Speeches by H.H. The Aga Khan

Books on Ismailism, reviews etc..
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Speeches by H.H. The Aga Khan

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<B>2008, May</B>: Douglas & McIntyre - <B>Where Hope Takes Root:
Democracy and Pluralism in an Interdependent World - By: His Highness The Aga Khan. </B> In Where Hope Takes Root</font>, a collection of talks given over the past six years, the Aga Khan sets out the principles that inform his vision of peaceful, productive societies. He returns again and again to the three cornerstones upon which his many years of work in the developing world are based: democracy, pluralism and civil society. Democracy, always fragile, must be nurtured in practical and flexible ways, he says. Pluralism must be embraced in both fact and spirit. And engaged civil society, which the Aga Khan defines broadly as including doctors’ and journalists’ associations, women’s groups, social movements and village organizations, must be actively supported in countries around the globe. [144 pages, expected in May 2008] For more details, http://www.douglas-mcintyre.com/book/9781553653660

Book details:
May 2008
ISBN 978-1-55365-366-0
Hardcover
5" x 7"
144 pages
Political Science
$24.95 CAD
Last edited by Admin on Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Embassy, May 28th, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
The Aga Khan's Adoring Message to Canada
By Jeff Davis
Where Hope Takes Root: Democracy and Pluralism in an Interdependent World
By the Aga Khan
Douglas & McIntyre
153 pp. $24.95

He's a world-famous philanthropist, a spiritual leader, a magnetic internationalist, and one of Canada's biggest fans.

And while the Aga Khan's two high-profile real estate pickups on Sussex Drive have attracted some attention, many Canadians are surely wondering who this man is, what he thinks, and why exactly he's setting up shop in Ottawa.

We now have some answers.

In his new book, Where Hope Takes Root: Democracy and Pluralism in an Interdependent World, the Aga Khan unveils his ideas, ambitions, and intents to the citizenry of the country he clearly loves so dearly.

Published here in Canada for a Canadian audience, the book is a collection of 14 speeches the Aga Khan has given over the past few years.

In the slim volume, the 49th hereditary spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims delivers a concise and sophisticated commentary on contemporary global society, the importance of pluralist democracy, and the lessons Canada can provide to the world.

This book, in which he characterizes Canada as a model par excellence of functioning democratic pluralism, is at once a medium for educating Canadians on who he and his followers are, and a charming ode to the Canadian way of life. After all, if there is a Canadian dream, the Aga Khan and his people are living it.

The Aga Khan's ethnically and linguistically diverse people are scattered through more than 35 countries, mostly in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and have sampled many flavours of bad governance.

Ismailis first came to Canada en masse in the 1970s after ethnic expulsions banished large numbers from Uganda and Pierre Trudeau swung open Canada's gates.

In Canada, many Ismailis found a welcoming and accepting home. Their leader found here the societal model his people had been searching so long for—and he's not afraid to say so.

"Canada is a pluralist society that has invested in building pluralism, where communities from different backgrounds and faiths are happy. A modern country that deals with modern issues, not running away from them but dealing with them," he says at one reprieve. "Few countries, if any, have been as successful as Canada has."

It's nice to hear, eh?

Us self-effacing Canadians typically shy away from self-celebration. The Aga Khan knows this, at times gently ribbing Canada for being "too humble" about its unique accomplishments.

He encourages Canada, as an expert at making pluralism and federalism work, to export these much-needed lessons abroad. After all, he says, "pluralist societies do not happen by themselves, as accidents of history."

Latently communicating his prestige and international standing are the locations where he speaks and the audiences he addresses. The speeches were delivered in places like Tajikistan, Amsterdam and Ottawa to groups at the Nobel Institute, various universities and the annual conference of German ambassadors.

The introduction to the book is written by former governor-general Adrienne Clarkson, a friend and ally to the Aga Khan who appointed him an honourary companion of the Order of Canada.

Last year, the Aga Khan celebrated the 50th anniversary of his reign by setting down a trio of permanent roots in Canada.

Adding to his sizeable assemblage of charitable organizations clustered around the Aga Khan Development Network is the Global Centre for Pluralism, housed in Ottawa's old war museum. The centre was founded with the help of a $30-million contribution from the Canadian government, and will "learn from the Canadian history of pluralism."

A second initiative is the Aga Khan Museum, which will be built in Toronto to house a collection of treasures from the Islamic world.

Last, but not least, is the soaringly architectural Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, a quasi-diplomatic legation currently under construction on Sussex Drive.

The delegation, the Aga Khan says, will be "an epitome to friendship to one and all, it will radiate Islam's precepts of humanity, the dignity of man, and the nobility of joint striving in deeds of goodness."

The delegation is set to open up in the fall of 2008.

jdavis@embassymag.ca
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Where Hope Takes Root"
Now available

This long-awaited book containing 13 of Mawlana Hazar Imam's speeches is now available. It also includes a transcript of the CBC interview with Peter Mansbridge and an introduction by former Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson.

The key purpose of the Book during this Golden Jubilee year is to make Mawlana Hazar Imam's ideas on pluralism, democracy and Canada's potential as world leader, available and accessible to all interested in global affairs, international development, cultural exchange, social justice, Islam and Canada's role in the world. It is available at Chapters/Indigo stores and also on-line at www.amazon.ca or www.chapters. indigo.ca.

The book reached No. 26 on Chapters on-line bestsellers list. Let's help get this book to the Number 1 position on the best sellers list. Purchase your copy and one for your friends/family/ colleagues.

