The Canadian Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) released this video clip highlighting the important messages from The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada and His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan.
Messages that reinforce the universal values of friendship, that are uplifting to the spirit, enlightening in their vision and timeless in their applicability.
To supplement the video clip, Ismailmail is happy to provide the text of the messages exchanged in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7PuB0NjjJQ
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The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada |
His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan |
| Your Highness, four years ago, we stood together, on this very site, for the foundation ceremony of the Ismaili Centre, Aga Khan Museum and Park.
I said then that these projects “promise to be another stunning addition to Canada’s growing array of architectural treasures.”We celebrate today the fact that that ambitious promise is now a splendid reality. |
Prime Minister Harper, words fail me — and that’s not often the case — but words fail me to thank you enough for your most gracious and warm comments on this occasion.This is indeed a magnificent day.It is not so often that we have an opportunity of this sort — to come together in a beautiful setting, in a wonderful spirit of friendship, and to dedicate such a splendid architectural accomplishment.As we inaugurate this building, we also have the opportunity to contemplate what it represents: the inspiring traditions of the past, the stirring challenges of the future, and the continuing search for peace through prayer. |
| For generations to come, this site and these buildings, as well as the fabulous collection of art and artefacts contained in the Aga Khan Museum, will be a source of inspiration, spiritual renewal and cultural awareness.
They will inspire not only Torontonians, but also all visitors to this place, both Canadian and international.I look forward to my first visit to the Aga Khan Museum in just a short while.But for all of this, and many more acts of goodwill, we will always be grateful to our esteemed fellow Canadian, His Highness the Aga Khan. |
The size and complexity of what we celebrate today has been immense, and so is the list of those whom we salute for having made it possible. Certainly our list should begin with the Prime Minister, with whom we have shared so many magnificent moments and so many worthwhile endeavours.
On many fronts, in this country and beyond, the Canadian Government has been a strong, significant partner for the Ismaili Imamat and the Aga Khan Development Network. And we recall with special pleasure, of course, the Foundation Ceremony on this site, at which the Prime Minister so graciously presented me with the enormous honour of Canadian Citizenship. |
| We celebrate today, then, not only the harmonious meeting of green gardens and glass galleries, or of Italian marble and Canadian maple.We rejoice above all in the special spirit which fills this place and gives it its soul.
For a very, very long time this priceless gift will bring joy to the eyes and jubilation to the hearts of countless visitors. À partir d’aujourd’hui, le Canada s’enrichit d’un nouveau point de contact avec la riche civilisation de l’Islam.Je souhaite de tout cœur que le plus grand nombre possible de nos concitoyens et concitoyennes prendront avantage de cette avenue de connaissance et de partage qui s’ouvre devant nous. Since his accession to the Imamat in 1957, (that’s before I was born), as hereditary spiritual leader of the world’s fifteen million Ismaili Muslims, the Aga Khan has devoted an extraordinary amount of time, toil and resources to the ideals of Islamic culture and civilization. In doing so, His Highness has contributed greatly to demystifying Islam, throughout the world, by stressing its social traditions, its history of peace, of tolerance and of pluralism. When a contrary and violent distortion so regularly dominates the news, this is a vision of Islam of which all Canadians can be proud. Your Highness, I remember well the wise words you spoke in the House of Commons, last February. “Increasingly” you said then, “I believe the voices of civil society are voices for change, where change has been overdue. They are voices of hope for people living in fear. They are voices that can help transform countries of crisis into countries of opportunity.” This is a message that is both universal and eternal. And it does us great honour, as Canadians, that it is now being propagated so powerfully from our own country, thanks to you, Your Highness. |
In its origins, in its design, and in its programmes and activities, the complex we inaugurate today is animated by a truly pluralistic spirit. In this respect too, it reflects the deep-set Ismaili values — pluralistic commitments that are so deeply embedded in Canadian values.
These commitments have been strikingly evident in a recent government initiative that I would like to mention today. I refer to the establishment, less than two years ago, of the new Office of Religious Freedom, led by Ambassador Andrew Bennett. We hope that our organisations in Canada can be helpful allies of the Office of Religious Freedom, as it works to support people throughout the world who are targeted because of their religious affiliations. |
| Indeed, the decision to establish this significant initiative in Canada reflects the deep and longstanding partnership between the Imamat and Canada.This partnership stems from our shared commitment to pluralism, to civil society, human dignity, peace and understanding. | I hope you will join in my profound happiness in recalling the cradle of friendship in which this Centre has been born. And I know that all of you will also share my profound wish that the Centre will now prolong, decade after decade, its beautiful legacy of friendship and enlightenment. |
| And the impressive facility we are inaugurating today is not the first contribution the Aga Khan has made to the Canadian urban landscape.
A first Ismaili Centre in Canada was opened in 1985, nearly thirty years ago, in Burnaby, British Columbia.In December 2008, I had the pleasure, again in the company of His Highness, of inaugurating the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat on Sussex Drive, in Ottawa. That building, which has also been singled out for its architectural elegance, is now the seat of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, and the Global Centre for Pluralism. The Centre, however, will be moving to a new location, also on Sussex Drive, at the former site of the Canadian War Museum. By a happy coincidence, that move will be completed in 2017, the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Confederation.I see strong symbolism in the conjunction of these two events. They remind us that Confederation was, in fact, an early political application of the sense of pluralism which still guides us today. As many of you know, this year, 2014, happens to be the bicentennial of the birth of George Étienne Cartier, along with our first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, one of the principal architects of our Confederation. It was Cartier who most thoroughly articulated, and ultimately convinced, the other Fathers of Confederation that this new country would only succeed if it could accommodate the common interests and needs of people of different cultures and faiths through the development of a new, federal system. C’est grâce à la vision de Cartier, grâce à sa foi dans le respect des différences et le partage des responsabilités communes, que la Confédération est née. Et c’est comme cela que le Canada va continuer de faire l’admiration et l’envie du monde entier. The wisdom that Cartier advanced one hundred and fifty years ago, the wisdom of acceptance and tolerance, are lessons that the Canadian Ismaili community teaches still. In so doing, they, you, have contributed to keeping these fundamental values at the heart of our national identity. And I am therefore delighted to join you in declaring the Ismaili Centre open. |
Ismailimail 