The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, generally known as the Ismailis, live in more than 25 countries around the globe, mainly in Central and South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as in Europe, North America, and Australia.
Like all Muslims, the Ismailis believe that Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) was the last and final Prophet of Allah (God), and that the Holy Quran, Allah's final message to humankind, was revealed through him. Muslims hold this revelation to be the culmination of the message that had been revealed through other Prophets of the Abrahamic tradition before Muhammad, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
The Ismailis are united by a common spiritual allegiance to the living hereditary Imam of the time in the progeny of Islam’s last and final Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) through his daughter Fatima and her husband, Hazrat Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and the first Shia Imam. His Highness the Aga Khan became the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims on July 11, 1957.
The Aga Khan has emphasized the view of Islam as a thinking, spiritual faith: one that teaches compassion, tolerance and pluralism and that upholds the dignity of humankind. It is this commitment that inspires the Ismaili Imamat's institutions in the area of human development.
Founded and guided by His Highness the Aga Khan, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) brings together a number of development agencies, institutions, and programs that work primarily in the poorest parts of Asia and Africa. AKDN agencies conduct their programs without regard to the faith, origin or gender of recipients. Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), a member of the AKDN, is a non-profit, non-denominational international agency headquartered in Ottawa that supports social development programs in Asia and Africa.
The Ismaili Muslim Community in Canada is governed by volunteers under the aegis of His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Canada, headquartered in Toronto. Local Ismaili Councils are based in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.
Over the last 50 years of Ismaili settlement in Canada, the community has sought to contribute to the fabric of Canadian society by involvement in many spheres of public life and through regional programs that demonstrate the ethic of volunteerism and compassion.
The Ismaili Imamat has established a number of major projects in Canada, including the Aga Khan Park, a 6.8 hectare garden which encompasses the Ismaili Centre, Toronto and Aga Khan Museum; the Ismaili Centre in Vancouver, inaugurated in 1985; the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa, a representational centre and focal point for the contemporary endeavours of the Ismaili Imamat; the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, an international centre for research established in partnership with the Government of Canada; the Multi-Generational Housing and Community Centre in Calgary, a model for “aging in place” supported by the Government of Alberta, and the Aga Khan Garden, a gift to the University of Alberta of an extraordinary contemporary interpretation of Islamic landscape architecture in a northern climate. A park in Burnaby, British Columbia is currently in development.
The Ismaili Imamat has entered into Agreements of Cooperation with the Governments of Alberta, Ontario, and B.C., and has established a protocol with the Government of Canada. Partnerships also exist between various AKDN agencies and Canadian universities including McMaster, McGill, University of Alberta, University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto.
For further information please visit:
The Ismaili Muslim Community – the.ismaili
The Aga Khan Development Network – akdn.org