Please feel free to circulate this e-mail to whoever else you think would be interested in reading Mawlana Hazar
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Why the world needs more Canada
Muslim leader gives us high marks in new book

Charles Enman
Canwest News Service


Sunday, July 20, 2008


A middling power can only smile when a world leader says not only that small is beautiful, but that that particular small country is not only competitive with the rest of the world, but in a leading spot.

And the Aga Khan, leader of millions of Ismaili Muslims around the world, says that and more about Canada.

"Canada has an experience of governance of which much of the world stands in dire need," he writes in his latest book, Where Hope Takes Root: Democracy and Pluralism in an Interdependent World, published here in Canada.

Canada, he argues, has done a superlative job in bringing peoples of disparate race, ethnicity and religion together. With people moving easily around the world today, there are more collisions between different groups than ever before. The result is "a world of increasing dissension and conflict, in which different ethnic, tribal, religious or social groups have often failed to search for, and agree upon, a common space for harmonious coexistence."

For decades, the Cold War assumed all the space as the international problem par excellence. With the Cold War now finished, the international community now needs to focus on "the need to create stable states with self-sustainable economies and stable, inclusive forms of governance."

Inclusiveness has always been a necessary starting point for Canada. With three founding peoples - the First Nations, the French and the British - Canada was not going to get out of the starting gates without finding its way to inclusiveness.

All nations, but particularly those in the developing world, need several forms of instruction - first, in pluralism, the set of arrangements in which distinct groups find a place and are tolerated within a society, but also in how to build a strong civil society.

He quotes former prime minister Paul Martin on the subject: "One of the distinct way in which Canada can help developing nations is to provide the expertise and experience of Canadians in justice, in federalism, in pluralistic democracy."

Most of the world's current problems, the Aga Khan believes, stem from the absence of pluralism and his cautionary list includes such trouble spots as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Canadians who know all about the problems that Canada deals with might wonder if the Aga Khan is a bit naive about this country. But he says explicitly that his "intention is not to embarrass you with too rosy a picture of the Canadian mosaic, as if it were free of all tension. But you have the experience, an infrastructure grounded in wisdom and the moral wherewithal to be able to handle challenges to your social and political fabric."

© The Calgary Herald 2008
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Very Similar article...


http://www.canada.com/topics/news/natio ... 300e3822e1



Leader of Ismaili Muslims praises Canada for its inclusive government



Charles Enman

Canwest News Service



Saturday, September 27, 2008



REGINA -- A middle power can only smile when a world leader says not only is small beautiful, but the particular small country in question is not just competitive with the rest of the world, but holds a leading spot.



The Aga Khan, leader of millions of Ismaili Muslims around the world, says that and more about Canada in his latest book.



"Canada has an experience of governance of which much of the world stands in dire need," he writes in Where Hope Takes Root: Democracy and Pluralism in an Interdependent World, published here by Douglas & McIntyre.



Canada, he argues, has done a superlative job in bringing peoples of disparate race, ethnicity and religion together.



With people moving easily around the world today, there are more collisions between different groups than ever before. The result is "a world of increasing dissension and conflict, in which different ethnic, tribal, religious or social groups have often failed to search for, and agree upon, a common space for harmonious coexistence," he writes.



But for Canada, inclusiveness has always been a necessary starting point because of its three founding peoples - the First Nations, the French and the British.



All nations, but particularly those in the developing world, need several forms of instruction: First, in pluralism, the set of arrangements in which distinct groups find a place and are tolerated within a society, but also in how to build a strong civil society.



The Aga Khan quotes former prime minister Paul Martin on the subject: "One of the distinct way in which Canada can help developing nations is to provide the expertise and experience of Canadians in justice, in federalism, in pluralistic democracy."



Most of the world's current problems, he believes, stem from the absence of pluralism and his cautionary list includes such trouble spots as Afghanistan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.



And while Canadians who know all about the problems our country deals with might wonder if the Aga Khan is a bit naive about this country, he says explicitly that his "intention is not to embarrass you with too rosy a picture of the Canadian mosaic, as if it were free of all tension. But you have the experience, an infrastructure grounded in wisdom and the moral wherewithal to be able to handle challenges to your social and political fabric."



The Ismailis, the second largest segment of the Shiite Muslims, have appreciated Canadian tolerance for several decades.



Back in the 1980s, Canada accepted many Ismailis after their expulsion in the 1970s from Uganda by Idi Amin. The Aga Khan became a friend of Pierre Trudeau's and has been made an honorary Companion of the Order of Canada.



The Aga Khan is establishing several important institutions in Canada, two of them in Ottawa.



He is setting up the Global Centre for Pluralism in the old War Museum, an initiative that will study how emerging nations can set up successful societies. The centre should open doors in 2010 or 2011. He is also building the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, which should open toward the end of this year. The Delegation will hold both the offices of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada and the world headquarters of the Aga Khan Development Network, a group of development agencies that work to improve developing societies around the world.



In Toronto, the Aga Khan is building the Aga Khan Museum, which will hold one of the largest collections of Muslim art outside the Muslim world, which should also open in either 2010 or 2011.



The Aga Khan says he knows his work will never end because humans are not natural pluralists, and the value of pluralism must be inculcated anew in each generation.



But its rewards of peace, material progress, and social unity are worth the ongoing effort.



"Building and sustaining a pluralist society is always going to be a work in progress. It doesn't have a finite end."



Regina Leader-Post

© Canwest News Service 2008
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Post by kmaherali »

A Review of His Highness the Aga Khan’s “Where Hope Takes Root”

By Nizar Motani

http://simerg.com/essays-and-letters/a- ... akes-root/
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