Excerpts from the speeches given at the Assembly of the Republic, Parliament of Portugal, honouring His Highness the Aga Khan’s Diamond Jubilee

Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues offers congratulations to His Highness the #AgaKhan and encourages the work that he and @akdn are doing to develop "more fair, more open, and more plural societies". #AKDN

— AKDN (@akdn) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: Portugal is surely an ideal place for me to conclude my Diamond Jubilee anniversary - celebrating my sixtieth year as Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues: We are active in the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of the Aga Khan - a high point for the relationship between the Ismaili community and Portugal

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: I am told that some 40 thousand members of the Ismaili community have come here this week to share in our Jubilee celebrations. In the process, of course, they will also have the opportunity to Discover Portugal, many of them for the first time.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues offers congratulations to Mawlana Hazar Imam and encourages the work that he and @AKDN are doing to develop "more fair, more open, and more plural societies"

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: It was here, on the Iberian peninsula, between the 8th and the 16th centuries, that the History of Al-Andalus was written - when Muslim administrations worked constructively with people of the Christian and the Jewish faiths

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: This Pluralistic Outlook has been reflected at many points throughout Portuguese history – and it has been powerfully expressed in the recent re-emergence of this country as an influential leader on the global stage.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Fernando Medina, Mayor of Lisbon, says that Mawlana Hazar Imam exercises his and the @AKDN's purpose with clarity - to improve humanity

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: As I have traveled throughout the world in recent years, one of the most hopeful developments I have identified is the emergence of countries with the potential to become “Countries of Opportunity.”

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Fernando Medina: The partnership between AKDN and Lisbon illustrates the commitment of the Ismaili community and cements the cooperation going forward

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: And certainly Portugal has been earning a high place on that list.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Fernando Medina: Today we are in a city that understands diversity as a point of human development and personal enrichment... The cities that are most diverse can advance humanity further.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: It was with these values in mind that we signed an historic agreement in Lisbon in 2015 - an Agreement to establish here a new Seat of the Ismaili Imamat.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Fernando Medina: The #DJCelebration has been a unique occasion in Lisbon, opening the city to artists and attendees from all over the world... The human and cultural nature of these celebrations reflects diversity which is essential for peace and development opportunities.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: This means that Lisbon, already a leading international crossroads city, will also now serve as a central connecting point for the global Ismaili community.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Fernando Medina: As we say in Portugal, we hope to have you [Mawlana Hazar Imam] here for many good years.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: After that Agreement was signed three years ago, it was approved by the Portuguese Parliament, and I am pleased to thank the Parliament today, in person, for that welcoming endorsement.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Fernando Medina: As we say in Portugal, we hope to have you [Mawlana Hazar Imam] here for many good years.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: The word Momentum comes to mind. What we celebrate today is an advancing sense of momentum - a spirit of progressive partnership between the Portuguese nation and the Ismaili Imamat.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

In introduction of His Highness the #AgaKhan in front of Portuguese Parliament, Mayor of Lisbon underscores partnerships with #AKDN as positive examples of collaboration for human development #QualityOfLife

— AKDN (@akdn) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: The word Momentum comes to mind. What we celebrate today is an advancing sense of momentum - a spirit of progressive partnership between the Portuguese nation and the Ismaili Imamat.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Fernando Medina: The #DJCelebration has been a unique occasion in Lisbon, opening the city to artists and attendees from all over the world... The human and cultural nature of these celebrations reflects diversity which is essential for peace and development opportunities.

— AKDN (@akdn) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: Through the centuries, the Seat of the Ismaili Imamat has been formally designated in one or more locations by the Imam-of-the-Time, depending on the requirements of the day. It has known many homes over the years...

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: The decision to establish a new Seat here in Portugal, at the gracious invitation of your Government, is one that has been taken after much reflection and consultation. It represents a true milestone moment in the long history of the Imamat.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: The authority of the Ismaili Imam is spiritual rather than temporal in nature. At the same time, Islam believes fundamentally that the spiritual and material worlds are inextricably connected.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: This means that the Imam-of-the-Time also has a responsibility for improving the quality of life, the quality of worldly life, for his people, and for the peoples among whom the Ismailis live.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: It is to advance those responsibilities that so much of my attention over these sixty years has been committed not only to strengthening the Imamat’s capacities to fulfill its mandate, but also to the work of what we now call the @AKDN

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: We know that the days ahead will be demanding ones, a time of profound global change.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: What will these new realities mean for us? On the one hand, we must recognize, realistically, that our inter-connected world could bring about an increasing sense of suspicion, fear, and perhaps even vertigo as we look into the future.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: On the other hand, closer interactions in our world will also produce wonderful new opportunities for creative cooperation, for healthy inter-dependence, for new discovery and inspiring growth.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: When that happens, the opportunity to engage with people who are different from us need not be seen as a burden, but rather, as a blessing.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: This welcoming attitude is often described as a Pluralistic outlook. It was the animating concept behind one of our major AKDN projects, our establishment, together with the Government of Canada, of the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: Fostering a strong Cosmopolitan Ethic in our world is surely a central challenge of our time

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: As we face that challenge, Portugal is a most encouraging example. A Cosmopolitan Ethic has contributed abundantly to Portuguese culture in the past, and I know it will continue to animate this country’s future.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: The Ismaili Imamat will now be proudly moving some of its activities into the magnificent, historic Palacete Mendonça. There we will establish our Department of Diplomatic Affairs and our Department of Jamati Institutions.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018

Mawlana Hazar Imam: So let us, then, go forward together, bound by our shared past, committed to our shared values, and inspired by our shared hopes for a constructive, purposeful future.

— The Ismaili (@TheIsmaili) July 10, 2018