Dar es Salaam. The 49th Chief Leader of the Shia Ismailia sect and the founder of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), the Honorable Aga Khan, has died at the age of 88.
The noble Aga Khan, known as Karim al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV, died on February 4, 2025, in Lisbon, Portugal, surrounded by his family.
A statement issued by his aid agency, Aga Khan Development Network, said the leader died in peace in Lisbon, Portugal with his family.
King Rahim al-Hussaini has been appointed Aga Khan of v following the death of the noble Aga Khan IV.
King Rahim al-Hussaini appointed as the 50th Imam of the Ismailia sect.
King Rahim becomes the 50th Imam of the Shia Ismailia sect, he has been announced to inherit the position of his father Aga Khan of IV after the opening of his late father's will.
During the 1,400 years of their history, Ismailia believers have been led by the direct Imam of the generation of inheritance. The Muslims live in more than 35 countries and their population is estimated to between 12 to 15 million.
Leaders, presidents cry for him
Following the death of the noble Aga Khan, several leaders and presidents around the world, including President Samia Suluhu Hassan have issued a heartfelt greeting, explaining to him with a reputation.
Giving a warm greeting yesterday, President Samia wrote: “I have received with great sadness the news of the death of King Karim al-Husseini, Aga Khan IV, the spiritual leader of the Islamic sect of Ismailia in the world and the founder of the Aga Khan Development Network .
“On behalf of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, I offer a heartfelt greeting to the family of King Aga Khan, the Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismailia Muslim community.
“We join you to mourn the loss of a great and visionary leader, whose work has touched the lives of millions of people in the world,” wrote President Samia on his social networking pages.
In addition to President Samia, Kenyan President, Dr. William Ruto also sent a heartfelt greeting following the death via X:
“He is a great leader who went so far as to do what was thought to be impossible, he did it by helping the endangered community, with volunteer activities and aid through the construction of schools and hospitals.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of the noble Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Ismailia Muslims … we are with the family of the king and the Ismailia community in general,” he said.
For his part, the UN Secretary -General (UN), António Guterres expressed commemoration of the Honorable Aga Khan IV as a spiritual leader in the world and the promoter of peace, development and solidarity.
“For decades Aga Khan has been committed to improving the well -being of the world, especially those at risk of lacking humanitarian services by supporting access to education and cultural assistance,” said Guterres, through UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
“The leadership of the Aga Khan Institute went far beyond the Shia Ismailia sect. He was a bridge to educate us between culture and world development. His efforts to fight poverty, bring gender equality and stimulate sustainable development are among the symbols he has left us. ”
The Honorable Aga Khan was born in Geneva, Switzerland, December 13, 1936. He was declared healthy despite being born prematurely.
Honorable Aga Khan of IV in his lifetime
He was named Prince Karim al-Husseini, later known as Aga Khan IV and the 49th Imam of the Nizarian Islam.
Prince Karim al-Husseini received the Imam's position and the title of Aga Khan, at the age of 20, following the death of his grandfather, Aga Khan III. He inherited the position instead of his father, Prince Aly Khan and his uncle, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan.
He was handed over to the post on October 19, 1957 in Dar es Salaam in the area where his grandfather had been given gifts from his followers, the amount of gold and diamonds equal to his weight.
He was the founder and chairman of the 'Aga Khan Development Network' (AKDN), which is one of the world's largest development networks.
In addition to his religious activities, Aga Khan was a prominent British and Portuguese citizen, as well as the owner and breeder of the international race.
Since inheriting the role of the Imam of the Ismail, Aga Khan IV, as well as religious issues, has also been involved in various economic and social issues.
These events include the independence of African nations from the colonies, the expulsion of the Asian community from Uganda, the independence of Central Asia such as Tajikistan from the Soviet Union and others.
On Thursday, February 27, 2014, he earned himself the honor of being the first religious leader to address the joint session of the Canadian Parliament.
According to the book 'The Divine Kingship of the Aga Khan: A Study of Theocracy in East Africa', Aga Khan is described as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through his cousin and son -in -law, Ali, whom Nizi's natives recognize as Imam , with his wife Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad from his first marriage.
Aga Khan IV was the first child of Prince Aly Khan (1911–1960) and his first wife, Princess Taj-Ud-Dawlah Aga Khan, formerly known as Joan Yarde-Buller (1908–1997).
