Aga Khan praises Canada as role model of freedom and tolerance

BY JESSICA BARRETT

OTTAWA – ­The spiritual leader of the world’s 15 million Ismaili Muslims praised Canada on Thursday as an international role model of civil society, diversity and religious freedom with a vital role to play in overcoming international crises.

In a rare address to Parliament, the Aga Khan said religious hostility and intolerance is on the rise internationally, which means countries that embrace political and religious diversity have an increasingly important role to play.

“Sadly, the world is becoming more pluralist in fact, but not necessarily in spirit,” said the spiritual leader, adding that Canada’s contributions to development aid and its commitment to cultural dialogue and religious freedom provide an example to the world. “I know that many Canadians would describe their own pluralism as a work in progress, but it is also an asset of enormous global quality.”

The Aga Khan also signed a protocol of understanding with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday, committing the two to holding annual high-level consultations on a variety of global issues. Harper said the document will “solidify the important partnership” that has existed between the Canadian government and the Aga Khan since the 1970s when many Ismaili Muslims fled to Canada to escape political turmoil in Uganda.

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