Speech about His Highness the Aga Khan by Senator Mobina Jaffer in the Canadian Senate

Motion to Grant to His Highness the Aga Khan the Honourary Title of Citizen of Canada Adopted

Hon. Mobina S.B. Jaffer:   Honourable senators, I rise also to speak on the motion, but I first want to thank the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, for suggesting that we bestow the title of honorary Canadian citizenship on His Highness the Aga Khan.

It is an honour and a privilege to rise today in support of the motion to recognize His Highness the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims with the title of honorary Canadian citizen. I am proud, as a Canadian and an Ismaili Muslim, that we can bestow this honour on someone who is so richly deserving of it.

I know that some of you in this chamber are familiar with the contributions the Aga Khan and the Ismaili Imamat have made in Canada and internationally to advance pluralism and diversity.

It was not that long ago that we celebrated the opening of the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat here in Ottawa, the home of the Aga Khan Development Network. The network is a group of development agencies with mandates ranging from health and education to architecture, culture, micro-finance, rural development, disaster reduction, the promotion of private sector enterprise and the revitalization of historic cities.

The Aga Khan Development Network agencies conduct their programs without regard to faith, origin or gender. As Senator Comeau’s motion states, the Aga Khan Development Network is currently with Canadian Forces in Afghanistan to improve the lives of the Afghani people. The Aga Khan Development Network’s efforts in Afghanistan includes large-scale rural development; health, education and civil society programs; micro-finance services and the rehabilitation of historic neighbourhoods in Kabul and Herat with a rapidly growing mobile phone network. With the support of its donors and partner, more than U.S. $700 million has been channelled to the network for Afghanistan’s reconstruction.

The Global Centre for Pluralism, another initiative of His Highness the Aga Khan, is yet another example of his long-standing partnership with Canada. Dedicated to the creation of successful societies, the centre is founded on the premise that tolerance, openness and understanding towards the cultures, social structures, values and faiths of other people are essential to the very survival of an interdependent world.

The credo of the centre is, and I quote:

Pluralism is no longer simply an asset or a prerequisite for progress and development. It is vital to our existence.

To quote the Aga Khan himself:

We cannot make the world safe for democracy unless we also make the world safe for diversity

-snip-

If this motion goes through, the Aga Khan will become the fifth person to be recognized with the title of honorary citizen. He joins Raoul Wallenberg, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. This is distinguished company, but there are few more deserving to join this select group than His Highness the Aga Khan.

Honourable senators, I am overjoyed to welcome His Highness, Prince Karim Aga Khan as a fellow Canadian. I hope you will join with me and the Canadian Ismaili community in welcoming him and working toward an even greater partnership to advance our mutual goals. I ask you to support this motion.

Read the Adoption of Motion and Senator Mobina Jaffer’s speech in its entireity at source: http://www.parl.gc.ca/40/2/parlbus/chambus/senate/deb-E/050db_2009-06-23-e.htm?Language=E&Parl=40&Ses=2#52

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