Speeches
![Mawlana Hazar Imam addresses the gathering at the inauguration of the Bujagali power plant. Mawlana Hazar Imam addresses the gathering at the inauguration of the Bujagali power plant.](https://the.ismaili/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/1_2012-10-uganda149.jpg?itok=G12TdfA5)
![Mawlana Hazar Imam addressing guests at the inauguration of the Dushanbe Serena Hotel. Mawlana Hazar Imam addressing guests at the inauguration of the Dushanbe Serena Hotel.](https://the.ismaili/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/1_40477.jpg?itok=b53stF--)
![Mawlana Hazar Imam speaking at the Foundation Ceremony of the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications. Mawlana Hazar Imam speaking at the Foundation Ceremony of the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications.](https://the.ismaili/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/1_2011july_aku_gsmc_7.jpg?itok=UDZPB-BN)
“The School will work on the newest frontiers of media technology - with state-of-the-art equipment and innovative pedagogies - producing professional graduates who can not only operate across today’s multiplying media platforms, but can also help develop the media platforms of tomorrow. This does not mean that we will ignore old skills and values. Our core concern must always be the ability of our students to think critically and creatively, to pursue the truth ethically and responsibly, and to articulate ideas clearly and vividly.”
![Mawlana Hazar Imam addresses those gathered for the inauguration of the Aga Khan University Hospital Heart and Cancer Centre in Nairobi. Mawlana Hazar Imam addresses those gathered for the inauguration of the Aga Khan University Hospital Heart and Cancer Centre in Nairobi.](https://the.ismaili/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/1_1380.jpg?itok=_Aa-7mqZ)
![Mawlana Hazar Imam addresses the gathering during the inauguration of the renovated Polana Serena Hotel. Mawlana Hazar Imam addresses the gathering during the inauguration of the renovated Polana Serena Hotel.](https://the.ismaili/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/1_1348.jpg?itok=o2E8Y6JF)
![Mawlana Hazar Imam speaking to the assembled guests at the Aga Khan Award for Architecture ceremony, held at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. Mawlana Hazar Imam speaking to the assembled guests at the Aga Khan Award for Architecture ceremony, held at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.](https://the.ismaili/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/1_1321.jpg?itok=qlL80SMP)
“Diversity, in fact, is part of the essence of Islam. The unity of the Ummah does not imply sameness. Working in an Islamic context need not confine us to constraining models. Nor does respecting the past mean copying the past. Indeed, if we hold too fast to what is past, we run the risk of crushing that inheritance. The best way to honour the past is to seize the future.”
![Mawlana Hazar Imam delivering his address at the Opening Ceremony of the National Park of Mali. Mawlana Hazar Imam delivering his address at the Opening Ceremony of the National Park of Mali.](https://the.ismaili/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/1_2010sept21_mali11.jpg?itok=LYFPVtMU)
![Mawlana Hazar Imam speaking at the Foundation Ceremony, where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was the chief guest. Mawlana Hazar Imam speaking at the Foundation Ceremony, where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was the chief guest.](https://the.ismaili/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/1_28960.jpg?itok=pNpQWkZB)