My father, the late Aga Khan, was born 100 years ago on 2nd November. Though he died in 1957 at the turn of what Winston Churchill aptly termed “this tormented half century”, few today can separate reality from myth when looking back on his long and active life. To many in the West, he remains the religious leader who was weighed against precious stones, the race horse owner who won five Derbies or the man whose eldest son, Aly Khan, once married Rita Hayworth.
For those who are more familiar with the East, he was the most gifted hereditary religious leader or forty eighth Imam of some 12 million Ismaili Shia Muslims who are to be found from the Great Wall of China to the southern tip of Africa, a direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad and a true believer in the percepts of Islam.
Students of history or the older generations may recall The Aga Khan as a statesman, who was received by Queen Victoria in 1898, became the youngest member of Lord Curzon’s Indian Legislative Council in 1902, presided the Muslim League from 1906 until 1912 and led the Muslim deputation to the Round Table Conference in 1930 which paved the way for the independence of the sub-continent.
Click here to read more: http://www.amaana.org/agakhan/sadruddinCent.htm
Ismailimail 