Brussels, Geneva, Lisbon, London, Paris and other capitals representing corridors of power have begun to witness His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V’s growing influence, partnerships and support, as well as knowledge share of the Ismaili Imamat. The Ismaili Imamat is a 1,400 years Muslim institution representing the continuum of successive living hereditary Imams (now in its 50th generation) stemming from the first Imam and Caliph, Hazrat Mawlana Ali, Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law. Equally important and in recent history starting from the twentieth century onwards, the Aga Khans (Aga Khan III, Prince Aly Salman Aga Khan, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, Aga Khan IV, Prince Amyn Aga Khan) have played a significant role at a global level (read the French Minister’s tribute). While the Aga Khan’s statesmanship may seem a recent contemporary engagement, it is in fact a continuation of over a centuries old legacy of the Aga Khan family’s global leadership at the international level. This tradition continues uninterrupted though the new generation of the Aga Khan’s family by way of the work being done by His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Prince Hussain Aga Khan and Prince Aly Muhammed Aga Khan.
His recent appearances – after becoming the 50th Ismaili Imam – in Brussels and Paris are surely just a start as evidenced by two large commitments each via the AKDN made to the European Commission’s ninth annual conference in support of Syria (€100 million) in Brussels, Belgium (March 17, 2025) and Nutrition Summit (€45 million) in Paris, France (March 27, 2025).
The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) employs 96,000 people to provide services through 1,000 programs and services in more than 30 countries. AKDN’s international development budget is over a billion dollars annually. Despite the Aga Khan’s official apolitical stance, his soft power is immense.
How Much Power Does the Aga Khan Have Really?
Foreign Policy
Analysis
By Ken Chitwood, a religion scholar and reporter based in Germany.
May 16, 2025, 4:14 PM
The billionaire Muslim leader is a religious figure — and a global powerbroker.
When international delegations attended the European Commission’s conference on Syria on March 17, His Highness Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan V, attended alongside them. Addressing the conference, he reiterated his community’s more than millennium-long history in Syria and recommitted the Ismaili Imamat and its development arm, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), to “ongoing and permanent support for the Syrian people” and a “determination to help foster peace, hope, and development for a better future.”
The conference, and the pledge, was one of the first prominent public moves for Highness Prince Prince Rahim Aga Khan V, who inherited the Aga Khan title from his father, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, who died on Feb. 4. The fourth Aga Khan served as leader of the Shia Nizari Ismaili Muslims community, the second-largest branch of Shiite Muslims, since 1957.
As His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV’s eldest son, His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V now leads an estimated 12 to 15 million Ismaili Muslims across more than 35 countries.
Considered a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the Aga Khan V is, first and foremost, a religious leader. But over the last 100 years, the role has also been a consistent, and significant, presence in global affairs.
“The Aga Khan is one of few leaders without territorial rule who is afforded state honors. And the Ismaili Imamat — as an institution — has been recognized as a legal personality in several countries. The role is “a quiet, very practical form of diplomacy.”
~ Khalil Andani,
Assistant Professor of Religion,
Augustana College
“The Aga Khan’s leadership inspires Ismailis the world over to rebuild their lives and communities following displacement, forced migration, and persecution.
Altogether, this can make the Aga Khan a bit of a curiosity at a time when religion and religious people can be sidelined as conservative forces leading toward intolerance, rather than working for the “secular” good.”
~ Shenila Khoja-Moolji,
Associate Professor,
Georgetown University
Though under 1 percent of the global Muslim population, Ismailis have wielded substantial political authority and remain an intellectually influential minority …
“There is hardly an aspect of Islam, especially in its earlier development, which was not influenced in one way or another by Ismailism.”
~ Seyyed Hossein Nasr,
Professor of Islamic Studies
George Washington University
Read the complete analysis at the source Foreign Policy | How Much Power Does the Aga Khan Have, Really?
A Tradition of International Service
Princess Yasmin Aga Khan (sister of the His Highness the Aga Khan IV, daughter of Prince Alykhan and granddaughter of His Highness the Aga Khan III)
Mowlana Sultan Mohammed Shah – His Highness the Aga Khan III – 48th Imam of the Ismaili Muslims
Back row and standing (left to right)
Mowlana Hazar Imam – His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV – His Highness the Aga Khan IV – 49th Imam of the Ismaili Muslims (elder son of Prince Alykhan and grandson of His Highness the Aga Khan III)
Prince Aly Soloman Khan Aga Khan (elder son of His Highness the Aga Khan III and father of His Highness the Aga Khan IV)
Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (younger son of His Highness the Aga Khan III and uncle of His Highness the Aga Khan IV)
Begam Mata Salamat (wife of His Highness the Aga Khan III)
Prince Amyn Mohammed Aga Khan (brother of His Highness the Aga Khan IV, younger son of Prince Alykhan and grandson of His Highness the Aga Khan III)
In recent generations, the Aga Khan’s family has followed a tradition of service in international affairs. The Aga Khan IV’s grandfather was President of the League of Nations and his father, Prince Aly Khan, was Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations. His uncle, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, had been United Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations’ Coordinator for assistance to Afghanistan and United Nations’ Executive Delegate of the Iraq-Turkey border areas. The Aga Khan IV’s brother, Prince Amyn, entered the United Nations Secretariat, Department of Economic and Social Affairs following his graduation from Harvard in 1965. Since 1968, Prince Amyn has been closely involved with the governance of the principal development institutions of the Imamat.
The Aga Khan IV’s eldest child and daughter, Princess Zahra, who graduated from Harvard in 1994 with a BA Honors Degree in Third World Development Studies, has coordination responsibilities relating to specific social development institutions of the Imamat and is based at his Secretariat. His elder son, the then Prince Rahim, who graduated from Brown University (USA) in 1995, has similar responsibilities in respect of the Imamat’s economic development institutions and is chairs AKDN’s committee on climate change. The Aga Khan IV’s younger son, Prince Hussain, who graduated from Williams College (USA) in 1997, joined the Secretariat and is involved in the cultural activities of the Network.
In consonance with this vision of Islam and their tradition of service to humanity, wherever Ismailis live, they have elaborated a well-defined institutional framework to carry out social, economic and cultural activities. Under the Aga Khan’s leadership, this framework has expanded and evolved into Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of institutions working to improve living conditions and opportunities in specific regions of the developing world. In every country, these institutions work for the common good of all citizens regardless of their origin or religion. Their individual mandates range from architecture, education and health to the promotion of private sector enterprise, the enhancement of non-government organisations and rural development.
Research, Insight & Perspective by A. Maherali
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Discover, Explore & Learn more via:
- Foreign Policy | How Much Power Does the Aga Khan Have, Really?
- AKDN | Ismaili Imamat pledges €100 million for Syria’s development
- AKDN | Statement by His Highness the Aga Khan V at Brussels IX: Standing with Syria
- AKDN | AKDN participates in Paris Nutrition for Growth Summit
- AKDN | AKDN Quick Facts
- AKU | About AKU | The Chancellor | A Tradition of International Service
- IIS | The Ismaili Imamat – Brief History
- IIS | AKDN Ethical Framework
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