Khushali Mubarak | Historic Iftar facilitated by Mayor Rawlings & Rupanis
URL- http://nabsites.net/demo/khushali-mubarak-celebration-of-57/
HH Aga Khan is ceremoniously addressed as, “Mawlana
Hazar Imam Shah Karim al Hussaini, His Highness Prince Aga Khan” by the Ismaili
Muslims around the world. The
Imamat was passed on to him by his Grandfather Sir Sultan Mohamed Shah Aga Khan III
on July 11, 1957.
HH Aga Khan is the 49th Imam of the religious office of the Shia Imami Ismaili
Muslim Community, also known as Ismaili Muslims. Per the Ismaili Muslim tradition, HH Aga Khan, is a
direct lineal descendent of Prophet (pbuh) through Hazrat Ali (RA) and Hazrat
Fatima (RA).
As a Muslim Pluralist myself, I have come to admire HH Aga Khan for reviving a few of the core values of Islam; Pluralism, and the 2nd most important value
called – Huqooqul Ibad – the obligatory duties to fellow beings.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Hazrat Ali (ra) had continuously advocated
living in moderation; it’s a mid path between the worldly and spiritual needs.
The Aga Khan has fine tuned that balance between material
and spiritual life.
He performs his religious duties by interpreting Qur’an to his 15 million
plus followers spread out across the world, fulfilling his role as the
spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslim community.
In his speech
to the Parliament of Canada on February 27, 2014, he explains the Shia-Sunni and
Ismaili tradition, “The Ismaili Imamat is a supra-national entity,
representing the succession of Imams since the time of the Prophet. But let me
clarify something more about the history of that role, in both the Sunni and
Shia interpretations of the Muslim faith. The Sunni position is that the
Prophet nominated no successor, and that spiritual-moral authority belongs to
those who are learned in matters of religious law. As a result, there are many
Sunni imams in a given time and place. But others believed that the Prophet had
designated his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, as his successor. From that early
division, a host of further distinctions grew up — but the question of rightful
leadership remains central. In time, the Shia were also sub-divided over this
question, so that today the Ismailis are the only Shia community who,
throughout history, have been led by a living, hereditary Imam in direct
descent from the Prophet. “
On the other hand he is guiding the community to prosperity and living a responsible
life in the societies they live.
He founded the Aga Khan Development Network that is committed to serving the
humanity without regard to faith, origin or gender. I believe AKDN is one of the largest Non Governmental
bodies serving humanity to learn to stand on their own feet.
Every
child, teen and an adult has someone he or she looks up to, and
wants to-be-like that person and eventually becomes one. Good
role models are a key to the success of a civil society, and indeed, HH Aga Khan is a great role model for Muslims
to look up to.
In gratitude for his continued guidance, the Ismaili Muslims celebrate this
week honoring him and reaffirming his leadership with a renewed commitment to
serving the humanity.
Pluralism
Islam is about restoring and sustaining the harmony within an individual and
with what surrounds him; life and environment. From the very first sentence of
the first chapter, and the last chapter and throughout Qur’an, God is “Sustainer
of all the worlds” (1:2) and “Cherisher of Mankind” (114:1) – The message is universal and inclusive of humanity and not a
particular group of people.
At present, he is one of the few Muslims in the world who has truly understood
the pluralistic message of Quran. He
firmly believes in pluralism and has opened an institution to propagate those
ideals. Please visit the Global Center for Pluralism in Canada. At
the Foundation for Pluralism, we have crystallized the definition of pluralism
as “Respecting the otherness of others” based on many verses from Qur’an, but
particularly verse 109:6 translation by Yusuf Ali, “To you be your Way,
and to me mine.”
Aga Khan delivered the following statement at the Inauguration Ceremony of Aga Khan University in
Karachi on November 11, 1985, “The divine intellect Aql-i Kull,
both transcends and informs the human intellect. It is this intellect which
enables man to strive towards two aims dedicated by the Faith: that he should
reflect upon the environment Allah has given and that he should know himself.
It is the light of intellect which distinguishes the complete human being from
the human animal and developing that intellect requires free enquiry. The man
of Faith who fails to pursue intellectual search is likely to have only a
limited comprehension of Allah’s creation. Indeed, it is man’s intellect that
enables him to expand his vision of that creation.”
