It was early fall in 2018 when Dr. Fayyaz Vellani first got his TKN call. “I still remember, being on the train at Trenton, when the Aga Khan Education Board (AKEB) USA reached out to me with a request from AKEB India,” he recalls. The ask from Dr. Vellani was a request to teach a writing residency programme, organized by AKEB India, for students of its flagship mentoring programme. “I felt called”, says Fayyaz, who is currently a Lecturer in Critical Writing at the University of Pennsylvania. “I remember telling Rehim (who called me), that I would either find someone or do this myself. Fundamentally, I said yes, because I knew there was a need”.
Aswan, the ancient city of Swenett on the banks of the Nile and frontier town on the southernmost border of Ancient Egypt, is the focus for the work of the Om Habibeh Foundation (OHF) in Egypt. The OHF, established by Mata Salamat in 1991 and formally registered in 2006, is an affiliate of the Aga Khan Foundation-Egypt (AKF-E). AKF-E’s program portfolio includes early childhood, civil society and rural development. All these programs function within the Governorate of Aswan, which has a population of 1.5 million people in Upper Egypt.
In response to Mawlana Hazar Imam’s vision to bring together jamats from around the world, several American Ismaili athletes recently traveled to India and Pakistan to demonstrate fellowship through sports.
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.
The.Ismaili is pleased to announce that, due to popular demand, selected items from the Diamond Jubilee Memorabilia Collection are now available for purchase online at The.Ismaili Shop.
The.Ismaili is pleased to share with the global Jamat its first interactive digital magazine looking back on Mawlana Hazar Imam’s historic Diamond Jubilee year.
At the Homage Ceremony to mark the beginning of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee, an ensemble of 22 Ismaili musicians from around the world joined together to perform an intricate piece of music — a devotional soundscape to accompany the historic event on 11 July 2017.
“As a Jamat, we are fortunate to have access to the best education and opportunity to build for ourselves, and it’s now an opportunity to build for our children and our grandchildren...the themes of this conference are sharing knowledge, best practices, coming together, lifelong learning, and building for future generations. What is more befitting for the United States Jamat than to have this Conference as our last Diamond Jubilee initiative?” -Zahir Ladhani, Vice President, Council for USA
One of the initiatives during the Diamond Jubilee year of The National Task force for Jamati Programs and activities was the Global Village Program which encouraged the jamat to reflect on their own prejudices and showcase cultural diversity through various performances.
His Excellency President Michael Higgins of Ireland and his wife Sabina Mary Coyne, today received Mawlana Hazar Imam at their official residence Áras an Uachtaráin. The occasion honoured Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee, which concluded last month.
The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), Bangladesh celebrated the 61st anniversary of the ascension of Mawlana Hazar Imam to the Ismaili Imamat. The event also marked the conclusion of year-long commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Hazar Imam, which culminated in a global celebrations, including an address by Hazar Imam to Portugal’s members of Parliament, and the establishment of the new Seat of the Ismaili Imamat in Lisbon, Portugal.
During the Diamond Jubilee Celebration, the Jubilee Arts International Art Gallery (IAG) displayed 129 works of art, selected from thousands of submissions from around the world. Through paintings, photographs, sculptures, textiles, installations, digital art, and mixed media, artists showcased the talent and rich diversity within the global Jamat. Artist spotlights, guest panels, workshops, and the exhibition itself engaged, educated, and awed visitors and artists.
Over 40,000 members of the Jamat from over 45 countries around the world assembled at Feira Internacional de Lisboa for one of the largest Jamati gatherings in modern history and the final Darbar of the Diamond Jubilee year on 11 July 2018.
The Diamond Jubilee Alliances Conference is an energetic two-and-a-half day conference to enable an interactive knowledge exchange with talented Ismaili professionals from our various Alliance groups including Finance, Education, Media and Communications, Healthcare, Technology, Legal, Public Service, Business, and Finance.
If you missed the showings in Jamatkhana, the film of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee visit to Portugal and the Diamond Jubilee Celebration is now available online. This 58-minute film recounts the preparations by the Portugal Jamat, the Diamond Jubilee Celebration, and the programme undertaken by Mawlana Hazar Imam during his visit.
Mawlana Hazar Imam departed Portugal on 12 July, concluding a seven-day Diamond Jubilee visit to the country as well as the Diamond Jubilee year.
Highlights of the all the events on day seven of the Diamond Jubilee Celebration.
At a ceremony earlier today, marking the conclusion of his Diamond Jubilee year, Mawlana Hazar Imam officially designated the premises located at Rua Marquês de Fronteira in Lisbon — the Henrique de Mendonça Palace — as the Seat of the Ismaili Imamat, and declared that it be known as the “Diwan of the Ismaili Imamat”. The ceremony was attended by members of the Imam’s family including Prince Amyn, Princess Zahra and her children Sara and Iliyan, Prince Rahim and Princess Salwa with their children Prince Irfan and Prince Sinan, Prince Hussain and Prince Aly Muhammad as well as leaders of the Jamat from around the world.
Highlights of the all the events on day six of the Diamond Jubilee Celebration.
Today marked day six of the Diamond Jubilee Celebration - Lisboa 2018, which included Mawlana Hazar Imam's address to the Portuguese Parliament, the inauguration of the Aga Khan Museum exhibition at the Parliament Building, as well as the afternoon and evening Sufi Voyage concerts featuring Salim-Sulaiman, Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, and Nobovar Chanorov.
