Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 1993 to 1997

“The right to hope is the most powerful human motivation I know. Its importance has been paramount in the history of this nation. It is a reasonable expectation that the next generation will be better equipped to address the challenges of life than the present one.”
Mawlana Hazar Imam
Commencement Ceremony at Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island, USA, May 26, 1996
Speech at AKDN

In 1995, Mawlana Hazar Imam granted a historic first mulaqat to the Jamat of Central Asia, in Russia in January, and in Tajikistan in May.

In 1997, to commemorate 40 years of his Imamat, Mawlana Hazar Imam made grants totalling US$50 million to five institutions founded by him:
Aga Khan University, The Institute of Ismaili Studies, Aga Khan Foundation,  Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.

1993 to 1997
Mawlana Hzar Imam

presided over

• Convocation ceremony of the Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan (1994).
• the award presentation ceremony of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in Solo, Indonesia (1995). Speech at AKDN.
• Foundation Ceremony of the Centre, Lisbon, Portugal (1996). Speech at The Ismaili.

inaugurated

• the first Professional Development Centre of AKU’s Institute for Educational Development in Karachi, Pakistan (1993).
• the restored Baltit Fort in Karimabad, Pakistan (1996).
• Nation Press building, Nairobi, Kenya (1997).
• Serena Hotel, Zanzibar (1997).

met with

• board members and other dignitaries at Aga Khan University, Karachi (1993).
• senior Russian leaders in Moscow on a five-day state visit at the invitation of the Government of Russia to discuss development initiatives, collaboration between the Institute for Oriental Studies, The Institute of Ismaili Studies, and the Aga Khan University (1995).
• Government and Jamati leaders in Nairobi, Kampala, Dar-es Salaam, and Zanzibar to review Imamat projects (1997).

addressed

• the World Congress of Architects in Chicago, organised jointly by the International Union of Architects and the American Institute of Architects (1993).
• guests at the Outreach Dinner held at the Ismaili Centre, London, UK (1994).
• Commencement ceremony at
  • at MIT Cambridge, Massachusetts (1994). Speech at AKDN.
  • Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, the first Muslim to do so in the University’s   over 200-year history (1996). Speech at AKDN.
• the biennial conference of the Commonwealth Press Union in Cape Town, South Africa (1996). Speech at AKDN.

signed agreements

• with the Government of Bangladesh for development work (1993).
• between AKU and Oxford University, launching a new partnership in teacher education between Oxford University’s Department of Educational Studies and the Aga Khan University’s new Institute for Educational Development in Karachi, Pakistan (1993).
• between Aga Khan University and Sudbury Memorial Hospital, Ontario, whereby Sudbury’s medical staff trained their counterparts in Karachi, Pakistan (1994).
• between Aga Khan Foundation Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for the Social Institution Development Program (SIDP) in Pakistan (1994).
• with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for development between the Government of Pakistan and the Aga Khan Development Network (1994).
• with the European Commission, who announced its largest ever grant to a single non-governmental organisation, to co-finance, with the Aga Khan Foundation (United Kingdom), an eight-year initiative for community management of natural resources in rural Gujarat, India (1994).

had mulaqats with

• Jamat of Afghanistan in Islamabad, Pakistan and London, UK (1994).
• Jamat of Central Asia in Moscow and Dushanbe for the first time (1995).

Other events

• Fostrian Children Universal Society’s mandate was revised to become a universal emergency humanitarian relief and refugee resettlement, now known as Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) (1994).
• The University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Aga Khan University (AKU) announced a joint program to promote academic exchanges and research between the two institutions in the field of respiratory medicine (1996).
• Princess Zahra visited Ottawa, Canada as Guest of Honour at the launch of the book, Speaking Out: Women’s Economic Empowerment in South Asia (1996).
• Princess Zahra in Toronto, Canada, to Chair the International Ismaili Women’s Forum under the auspices of the International Social Development and Sports Foundation (1997).

