Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslim, died at the age of 88

The legacy of the AGA Khan

his AGA Khan Foundation and the Ismailitian religious community announced on their websites that his highness Prince Karim al-Hussaini, AGA Khan IV and 49th inheritance Imam of the Shiite Ismailites, died on Tuesday in Portugal with his family. An announcement about his successor will be made later.

a life between tradition and modernity

his followers regard him as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Prince Karim Aga Khan IV was a student when his grandfather passed his playboy -like father as the successor. He decided that his successors should be led by a young man “from the nature of the new time”. Over the decades, the AGA Khan developed into an important businessman and philanthropes that seamlessly switched between spiritual and secular matters.

influential leader

treated as head of state, the AGA Khan was awarded the title "his Highness" by Queen Elizabeth in July 1957. Two weeks earlier, his grandfather, the Aga Khan III, surprisingly declared him inheritance of the 1,300 -year -old dynasty as the leader of the Shiite Ismailites. On October 19, 1957, he was proclaimed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as Aga Khan IV, exactly where his grandfather once explained his wealth in the form of diamonds as gifts from his followers.

philanthropy and commitment to education

The AGA Khan returned to the Harvard University at the side of his sick grandfather after 18 months, accompanied by a entourage and a deep sense of responsibility. "I was a student who knew what his task would be for the rest of his life," he said in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2012. The AGA Khan was considered an advocate of Islamic culture and values ​​and was considered a bridge builder between Muslim societies and the West, despite or possibly precisely because of his reluctance to political assistance.

health care and economic development

The AGA Khan Development network, its main philanthropic organization, mainly dealt with topics such as health care, living space, education and rural economic development. A network of hospitals that have its name are distributed in countries such as Bangladesh, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, where it invested millions of dollars to develop local management.

architecture and education

his sense of construction and design led to the establishment of an architecture award and programs for Islamic architecture on MIT and HARVARD. He also restored old Islamic buildings worldwide.

financial size and responsibility

The exact dimensions of the financial empire of the AGA Khan are difficult to measure; Some reports estimated his personal assets at a billion dollar height. The Ismailites- a sect originally centered in India, which has large communities in East Africa, Central and South Asia as well as in the Middle East- see it as a duty to pay up to 10 % of their income to him. "We have no idea that wealth itself is evil," he said in the interview mentioned. "Islamic ethics states that if God has given you the ability or happiness to be a privileged person in society, you have a moral responsibility towards society."

family and legacy

The AGA Khan leaves three sons and a daughter. His legacy and commitment to the community will continue to influence the Ismailites and beyond.