Posted on 02/04/2025 10:12:57 PM PST by RandFan
Billionaire philanthropist and spiritual leader Aga Khan has died at the age of 88, his charity the Aga Khan Development Network has announced.
Prince Karim Aga Khan was the 49th hereditary imam of the Ismaili Muslims, who trace his lineage directly to the Prophet Muhammad.
He "passed away peacefully" in Lisbon, Portugal, surrounded by his family, his charity said in a statement on social media.
Born in Switzerland, he had British citizenship and lived in a chateau in France.
.....
The Aga Khan's charities ran hundreds of hospitals, educational and cultural projects, largely in the developing world.
He enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, with a private island in the Bahamas, a super-yacht and a private jet.
The Aga Khan Development Network said it offered its "condolences to the family of His Highness and to the Ismaili community worldwide".
"We continue to work with our partners to improve the quality of life for individuals and communities across the world, as he wished, irrespective of their religious affiliations or origins," it added.
The Ismailis, a Muslim sect, have a worldwide population of about 15 million, including 500,000 in Pakistan. There are also large populations in India, Afghanistan and Africa.
Prince Karim Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather as imam of the Ismaili Muslims in 1957 at the age of 20.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
End of an era. Last of the great lineage.
He sounds like a good man who did many good deeds and was part of a noble lineage.
That being said and out of the way, SOMEONE has to be the immature idiot to say it and I’m just the guy!!!
“........KHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!”
“Aga Khan.....Aga Khan....”
Rest In Peace, Aga.
His father was the richest man in the world in the 1960s.
Wow. I did not know.
“Old money”!
The Aga Khan IV was the eldest son of Prince Aly Khan (1911–1960), and his first wife, Princess Taj-ud-dawlah Aga Khan, formerly Joan Yarde-Buller (1908–1997), the eldest daughter of the British peer John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston
His father Prince Aly Salomone Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960 was born in Turin, Italy, the younger son and only surviving child of the Aga Khan III and Cleofe Catterina Teresa "Ginetta" Magliano.
This made the now decesased Aga Khan 3/4 European - and considering that the rest was Iranian, makes him far different than his subjects
Both the current Aga Khan's wives were European - so the heir presumptive will be nearly 100% European
“noble lineage”
The Ismailis were the dreaded Hashashin - the “Assassins” who murdered their way in the middle ages.
Of course, since the 1800s they have changed, but their origins are far from “noble”
It’s fascinating
Where did the power and wealth come from? He seemed quite nomadic having British citizenship presumably a gift of the Queen
The Ismailis are a sub-sect of Shia islam.
Their tithes go to the Aga Khan who decides where it goes.
The Aga Khan’s personal wealth comes from four sources:
1) his family inheritance which includes the wealth generated by the real estate investments of his great grandmother Lady Aly Shah,
2) the inherited personal businesses and investments of his grandfather Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III
3) the horse-breeding business inherited from his father Prince Aly Khan
4) The Aga Khan’s personal investments in tourism and real estate development (such as in the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, the Meridiana Airline, Ciga Hotel chain)
To his credit the recently decesased Aga Khan gave a lot to charity. But his wealth is built on the tithes that were given to his ancestors.
I just threw that in so I could get to my punch line.
I couldn’t care less either way, to be honest :)
Really interesting thanks!
This is weird. I was just thinking of Rita Hayworth (former step-relation) yesterday.
I used to work with an Ismaili - and his lifestyle and views confirmed what I had read about them.
In short, the Aga Khan dictates what theology the Ismailis follow - unlike Sunni Islam which is “fundamentalist” i.e. Quran+Hadiths+Sirah only and no interpretation as that is shrik (idolatry), the Shia have people who interpret the Quran+Hadiths for the general populace.
Among the Shia, the ones closest to the Sunni are the 7ers who are the Houthi (and others), then the 12ers (Iran, Iraq) who have Ayatollahs who interpret the scriptures for the laity.
Finally you have the groups like Ismailis and Bohris who have “hereditary Ayatollahs” like this here Aga Khan. This last group seems to be the most peaceful and most willing to assimilate as the boss Ayatollah in both cases says violence is wrong and the burkha is wrong and that the Quran should not be taken literally
It wasn’t all sweetness and light, the Aga Khan was a patron of Justin Trudeau who often visited his mansion in Bahamas.
I don’t know if it was a sign of anything other than that JT never picked up any of the good side of the Aga Khan, or perhaps it was a more sinister patronage?
No worries - the ways in which history, religion, ethnicity and language coincide and mingle is always a fascination for me — the Middle east has tons of these, like the Yazidis, the Druze, Jews, Samaritans, Mandaens, Alawites, Zoroastrianas etc. and those are just the non-Christian, non-Moslem groups!
You may find this interesting and unreported
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjw4zv533g7o
They rebuilt Mosel’s mosques in Iraq (AND churches) after ISIS was defeated/expelled by Trump back in 2017
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