The Aga Khan IV nourished commitment to education
His Highness the Aga Khan after being honoured by the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.
The passing on of His Highness Prince Karim al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, marks the end of an era of exceptional leadership, philanthropy and dedication to the betterment of humanity.
A direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) through his daughter, Hazrat Bibi Fatima, and the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, Hazrat Ali, Prince Karim embodied a lineage that has provided guidance to the Ismaili community for over 1,400 years.
Prince Karim, who passed away in Lisbon on February 4 at the age of 88, became Imam of Ismaili Muslims at the young age of 20 in 1957, following the death of his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III. Under his stewardship, the Ismaili Muslim community flourished, embracing modernity while remaining rooted in their faith and heritage. His global influence as a statesman and spiritual leader saw him advocate for the role of Islam in fostering peace, pluralism, and human development.
In addition to being widely respected as a religious leader, Prince Karim’s greatest legacy may well be the vast humanitarian and development initiatives he established. He founded the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), one of the largest private development organisations in the world. AKDN operates in more than 30 countries in Africa and Asia, employing over 96,000 people and investing more than $1 billion annually in programmes aimed at improving healthcare, education, economic opportunities, cultural restoration, and environmental sustainability.
The education and health care programmes run by the AKDN network reach remote communities with limited resources, such as the mountainous terrains of the Northern Areas of Pakistan and the deprived communities in Zanzibar.
Aga Khan Education Services
Furthermore, across these initiatives, he was deeply committed to ensuring that women had equal access. The Aga Khan Education Services (AKES), a key agency within the AKDN network, invests significantly in girls’ education, just as its primary health programme prioritizes maternal and child health. As early as 1918, his grandfather emphasized the importance of educating girls, stating, “If you have two children — a girl and a boy — educate the girl first. When you educate a boy, you educate an individual, but when you educate a girl, you educate a family.”
He dedicated the proceeds from his jubilee celebrations to building schools for girls. Prince Karim continued this commitment by expanding access to higher education for girls from remote areas through providing university access. As a result, hundreds of young women became nurses and doctors, many of them training at the Aga Khan University (AKU) and improving their families’ quality of life.
Prince Karim’s contributions to institution-building, however, were not limited to the developing world. He was a strong advocate of pluralism. Recognising the fractures within societies due to sectarianism and intolerance, he championed institutions such as the Global Centre for Pluralism in Canada. At the inauguration of the Centre’s headquarters in 2017, he remarked, “Connection does not necessarily mean agreement. It does not mean that we want to eliminate our differences or erase our distinctions.
Far from it. What it does mean is that we connect with one another in order to learn from one another and to build our future together.” His relationship with Canada was especially significant, dating back to the 1970s when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau welcomed thousands of Ismaili refugees from Uganda.
In an era when Islam was often misrepresented or misunderstood, Prince Karim sought to highlight its intellectual, philosophical, and artistic richness. He firmly believed that Islamic civilization had contributed immensely to world heritage and should be acknowledged as a source of beauty, wisdom, and knowledge. Consequently, exhibitions and conferences organized by the Ismaili Centres worldwide as well as by the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, highlighted the deeply mystical, philosophical, rationalist dimensions of Islamic heritage.
Similarly, through the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), Prince Karim championed the preservation of Islamic architecture and urban regeneration projects, ensuring that historic sites and communities were revitalised rather than neglected.
One of the most notable projects under his patronage was the development of the Al-Azhar Park in Cairo. Opened in 2005, this 30-hectare park transformed a former rubbish dump into a green oasis, providing much-needed recreational green space for the people of Cairo.
Prince Karim’s leadership was characterized by humility and an unwavering commitment to service. He often described his role not in terms of power, but as a responsibility entrusted to him by his faith and community. He inspired generations of Ismailis to actively engage in voluntary service, a principle deeply ingrained within the community through institutions such as the Ismaili Volunteer Corps.
Promotion of social justice
As Imam, Prince Karim viewed the promotion of social justice as an essential duty of his office, not an option. Following its core ethical principle of pluralism, AKDN’s development projects are inclusive of people of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds and the organisation employs people of different nationalities and ethnicities which is its greatest strength.
On 9 February 2025, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV was laid to rest in Aswan, Egypt, in a private ceremony. Aswan holds deep significance for the late Imam’s family, as it is the final resting place of his grandfather, Aga Khan III, and his grandmother, Mata Salamat Om Habibeh.
Their bond with the people of Aswan remained strong through the years, sustained by the work of the Om Habibeh Foundation and the Aga Khan Foundation. Within a fortnight of his passing, his daughter Princess Zahra arrives in East Africa for the convocation of 120 students of the Aga Khan University, 90 of them from the nursing programme. A fitting tribute to a father who assiduously continued a vision espoused by his grandfather over a hundred years earlier.
With his death, the mantle of leadership now transitions to Prince Karim’s eldest son, His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan, who has been named the 50th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.
Masooda Bano is a Professor of Development Studies, Department of International Development and Senior Golding Fellow, Brasenose College, Oxford.