Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailism, a denomination of Isma'ilism within Shia Islam with an estimated 10–15 million adherents. The Aga Khan is a business magnate with British and Portuguese citizenship, as well as a racehorse owner and breeder. He has held this position of Imam, under the title of Aga Khan IV, since 11 July 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III. It is believed that the Aga Khan is a direct lineal descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, considered the first Imam in Shia Islam, and Ali's wife Fatima az-Zahra, Muhammad's daughter from his first marriage.
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community development and improvement, restoration, reuse and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment.
The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a network of private, non-denominational development agencies founded by the Aga Khan, which work primarily in the poorest parts of Asia and Africa. Aga Khan IV succeeded to the office of the 49th hereditary Imam as spiritual and administrative leader of the Shia faith rooted Nizari Ismaili Muslim supranational union in 1957. Ismailis consist of an estimated 25-30 million adherents. The network focuses on health, education, culture, rural development, institution building and the promotion of economic development. The AKDN aims to improve living conditions and opportunities for the poor, without regard to their faith, origin or gender. Its annual budget for not-for-profit activities is approximately US $ 600 million – mainly in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The AKDN works in 30 countries around the world, and it employs over 80,000 paid staff, mostly in developing countries. While the agencies are secular, they are guided by Islamic ethics, which bridge faith and society.
The Panj River, also known as Pyandzh River or Pyanj River, is a tributary of the Amu Darya. The river is 1,125 km long and forms a considerable part of the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border.
The Aga Khan University is a pioneering institution of higher education that works to improve quality of life in the developing world and beyond. Guided by the principles of impact, quality, relevance and access, the University has programmes in campuses in Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom and Afghanistan.
Archnet is a collaborative digital humanities project focused on Islamic architecture and the built environment of Muslim societies more generally. Conceptualized in 1998 and originally developed at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning in co-operation with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, it has been maintained by the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture since 2011.
The Aga Khan School, Dhaka, is an English Medium School, in Uttara, Dhaka under the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and the Aga Khan Education Service, Bangladesh (AKES,B). It is one of the earliest private English Medium schools in Bangladesh founded in 1988, in a small campus in Siddeshwari, Dhaka.
The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Nairobi is part of the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS). Established in 1958, the hospital is a 254-bed long-term care facility offering general medical services, specialist clinics and diagnostic services.
The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa is part of a network of schools, called Aga Khan Academies.
The Aga Khan Academy, Nairobi is a private, co-educational school situated in the Parklands neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya.
The Aga Khan Academies is an initiative of the Aga Khan Development Network. When fully operational, the Aga Khan Academies network will consist of eighteen co-educational, K-12, non-denominational day and residential schools in fourteen countries in Africa, South and Central Asia, and the Middle East. The academic program is based on the internationally recognized International Baccalaureate curriculum.
The Aga Khan Junior Academy, Nairobi, is situated in the suburb of Parklands neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya.
The Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) that supports activities in the health field, and manages more than 200 health facilities, including a network of Aga Khan Hospitals.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a family of institutions created by Aga Khan IV with distinct but complementary mandates to improve the welfare and prospects of people in the developing world, particularly in Asia and Africa. It focuses on the revitalization of communities in the Muslim world—physical, social, cultural, and economic. The AKTC was founded in 1988 and is registered in Geneva, Switzerland, as a private non-denominational philanthropic foundation.
The Aga Khan Museum is a museum of Islamic art, Iranian (Persian) art and Muslim culture located at 77 Wynford Drive in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The first museum in the western world dedicated to Islamic art and objects, it houses more than 1,000 rare objects including artifacts from the private collections of His Highness the Aga Khan, the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, and Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan. As an initiative of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, the museum is dedicated to presenting an overview of the artistic, intellectual, and scientific contributions that Muslim civilizations have made to world heritage. The Museum’s mission is to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the contribution that Muslim civilizations have made to world heritage. Through education, research, and collaboration, the Museum will foster dialogue and promote tolerance and mutual understanding among people. In addition to the Permanent Collection, the Aga Khan Museum features several temporary exhibitions each year that respond to current scholarship, emerging themes, and new artistic developments. The Museum Collection and exhibitions are complemented by educational programs and performing arts events.
The Tajikistan–Afghanistan Friendship Bridge connects the two banks of Darvaz region across the Panj River separating Tajikistan and Afghanistan, at the town of Qal'ai Khumb. It was opened on 6 July 2004.
Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development SA is a Swiss for-profit entity and international development finance institution which invests in countries of East Africa, West Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Tajik–Afghan bridge at Tem-Demogan was opened on 3 November 2002. It spans the Panj River. It was the first of four bridges planned to be built with the assistance of the Aga Khan Foundation.
Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad is an international school in Hyderabad, India. It is located near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and also Pahadi Shareef.
