Contents of the ‘Kazakhstan’ category in chronological order.
In Islam, imams whether they are Shia or Sunni, they have a duty to serve people. That is the nature of imamat and, therefore, in countries where the Ismaili Imamat can bring support and help, it is our duty to do so and we’re very happy to do so in Central Asia, like we are doing so in the Indian sub-continent, we’re doing so in East Africa, in West Africa. So it’s part of the mandate of any Imam. But it’s a big mistake to think that you can do development only for Muslim communities. Many countries have mixed communities and therefore you have to do development for all the people within a given area whether they are Muslim or Christian or Jewish or Hindu or Sikh. You have what I would call a civil responsibility. [Emphasis original]
There is a growing appreciation of the link between the intellectual resources of major universities and the overall development of cities and nations. The three campuses of the University of Central Asia will be catalysts for the development of the region.
Speaking to the media after his meeting with the President [of Kazakhstan], the Aga Khan explained that the University of Central Asia was a regional institution “intended to give students and faculty real capacity to think on a regional basis.” Underlining the secular nature of the University, the Aga Khan said that “it will teach civilisation — in the widest context. It will not teach religion as theology.”
“We started with the programme of extended education — this programme is for those people, for specialists who already work, and posses a profession,” (Khabar News, Kazakhstan, 1 May 2003)
Kazakhstan has the potential to guarantee stability across the Central Asian region. By carefully positioning and investing its human and material resources, the country can help assure both social harmony and economic prosperity in one of the world’s most vulnerable regions…. I firmly believe that peace will be possible only when the pluralistic nature of human society is recognised, seen as a source of strength rather than weakness, and used as a basis for the formulation of policies and structures at all levels of governance.
Read more »Mountain populations experience extremes of poverty and isolation as well as constraints on opportunities and choice, but at the same time, they sustain great linguistic, cultural, ethnic and religious pluralism, and show remarkable resilience in the face of extraordinarily harsh circumstances. By creating intellectual space and resources this university will help turn the mountains that divide the nations and territories of Central Asia into the links that unite its peoples and economies in a shared endeavour to improve their future well-being.