Celebrating Respectful Diversity

"The Islamic ethic is that if God has given you the capacity or good fortune to be a privileged individual in society, you have a moral responsibility to society."
Aga Khan, head, Islamic Ismailis worldwide

Described as a ''rock crystal,'' three layers of low-iron glass set atop a structural steel frame constitute the building's most dynamic architectural feature. Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, Ottawa, Ontario


Canada has welcomed a community of between 45,000 to 70,000 Ismaili Muslims as proud Canadian citizens. And this community has integrated itself well into Canadian society at all levels, including politics and civil engagement. There is the well-known and hugely popular, smiling Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, and there is Senator Mobina Jaffer, and aide to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Alykhan Velshi.

The Ismaili Muslim community is a sect apart from the far more populous Sunni and Shia sects, who consider the Ismailis not to be 'real' Muslims. Ismaili Muslims are well known to be a threatened and abused minority among Shia Muslims, considered no better than apostates, heretics. In fact, they take the injunctions to live at peace and mutual respect with their non-Muslim neighbours as seriously as the majority sects do not.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper whose own sense of humanity and justice is beyond praiseworthy has heralded the Aga Khan as "a beacon of humanitarianism, of pluralism and of tolerance throughout the world". And the Aga Khan has been privileged with an invitation, as the spiritual leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims, to address the Parliament of Canada, a rare privilege not often extended to non-state nationals of stature.

The Aga Khan is a philanthropist on a world-scale order, a man of huge inherited wealth. He has received the Order of Canada, has honourary degrees from five universities, and the recipient of honourary Canadian citizenship, in 2009. Canada partners with the Aga Khan's philanthropic work in the developing world adding tens of millions of aid dollars to the Aga Khan Development Network, focusing on countries with large Muslim populations in Africa and Asia.

The federal government gave a 99-year lease for the Aga Khan foundation to occupy the old Canadian War Museum in Ottawa for the establishment of an international centre for tolerance and peaceful coexistence between different religions and cultures. The Aga Khan has been profuse in his appreciation of Canada as an egalitarian pluralistic society; taking in thousands of Ismailis rescued from Idi Amin's historic persecution of the Muslim sect in Uganda.

In Toronto, a new $300-million Ismaili cultural museum is set to open this year, as a repository for treasured hundreds of Ismaili artifacts. The Aga Khan's continued message of respect for people of all colours, creeds and ethnicities living in peaceful coexistence resonates well with Canada's government which defends religious minorities and human dignity, as a key element of Canada's foreign policy.