In 1949, her parents divorced each other. After the divorce, his father, Prince Aly Khan, married the famous American actor, Rita Hayworth, and found one daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan.
Prince Karim used a large part of his childhood in Nairobi, Kenya, where he studied. Later, he attended the 'Institut Le Rosey' college in Switzerland for nine years, which is the world's most expensive boarding school.
After graduation he had the opportunity to study at the Massachusetts Technology Institute (MIT) for science subjects, but his grandfather, Aga Khan III, rejected the proposal and instead Prince Karim joined Harvard University, where he was elected a member of 'The Delphic Club' and focused on Islamic history.
He completed his studies in Harvard in 1959, two years after becoming the Imam of the Muslim, with the first degree of art in history and was also part of the college's football team, 'Harvard Crimson'.
After replacing the Imam, Aga Khan IV announced his intention to continue his grandfather's work to build modern institutions, to improve the lives of others.
Takht celebrations to introduce the new Imam were held in various areas between 1957 and 1958.
During the same period, Aga Khan emphasized the importance of maintaining a good relationship between different communities – a meaningful message due to ethnic tensions in East Africa at the time, between blacks and South Asians.
In 1972, under the rule of Idi Amin of Uganda, people of Asian descent, including the Nizarian Islamists, were deported. Southern Asians, some of their families had been living in Uganda for over 100 years, were given 90 days to leave.
Aga Khan asked his longtime friend, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to help. The Trudeau government agreed to receive thousands of civilians.
Aga Khan also took immediate steps to coordinate a new settlement for Nizarian Islamists from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Burma to other countries.
Many of them found new settlements in Asia, Europe, and North America. Many of the preliminary challenges of moving were resolved quickly due to their high education and high reading and writing levels, as well as the efforts of Aga Khan and the countries they received, as well as the support of Nizarian community programs.
Aga Khan urged the Nizarian Islamists who lived in developing countries to contribute to community development in developing countries through various development projects.
Aga Khan and the media
In 1959, Aga Khan founded the Kenya Media Company, the Nation Media Group (NMG), which owns among other newspapers Daily Nation and Sunday Nation.
NMG was established as East African Newspapers (Nation Series) Ltd, under Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. In 1999, NMG launched NTV, Kenya's Information Center and Easy FM (now Nation FM).
By 2007, NMG was the largest private media organization in East and Central Africa, with offices in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania with newspapers such as The Eastafrican, Daily Nation, Business Daily Africa, Daily Monitor, The Citizen, Citizen and Nation Today.
By 2016, NMG owned 76.5 percent of the shares at Monitor Publications Limited and the 93.3 KFM radio station in Kampala, Uganda. It also owns two television stations in the country, NTV Uganda and Spark TV.
NMG also owns Citizen Communications Limited in Tanzania.
In March 2016, NMG launched a new modern printing machine on Mombasa Road, Nairobi. The new factory has the capacity to print 86,000 magazines per hour.
In the 1990s, Aga Khan had a group of luxury Italian hotels, known as Ciga. Through its highly profitable commercial institution, Akfed, Aga Khan was the main participant in the Serena hotel network.
Aga Khan Development Network
Aga Khan was the founder of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), which coordinates the activities of more than 200 organizations and institutions, with a total of 80,000 workers, most of them in developing countries.
AKDN receives funding from its supporters as well as development partners, including various governments and international organizations.
AKDN -related organizations operate in the fields of health, education, culture, rural development, institutional construction and economic development.
This network is focused on improving living conditions and opportunities for poor people, regardless of their religion, nature or gender.
AKDN includes Aga Khan University, University of Central Asia, Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Aga Khan Culture Fund, Aga Khan Foundation, Aga Khan Health Services, Aga Khan Education Services, Aga Khan Planning and Construction Services, and Aga Khan's Little Credit Agency. Aga Khan is also the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Ismailia Training Institute, which he created in 1977. In addition, he is the Vice President of the Royal Community.
There is also Focus Humanitarian Assistance, which is the AKDN branch, responsible for providing emergency assistance during disasters.
Among the most recent disasters that Focus was involved in providing support was the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan and South Asia tsunami.
The latest development projects related to Aga Khan include the Ismailia Imamat delegation and the International Ottawa Cultural Sustainability Center, Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Al-Azhar Park in Cairo, Rehabilitation of Bagh-e Babur in Kabul and a network of boarding schools that use the international curriculum, known as Aga Khan Academies.
