Farewell to the Aga Khan

                                                 Aga Khan Museum and Centre, Toronto

 The Aga Khan has died at the age of 88 and that may not matter to you all that much. For a lot of Canadians the name is only familiar because he was a friend of the Trudeau family and PM Justin got in hot Caribbean water for accepting a vacation at the very wealthy Aga Khan's estate in the Bahamas.

I figure we should recognize the Aga Khan for much more than Bahama-gate. He was the imam of the world-wide Ismaili Muslim movement for 68 years and continued his family's commitment to improving life and security for the followers of this branch of Shia Islam and building up institutions to foster education and progress.

                                                  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Aga Khan

One of this Aga Khan's significant accomplishments was establishing a museum for Muslim art and sacred texts. His original plan was to build it in London, Great Britain, but eventually chose Toronto because of the city's diversity and it opened in 2014. 

There is so much stereotyping of Islam as being anti-intellectual and anti-science and these buildings challenge these misconceptions.  We have been to the Aga Khan Museum several times, as well as the adjacent Ismaili Centre with its magnificant prayer hall. I would say that our favorite exhibition was The Moon in 2019 but each visit has been worthwhile. 

I am wary about any billionaires and how they accumulate wealth. Still, I do admire this accomplishment and others. I'm sure there is a great sense of loss for the Ismaili community and we can pray that his son, his successor, will uphold the positive values his father upheld.