By Sada Cumber — US-based entrepreneur, philathropist and diplomat, First US Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Prince Karim al-Hussaini, known to the world as His Highness Aga Khan IV and the 49th hereditary Imam of the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam, the second largest Shia community in the world, passed away on 4 February at the age of 88. The world lost a preeminent Muslim leader, humanitarian, diplomat, scholar, and passionate advocate for humanity’s potential. Aga Khan IV’s death has been widely covered in world media, which may seem extraordinary considering he never held a formal political office or governed territory of his own. But Aga Khan IV led a remarkable life and has left an exceptional legacy.
Born in Switzerland in 1936, Prince Karim was educated at Harvard. His grandfather, Aga Khan III, understood how quickly the world was changing. He believed only someone who understood the post-Cold War’s emerging challenges and opportunities could lead the Ismaili Muslim community and rise to the broader demands placed upon an Imam toward all humanity. From his succession in 1957, the newly minted Aga Khan IV quickly set about proving the wisdom of his grandfather’s choice.
Readers may be familiar with Aga Khan IV for many reasons. He helped facilitate the historic 1985 Geneva summit between US President Ronald Reagan and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, which was held at his residence in Geneva. Some may know him for leveraging his personal, moral, and spiritual authority to help tens of thousands of South Asians, expelled from Uganda by dictator Idi Amin in 1972, find new homes and new lives in the West. And many may know him for his prominence in the days and weeks after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
A lifelong advocate of pluralism, tolerance and understanding, with special emphasis on the relationship between the Muslim World and the West, 11 September and its aftermath embodied all that Aga Khan IV feared in that relationship. Following the attacks on New York, he often went on record vociferously condemning the misuse of Islam to justify violence. This was not a new position for him, but one that gained new-found urgency. At the same time, he took aim at the broader context which had allowed the relationship between the West and Muslim World to grow so toxic.
Aga Khan IV became a leading advocate for the idea that a ‘Clash of Ignorance’ was responsible for that troubled relationship, offering it in opposition to the ‘Clash of Civilizations’ idea that was much in vogue at that time. Later, when Pope Benedict XVI made remarks widely perceived as Islamophobic, Aga Khan IV worked to tamp down tensions between the Muslim and Christian communities, while encouraging leaders to learn from the history of the time when Islamic and European cultures “interacted constructively and creatively — to help realize some of civilization’s peak achievements.” Through support for initiatives such as the Amman Message, Aga Khan IV also reminded Muslims of the importance of tolerance and pluralism within their own faith. While never presuming to impose his position as Imam to tell non-Ismaili Muslims how to interpret their faith, he enjoined all Muslims to approach their faith with reason, compassion, and understanding. Or, as he put it, to live the “social conscience” of Islam.
His spiritual duties carried an obligation to the whole of humanity, especially its most marginalized and disadvantaged. He created the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), an umbrella organization of agencies, to uplift the poorest of the poor through education, development, and social justice. AKDN operates in 30 countries, employs nearly 100,000 people, and deploys a $1 billion annual budget for economic and cultural development.
Implicit in many tributes to Aga Khan IV, which I wish to make explicit, was his gift as an institution builder. Aga Khan IV understood that institutions are the primary structures through which society organizes, operates, performs essential functions, and effects meaningful change. In this capacity, the AKDN is certainly his masterpiece, but it stands alongside many others created over seven decades and which he continued to refine and strengthen right up to his last days. These include two university systems, 200 schools, and 700 hospitals and health facilities.
In conformity with historical Shia Ismaili tradition and Aga Khan IV’s decree, his son, Prince Rahim al-Hussaini, has succeeded him as the 50th Ismaili Imam. Born in 1971, Prince Rahim Aga Khan V was educated at Brown University. He has held active leadership roles within the AKDN, including chairing its budget review and environment and climate committees, and across other institutions of the Imamat.
In recent years, Prince Rahim Aga Khan V frequently accompanied his father to high-level meetings and events. Later, he often served as public face for his father’s initiatives. Through those experiences, Aga Khan IV created a unique mentorship for his successor, preparing him for the duties and obligations which are now his. Through this preparation and through his own qualities, I believe Prince Rahim Aga Khan V will continue to make the office of the Imamat a credit to humanity and a force for peace, pluralism, and human dignity.
As for his late father, after a remarkable life of 88 years, Aga Khan IV leaves us with a world that is better for his time in it.