Caring for Neighbors
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had said the best among you is the one who sees to it
that his neighbor is fed and cared for. Imam Hazrat Ali (ra), the 4th rightly
guided Caliph after Prophet Muhammad in providing the leadership to the
Muslim community says, “The best man is he who is most serviceable to
fellow humans.” There are over 18 verses in Qur’an where God
consistently talks about taking care of fellow humans. Indeed the
Prophet
(pbuh) expressed it in so many different ways to high light the duty to
fellow beings. He he said, that an irreligious guy who takes care of his
neighbor earns
God’s grace over a guy who is relentlessly praying.
Ismaili Muslims participate and contribute in building relationships
Indeed, the beneficence of Aga Khan’s Pluralism discourse can be
witnessed everywhere in the world including in Dallas, Texas.
Arman Rupani and his father Mr. Amir Ali Rupani, a respected philanthropist of
Dallas, set in motion a historic event;
Iftar Dinner with Hon. Mayor
Mike Rawlings of City of Dallas. This is the first public Iftar event in
Dallas area hosted by the City for its Muslim residents.
Mayor Rawlings, Arman Rupani, Amir Rupani, Dy Mayor Pro Tem Alonzo Click to see larger version of the picture | Photo courtesy – http://www.surajart.com/ |
The Mayor delivered an amazing key note address; he was all for building
relations with each community in the City. He said, there are about 120,000
Muslims in the area and around 40,000 of them reside in the City of Dallas. He was
excited to initiate this tradition and expects it to continue every year. By the way, his praise for Arman was
touching, and the words he had for Amir Rupani for raising a public service son
made every one pause and praise this father son duo.
Thanks to Arman Rupani, Amir Ali Rupani and Akram Syed for co-hosting the
event, and building relationships between the Mayor’s office and the Muslims of
Dallas.
The honored guests included; Mayor Mike Rawlings of Dallas, Deputy
Mayor Pro Tem Monica R. Alonzo of Dallas, former Mayor Dr. Arjumad Hashmi of Paris,
Texas, Council Member Dr. Shahid Shafi of South Lake and most of the Imams of
Shia and Sunni traditions, and some of
the most active Muslims of Dallas Fort Worth.
Purpose of Religion
prophet, messenger or peacemaker was to build cohesive societies, where no
human had to live in apprehension or fear of the other. Indeed the ultimate
goal of Islam as I understand is to bring harmony and peace to the societies
achieved by knowing each other and building relationships.
God has created us into different tribes, communities and nations (Quran
49:13). It was indeed his choice to create each one of us to be unique with our
own thumbprint, eye print, DNA, color and taste buds. Yet, the whole creation
was put together in perfect balance and harmony (Q55:7); Planets and plants
were programmed to operate with precision (Q55:5) year after year, and humans
were given the free will with a responsibility to maintain that balance for
their own good or perish like the earlier species through climate changes or
conflicts.
such diversity is bound to create conflict and mess up the delicate balance, so
he encourages us in the same verse 49:13, that the best among you are the ones
who know each other. Indeed, knowledge leads to understanding and understanding
to acceptance and appreciation of the God given uniqueness of each one of us,
and with that conflicts fade and solutions emerge.
shining example that stands out is His Highness Aga Khan, who has struck a
perfect balance between the life here, and life hereafter.We wish a very happy Imamat day and Khushali to the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims
and blessing of long life to the Hazar Imam HH Karim Aga Khan. Amen!
This writer was a former commissioner at City of Carrollton.
Ramadan Related Articles:
American Muslim Agenda-I at Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/american-muslim-agenda-a-_b_5528706.html
American Muslim Agenda-II at World Muslim Congress: http://nabsites.net/demo/july-4th-celebrations-muslims-and/
Ramadan’s Pluralism Message at Ramadan Exclusive: http://ramadanexclusive.blogspot.com/2014/06/ramadans-pluralism-message-intrafaith.html
Ramadan’s spiritual Discipline at faith Street: http://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith/2009/08/21/ramadans-spiritual-discipline/8124
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism,Peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith,
cohesive work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America
and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at
www.TheGhousediary.com and www.MikeGhouse.net