BURST
The Aga Khan V, imam to the world’s 20-million strong jamaat, or Ismaili community, will make his first official visit to Vancouver this weekend.
“For the community, this is a visit of deep spiritual significance,” said Taleeb Noormohamed, MP for Vancouver Granville. “It’s the first time that many members of the community will be meeting the new imam.”
Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini (Aga Khan V) became the 50th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims following the death of his father, Aga Khan Karim Al-Hussaini, a global philanthropist and spiritual leader who died on Feb. 4, 2025, age 88.
Ismaili community member and volunteer Zahra Premji said those in the Ismaili community have been celebrating, collaborating and working together in anticipation since the announcement last month that their spiritual father would be coming to Vancouver.
“It’s like welcoming your father to your home,” said Premji. “My great-grandmother said, ‘You wait. When you see him, you will feel that instant connection.’
“We feel that connection already, but we will be getting that face-to-face interaction with no cellphone, no laptop, just an opportunity to be together and connect in a peaceful setting. I don’t even know how to explain it. This is reaffirming our connection to our community.”
During his visit, the Aga Khan will meet with government officials to commemorate several community infrastructure projects across B.C., including investments in affordable housing, health and wellness, education, recreation, and community spaces. On July 26, the Aga Khan will attend a Didar, a gathering to meet his followers, at the Vancouver Convention Centre West .
Noormohamed said that while the Aga Khan is here, an agreement with the government of Canada will be signed related to housing, and there will be work with the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, for which details will be announced at a later date.
Noormohamed said the Ismaili community around the world is connected by a shared value and ethics system, and the imam’s role is to provide guidance on matters of faith so they can continue to live by their ethics in a changing world.
According to the Ismaili Council of Canada, the Aga Khan is particularly committed to the Aga Khan Development Network’s work to protect the environment and mitigate the effects of climate change. He also serves as chairman of its Environment and Climate Committee.
The imam’s commitment to environmental causes is dear to Premji’s heart. “We live in this beautiful province filled with forests and greenery. It’s beautiful to see an imam that is so in touch with what is happening right now. We are really lucky that we have guidance and support in that.”
Noormohamed called the visit an opportunity for “an ongoing affirmation of the role that Canada can play in the world, and the role the community can play in helping Canada achieve its goals.”
“The Ismaili community is a powerhouse” when it comes to volunteering, charity work, philanthropy, as well as leadership in business, science and medicine, said Noormohamed. “The guidance from our previous imam was to make Canada our home, and to be active, involved citizens of this country and this community. We’ve taken that to heart.”
The ethos of the Ismaili community is about giving back, whether it is through the gift of time, wealth, or knowledge. “When you achieve success, you don’t measure it by what you have achieved, but by what you have helped others achieve,” said Noormohamed. “These are the things that drive our community.”
The Aga Khan Development Network is an international philanthropic foundation with nearly 100,000 employees worldwide that funds development programs, largely in Asia and Africa.
There are approximately 20,000 Ismaili community members in B.C., and about 16,000 live in the Lower Mainland.
According to writer and publisher Ali Lakhani, the author of Faith and Ethics: The Vision of the Ismaili Imamat, Shia Ismaili Muslims are unique as centuries-long followers of a living, hereditary imam, whom they believe to be directly descended from the Prophet Muhammad. The community embraces pluralism, is ethnically diverse, and actively committed to establishing schools, learning and religious centres, hospitals and housing in the countries in which they settle.
The first wave of Ismaili immigrants to Canada came in 1972, after Idi Amin expelled tens of thousands of immigrants of Asian origin from Uganda. Ismaili community members established social, cultural and religious centres across Canada, including the Ismaili Centre in Vancouver, which was opened by primminister Brian Mulroney in 1985.