Mawlana Hazar Imam’s fourth Takht Nashi ceremony was held in Karachi, Pakistan

Mawlana Hazar Imam’s fourth Takht Nashini ceremony was held in Karachi, Pakistan, on 22 January 1958.

Mawlana Hazar Imam with his mother, Princess Joan Aly Khan, welcoming his father, Prince Aly Khan, on his arrival at Karachi airport. The family was gathered for the Takht Nashini. Photo: Depth of Field Ed. by Gary Otte

Mawlana Hazar Imam with his father Prince Aly Khan at Takht Nashini in Karachi. Image: 25 Years in Pictures, Islamic Publications Ltd., London, 1983

“Today, I am speaking to you in a  city and in a country which have a particular meaning for my family. On November 2, 1877, my beloved grandfather was born here in Karachi, Through 72 years of Imamat, he guided his spiritual children to happiness and prosperity….

The progress which this country has made since my visit in 1954 is astonishing… To my own community I would say: We may be relatively small in numbers, but our influence is great. It is your duty to use that influence, not simply for the advancement of yourselves as individuals nor even for the whole of the Ismailis, you must use it for the benefit of Pakistan….

I have spoken of the tremendous political advances made by nations of Asia. It should not be forgotten, however, that in Europe, America, and Russia there has been a simultaneous revolution in technology and industrial power. The huge atomic power stations, the sputniks, and the vast throbbing machines of modern industrial life are symbols of a fresh chapter in material progress.

The end of the chapter is unforeseen and, in this sense, the gulf between ourselves and the older countries is still very wide, It is a forbidding void, but though it may and should make us hesitate, let it not make us turn away.

Of one thing I am quite certain: through a strong educational system sustained by Islam, our future prospects are happy ones. I do not believe that we should fear material progress, nor should we condemn it. The danger is that it could become an obsession in our lives and that it could dominate our way of thinking. There is no reason why our traditions and our faith should stop us from moving with our times, nor in fact why we should not lead our fellowmen to new spheres of knowledge and learning.

We can have confidence in our future – a confidence given to us by the certainty that our traditions and our religion will always inspire the creations of our hands and minds.”
Extracts of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s address
Source: Ilm, July-Nov 1982 p4

Mawlana Hazar Imam visiting Aga Khan School in Kharadhar district, Karachi, January 1958. [The school] was established by his grandfather Aga Khan III in 1926. Photo: Depth of Field Edited by Gary Otte

Also see:
(Click on links to access and download the publications)
Footprints-Golden-Jubilee  –  Highlights of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s vast work during the 50 years of his Imamat – 1957-2007

Memories-Golden-Jubilee – Events commemorating the extended Golden Jubilee year – from July 11, 2007 to December 13, 2008

Footprints-II-Diamond-Jubilee – Work of Mawlana Hazar Imam and AKDN following the Golden Jubilee commemoration – from January 1, 2009 to July 10, 2017

Memories-Diamond-Jubilee – Commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Imamat – July 11, 2017 to July 11, 2018

Footprints III – Post Diamond Jubilee – July 11, 2017 to July 11, 2022

footprints-iii-post-djDownload

Hazar-Imams-Jubilee-Projects – Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilee Projects of Ag Khan IV

Countdown to Diamond Jubilee

countdown-to-diamond-jubilee-1Download