Ismaili Ambassadors under the Ismaili constitution..

[mahebubchatur]

The Rise and Fall of the Umayyad and Fatimid Empires: Leadership & Authority - Titles Vazir & Diwan - Lessons for Today

Dear All , including Nazim Taz Karima LIF IIS AKF AKDN - Huzur UK - Councils

History is a powerful teacher. It doesn’t just show us great achievements to admire — it also reveals mistakes to learn from, so that we can shape a better future. As Hazar Imam has said repeatedly our future is today.

The Umayyad and Fatimid empires were two of the greatest chapters in Muslim history. They brought remarkable advancements. But both empires eventually fell — not because of a lack of power, but because of how that power was used by Leaders

Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah (Aga Khan III) taught us not to simply remember their rise & successes, but to critically and honestly understand why they fell & collapsed. He wrote:

“To understand such saintly thoughts it is necessary that the history of Islam, its glory and its downfall should be understood truly, and dispassionately with the critical faculty of modern histories.”
— Preface to The Great Omayyads

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Why Did These Great Empires Fall?

The real root causes of their downfall included:
• When leaders stopped serving all and began protecting only themselves.
• When privilege was preserved over fairness, justice, and respect for diversity (pluralism).
• When those in power no longer listened to the people they promised to serve.
• When their greed and the desire for control replaced honesty, responsibility, and compassion.

These are not just lessons from the past — they are urgent warnings to act now - in our time.

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What Is Happening in Our Community Now?

Today, we face similar concerns. Some leaders, such as Mr. Nazim Ahmad, have refused to listen to community feedback, ignored requests for accountability, avoided meaningful dialogue, and rejected the spirit of pluralism.

This is deeply troubling. If we allow such attitudes and behaviours to continue, we risk repeating the very mistakes that led to the fall of the Umayyad and Fatimid empires.

His Highness the Aga Khan — our Hazar Imam — has reminded us that we are shaping our future right now. The decisions and conduct of our leaders, and our own responses as murids, will define what kind of future we build for our Jamat.

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A Call to Reflect and Act

I have attached a chart below that outlines the rise and fall of these two empires, clearly showing the reasons for their collapse — many of which mirror our present-day situation:
• refusal to listen,
• rejection of pluralism,
• concentration of power, and
• self-interest and control replacing service and ethics.

This is a moment that demands both honest reflection and courageous action.

Let us respond with integrity. Let us follow the guidance of Aga Khan III — which remains the guidance of Hazar Imam — to study, understand, and pre-empt failure. Let us commit to building a future rooted in justice, inclusion, pluralism, and sincere service to all members of the community.

If I am mistaken, I invite correction — and I respectfully request that the Constitution and Farmans, still being withheld, be shared transparently with the Jamat as repeatedly directed by Hazar Imam

Thank you for your attention and for your commitment to this important cause.

Link to chart and tweet re Nazim
https://x.com/chaturmahebub/status/1948 ... 95214?s=46

With respect,
M Chatur
24 July 2025

[mahebubchatur]

For years, leaders at AKDN — including AKFED and AKF — have repeated what Hazar Imam has said: that the mandate is to enable and empower local communities to design, budget, and run their own programmes.

Mr Nazim Ahmad, Head of AKDN in Portugal and Mozambique, and on the Board of Ismaili Imamat the entity - represents this Ismaili Constitutional mandate in both countries.

I have asked:
Which villages or communities in Mozambique have actually been empowered in this way?

So far, there has been no answer. After many decades of AKDN’s presence, they should be able to name many. Why don’t they? They have an obligation to do so.

More at

“2019, August 8 - Aga Khan Network has invested US$300
million in Mozambique since 2001. The Aga Khan Development Network has invested about US$300 million (€267 million) in socio-economic projects in Mozambique since 2001, the agency's representative in the country said on Wednesday. The money has been spent on programmes in the agriculture and food security, health, financial inclusion, education and civil society and tourism sectors, Nazim Ahmad said in Maputo during a reception”

https://x.com/chaturmahebub/status/1945 ... hqfO552USg

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19Zgwt ... tid=wwXIfr

[mahebubchatur]

Dear All, including members of the Noorani Family

Hazar Imam - His Highness the Aga Khan was most graciously welcomed to Uganda by the Government of Uganda, the Aga Khan Development Network (represented by its East Africa Regional Head, Mr. Amin Mawji), the President of the Ismaili Council for Uganda, Ms Arains Kurji, and other leaders. Members of the Jamat, including leaders from Kenya, were also present to greet Hazar Imam.

This presence of leaders from Kenya underscores an important reality:

our community is interconnected beyond borders, united in faith and devotion to the Imam-of-the-Time. Yet, it is deeply contradictory that while leaders from outside Uganda are welcomed and included, murids from other countries — who make sincere sacrifices to come for a glimpse of their Imam — are excluded or denied the opportunity to participate. Such selective inclusion is not only an oxymoron, but a painful hypocrisy & reality

Equally troubling is the fact that these same leaders — including representatives Ambassadors of AKDN and the President of the Council — continue to withhold the Ismaili Constitution and Farmans. This is in direct contradiction to Hazar Imam’s clear instructions, given before and again on 11th February 2025, and repeated on 18th March 2025, that they be shared with the Jamat. The continued withholding reflects neither respect nor obedience to the guidance of the Imam which they gave committed to do

It must be remembered that, as the Qur’an through Imams itself testifies, beholding the countenance of the Imam — the bearer of Divine Light — is an act of worship. To deny murids access to their Imam, or to restrict it selectively, is to deny them the very essence of their religious devotion.

I enclose below a short video clip of Hazar Imam’s arrival in Uganda, which also shows the presence of leaders from Kenya. This evidence highlights the contradiction: leadership welcomes certain foreign representatives while excluding devoted murids from neighboring countries.

It is time all recognize this hypocrisy, and to uphold Hazar Imam’s Farmans - instructions with humility, and ensure that Farmans and the Constitution are provided, as directed, by Hazar Imam to the entire Jamat without any further delay.and digitally too

Mubaraki to all Jamat globally and ALL those who are in Uganda for this Didar

Video clip

https://x.com/chaturmahebub/status/1966 ... hqfO552USg

Ya Ali Madad,

[mahebubchatur]

Dear All including Ismaili Ambassadors, IIS LIF AKDN AKF & Noorani Family

A powerful reminder from Hazar Imam to AKDN AKU - Leaders in control

Ismaili Constitution STILL not provided by Leaders to the Jamat, despite reminders from Hazar Imam !! Why ? When will you respect Hazar Imam’s Farman & reminders

Video - Another Goal still not achieved !

https://x.com/chaturmahebub/status/1966 ... hqfO552USg

[mahebubchatur]

Dear All - including Noorani Family

Mawlana Hazar Imam in Kyrgyzstan. was welcomed by local officials, he was also received by Barkat Fazal, AKDN’s Diplomatic Representative and Imamat Ambassador for Kyrgyzstan, who is also President of the Aga Khan Council for the USA and has served in multiple leadership roles within LIF, AKDN, and Jamats institutions for decades. He still withholds the Ismaili Constitution from the Jamat

This visit highlights a long-standing concern: leaders for key community and development events continues to come from outside the country rather than being drawn from local & regional community

Yet the mandate of the AKDN and Jamati institutions is explicitly to empower local communities to manage their own programs, resources, and affairs including events in country

Despite this mandate, we continue to see centralized control by and over leadership, decision-making, and management of community resources donations & assets.

Furthermore, the Ismaili Constitution and Farmans of Mawlana Hazar Imam remain withheld from the community, despite directions and reminders by Hazar Imam

The community should have local leaders empowered with authority in all aspects of leadership, governance, and development, in line with the Imams guidance.

I am attaching a video clip of the welcome - Mubaraki to all in Kyrgyzstan &

https://x.com/chaturmahebub/status/1967 ... 33199?s=46

M Chatur