Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims and philanthropist, dies at 88

The Aga Khan who became the spiritual leader of the worlds millions of Ismaili Muslims at age 20 as a Harvard undergraduate and poured a material empire built on billions of dollars in tithes into building homes hospitals and schools in developing countries died Tuesday He was 88His Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili religious community announced that His Highness Prince Karim AlHussaini the Aga Khan IV and 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims died in Portugal surrounded by his familyHis successor was designated in his will which will be read in the presence of his family and religious leaders in Lisbon before the name is made public The successor is chosen from among his male progeny or other relatives according to the Ismaili communitys websiteIt said his burial and willreading will be held in the coming days followed by an homage ceremonyConsidered by his followers to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and treated as a head of state he was a student when his grandfather named him as successor to lead the diaspora of Shia Ismaili Muslims passing over his playboy father and saying his followers should be led by a young man who has been brought up in the midst of the new ageOver decades the Aga Khan evolved into a business magnate and a philanthropist moving between the spiritual and the worldly with easeCeremonies were being held Tuesday in Ismaili communities in the US and others were held elsewhere in the world WednesdayUN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres called him a symbol of peace tolerance and compassion in our troubled world Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called him a very good friend and an extraordinarily compassionate global leaderCondolences poured in online from charity groups he supported as well as the equestrian world where he was a wellknown figureThe Aga Khan was given the title of His Highness by Queen Elizabeth in July 1957 two weeks after his grandfather the Aga Khan III unexpectedly made him heir to the familys 1300year dynasty as leader of the Ismaili Muslim sectHe became the Aga Khan IV on Oct 19 1957 in Dar es Salaam Tanzania on the spot where his grandfather once had his weight equaled in diamonds in gifts from his followersHe had left Harvard to be at his ailing grandfathers side and returned to school 18 months later with an entourage and a deep sense of responsibilityI was an undergraduate who knew what his work for the rest of his life was going to be he said in a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair magazine I dont think anyone in my situation would have been preparedA defender of Islamic culture and values he was widely regarded as a builder of bridges between Muslim societies and the West despite or perhaps because of his reticence to become involved in politicsThe Aga Khan Development Network his main philanthropic organization deals mainly with issues of health care housing education and rural economic development It says it works in over 30 countries and has an annual budget of about 1 billion for nonprofit development activitiesA network of hospitals bearing his name are scattered in places where health care had lacked for the poorest including Bangladesh Tajikistan and Afghanistan where he spent tens of millions of dollars for development of local economiesThe extent of the Aga Khans financial empire is hard to measure Some reports estimated his personal wealth to be in the billionsThe Ismailis a sect originally centred in India but which expanded to large communities in east Africa Central and South Asia and the Middle East consider it a duty to tithe up to 125 per cent of their income to him as stewardWe have no notion of the accumulation of wealth being evil he told Vanity Fair in 2012 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 societyThe Ismaili communitys website said he was born on Dec 13 1936 in CreuxdeGenthod near Geneva Switzerland the son of Joan YardeBuller and Aly Khan and spent part of his childhood in Nairobi Kenya where a hospital now bears his nameHe became wellknown as a horse breeder and owner and he represented Iran in the 1964 Winter Olympics as a skier His eye for building and design led him to establish an architecture prize and programs for Islamic Architecture at MIT and Harvard He restored ancient Islamic structures throughout the worldThe Aga Khan lived at length in France and had been based in Portugal for the past several years His development network and foundation are based in SwitzerlandHe is survived by three sons and a daughter and several grandchildrenThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever