
• Scotland: Carnegie Medal for Philanthropy (2005)
• Spain: Gold Medal of the Consejo Superior de los Colegios de Arquitectos de España. The Aga Khan is the first recipient outside Spain to receive this honour (1987)
• Spain: Guest of Honour of Granada (1991)
• Spain: Honorary Citizen of Granada (1991)
• Spain: Gold Medal of the City of Granada (1998)
• Spain: Royal Toledo Foundation (Real Fundación de Toledo) Award (2006)
• Sweden: Archon Award, International Nursing Honour Society, Sigma Theta Tau International (2001)
• Tanzania: Honorary Citizen of Dar es Salaam (2005)
• United Kingdom: Honorary Fellowship, Royal Institute of British Architects (1991)
• United Kingdom: Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy (2005)
• United Kingdom: Winner of the 10th annual Peter O'Sullivan Award at the Savoy in London (2006)
• United Kingdom: Named Personality of the Year by Apollo, the international magazine for collectors (2007)
• United States: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Medal in Architecture, University of Virginia (1984)
• United States: Institute Honor of the American Institute of Architects (1984)
• United States: Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects (1992)
• United States: The Aga Khan delivers the commencement address at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge), the first Muslim to do so in its 130 year history (1994)
• United States: Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1996)
• United States: The Aga Khan delivers the Baccalaureate (address) at Brown University, the first Muslim to do so in its 232 year history (1996)
• United States: Hadrian Award, World Monuments Fund (1996)
• United States: Panellist at the White House Conference on Culture and Diplomacy (2000)
• United States: Vincent Scully Prize, National Building Museum (2005)
• United States: Key to the City of Austin (2008)
• United States: UCSF Medal, University's Highest Honour, San Francisco (2011)
• United States: ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, Los Angeles (2011)
• Uzbekistan: Honorary Citizen of the City of Samarkand and presented with a key to the city of Samarkand (1992)

Ancestry

Family of Aga Khan IV

16. Aga Khan I 8. Aga Khan II 17. Sarv-i Jahan Khanum 4. Aga Khan III 18. Mirza Ali Muhammad Nizam al-Dawla 9. Shams al-Muluk 19. Khurshid Kulah Khanum 2. Prince Aly Khan 5. Cleope Teresa Magliano 1. Aga Khan IV 24. Hon. John Yarde-Buller 12. John Yarde-Buller, 2nd Baron Churston 25. Charlotte Pole 6. John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston 26. Sir Hastings Reginald Yelverton 13. Hon. Barbara Yelverton 27. Barbara Rawdon-Hastings, Marchioness of Hastings, 20th Baroness Grey of Ruthyn 3. Joan Berry, Viscountess Camrose 14. Alfred John Smither 7. Jessie FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster (Denise Orme) 15. Jessica Henrietta Pococke

See also

• Aga Khan
• Ismaili Centre
• Nizari Ismaili
• Aga Khan Award for Architecture
• Ismailis
• Aga Khan Development Network
• Aga Khan University

External links

• His Highness the Aga Khan
• AN ISLAMIC CONSCIENCE: the Aga Khan and the Ismailis – Film of HH the Aga Khan IV
• About His Highness the Karim Aga Khan
• About Her Highness the Begum Aga Khan (PIF)
• Aga Khan Development Network
• The Institute of Ismaili Studies
• The Institute of Ismaili Studies: Introduction to His Highness the Aga Khan and Selected Speeches
• The Institute of Ismaili Studies
• Aga Khan article at SIPA (Columbia University)
• Brown University President Vartan Gregorian's introduction of the Aga Khan (1996 baccalaureate address)
• The Ismaili website
• Aga Khan IV honored as Interfaith Hero on ReadTheSpirit.com
• Introductory lecture on Ismailism (discusses Aga Khan IV in context of Islam)

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