Aga Khan, leader of the Ismailites, buried in Egypt

Aga Khan, leader of the Ismailites, buried in Egypt

aswan, Egypt- AGA Khan IV in Aswan, Egypt. The death of Prince Karim, the 49th hereditary imam of the Shiite Ismaili Muslims, was announced on Tuesday by the AGA Khan development network and the Ismailitic religious community. His 53-year-old son Rahim al-Hussaini was appointed as Aga Khan V, the spiritual leader of millions of Ismaili Muslims worldwide.

private funeral service in Lisbon

On Saturday there was a private funeral service in the Ismailitian community center in Lisbon, in which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the emeritus king of Spain Juan Carlos and the president of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa took part.

honor of a spiritual leader

The AGA Khan is regarded by its supporters as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and is treated like a head of state. The governor of Aswan received the family of Prince Karim on Saturday at the airport of the southern Egyptian province.

wish of the AGA Khan IV

"When his will was opened, it turned out that he had asked to be buried in Aswan near his grandfather Sultan Muhammad Shah and his grandmother Om Habiba," said Major General Ismail Kamal.

grief and respect

Ismailitic mourners moved around in the southern province of Aswan during the burial ceremony, while bells rang and Prince Karim's body was transported in a car. They wore his body, which was wrapped in a white bowl, and put him on a yacht on the Nile.

an influential leader

Prince Karim, 88 years old, received the title "his highness" of Queen Elizabeth in July 1957, only two weeks after his grandfather, Aga Khan III, unexpectedly made him the heir to the 1,300-year-old dynasty of the Ismaili Muslims. The late Aga Khan developed into a business magnate and philanthropes for decades and moved effortlessly between the spiritual and secular.

promotion of culture and bridge construction

he was an advocate of Islamic culture and values and was also widely seen as a bridge builder between the Muslim societies and the West.

The work of the AGA Khan development network

The AGA Khan Development network mainly deals with questions of health care, housing, education and rural economic development. It works in over 30 countries and has an annual budget of around one billion US dollars for non-profit development activities.

global community of Ismailites

Ismailites lived in Iran, Syria and South Asia over many generations before they have also settled in East Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East as well as in Europe, North America and Australia. They consider it a duty to donate up to 12.5% of their income to the AGA Khan as administrators.