For titles and honours bestowed upon Mawlana Hazar Imam, visit AKDN or view the matrix.

Mawlana Hazar Imam and Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia sign the Accord of Co-operation for Development, in Dhakka, 1993

With graduates of AKU in Karachi, 1994.

At the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Photo: The Ismaili Canada

Meeting Prime Minster Viktor Chernomyrdin in Moscow, 1995. Photo: The Ismaili Canada

In Ottawa, with Prime Minster of Canada Jean Chretien and David Collenette, Federal Minister for Veterans Affairs.

President Charles Vest of MIT demonstrates a notebook presented to Mawlana Hazar Imam by MIT in Boston, 1996. Photo: via Pinterest

Mawlana Hazar being received by Jamati leaders in Khorog, Tajikistan, 1995.

At the foundation ceremony (1996) Mawlana Hazar Imam and Prince Amyn discuss the model of the Ismaili Centre, Lisbon as the architects and others look on. Photo: The Ismaili/Gary Otte

Selected World Events – 1993 to 1997

• The European Union, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, was formed (1993).
• Mosaic, the first global web browser, was developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) (1993).
• The first data services appeared on mobile phones starting with person-to-person SMS text messaging in Finland (1993).
• The FDA approved the Flavr Savr tomato, the first genetically-engineered food product (1994).
• Global atmospheric temperature climbs to a record high (1995).
• The world’s first cloned sheep is created from embryo cells (1996)
• The television ratings system debuts on cable stations and broadcast networks (1996).
• Deep Blue became the first computer chess-playing system to beat a reigning world chess champion, Garry Kasparov (1996).
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first novel in the Harry Potter series, was published in the UK (1997).
• The first mobile phone with a full keyboard – the Nokia 9000i Communicator – was produced in Finland (1997).

Sources:
The Ismaili Canada, various issues
The Ismaili USA, July 1993

Compiled by Nimira Dewji

Countdown to Diamond Jubilee Series

Countdown to Diamond Jubilee: Snapshots of Imamat – 1957 to 1962 Countdown to Diamond Jubilee: Snapshots of Imamat – 1963 to 1967 Countdown to Diamond Jubilee: Snapshots of Imamat – 1968 to 1972 Legacy of Jubilees of Imam Sultan Mohamed Shah Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 1973 to 1977 Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 1978 to 1982 Legacy of Jubilees – Silver Jubilee of Mawlana Hazar Imam Mawlana Hazar Imam: “…this Silver Jubilee is a symbolic affirmation of the ties between myself as Imam and the Ismaili community…” Legacy of Jubilees – Silver Jubilee of Mawlana Hazar Imam: “We will not let bigotry, communalism or sectarianism make our lives inward-looking and increasingly meaningless…” Legacy of Jubilees – Silver Jubilee of Mawlana Hazar Imam: “…the issue of improving the living conditions of the poor has long been of the deepest concern to me.” Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 1983 to 1987 Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 1988 to 1992 Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 1993 to 1997 Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 1998 to 2002 Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 2003 to 2007 Legacy of Jubilees – Legacy of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Golden Jubilee – July 11, 2007 to December 13, 2008 Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Golden Jubilee Journey Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 2009 to 2013 Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 2014 to June 2017 Mawlana Hazar Imam: “When I assumed the responsibilities of the Imamat … I too became involved, as leader of the Ismaili community, in that most vital business, the well-being of ordinary people.”

Previously on Ismailimail…

Aga Khan University Hospital’s Kidney Support Group promotes benefits of early transplants | Business Daily Africa Hafeez Jamal, Husein Manji, Azin Soltani: Late Night Conversations (LNC) Aga Khan Music Initiative: In the footsteps of Babur Global Centre for Pluralism moves to its permanent home in Canada Harvard University to offer free online architecture course Ginan: Saamee tamaaree vaddee maa(n)he – O Lord in your garden