London, UK, 23 November 2025
The Aga Khan Music Awards recognised 11 artists and groups dedicated to preserving and reinventing their cultural heritage.
The prize-giving ceremony, held for the first time in the UK, brought together artists working thousands of miles apart, all committed to the same goal: keeping musical traditions alive while finding new ways to share them with audiences today.
The Aga Khan Music Awards was established in 2018 by Mawlana Shah Karim and Prince Amyn to honour individuals and groups whose work sustains and reimagines living musical heritage shaped by Islam, while promoting spiritual insight, community vitality, and cultural resilience.
In attendance were special guests His Excellency Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, UAE’s Minister of Culture; and Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, President of Bahrain’s authority for culture and antiquities. Prince Amyn was also present, alongside Prince Hussain, Princess Fareen, Prince Aly Muhammad, and leaders of the Jamat and AKDN.
Fairouz Nishanova, Director of the Aga Khan Music Programme, welcomed guests to the ceremony. “Tonight we honour the artistry and achievements in recognising an extraordinary constellation of winners, performing in seamless harmony,” she said.
Prince Aly Muhammad delivered a keynote address in which he spoke of the uniting, bridge-building quality of music. “While there are many barriers, music remains one of the most accessible art forms,” he said. “Perhaps that is why it is one of the few spaces where difference does not divide us—it allows all of us to share emotion without translation. And that is what these Awards stand for.”
At the conclusion of his remarks, he addressed this year’s winning artists, and expressed his gratitude for their originality and humanity. “Thank you for reminding us what it means,” he said, “to create with purpose, with humility, and with heart.”
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