Friday, October 23, 2015

Peter Mansbridge Interviews The Aga Khan



Words of wisdom. I can also see a realistic appraisal of the roots to present day tumultous situation in a book titled "After the Prophet" by Lesley Hazelton published 2009 - A book towards reducing the "Clash of Ignorance".

AKU Commencement December 2013: Islamic Quest for Intellectual ExcellenceIN HONOR OF MAWLANA HAZAR IMAM'S UPCOMING SPEECH AT HARVARD (http://wcfia.harvard.edu/event/jodidi-2015)  let us view this short clip of Mawlana Hazar Imam's address at Aga Khan University Commencement in December 2013 in which he talks about the Islamic Quest for Intellectual Excellence!"On a day like this, we can also take renewed strength from our past, and from a great legacy of Islamic accomplishment in pursuing educational excellence. That legacy has long (and it has) been an inspiration to me, even from the time when I succeeded my (late) grandfather as Imam in 1957, when I was a university student at Harvard. That’s some time ago!My grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan, was deeply aware of Islam’s rich intellectual heritage. Of equal significance, he was also convinced of the enormous importance of higher education for the future of the Ummah around the world. He had engaged personally in developing educational opportunities for Muslims in pre-partition India and was largely responsible for creating Aligarh University. He saw that effort as fulfilling a tradition going back one thousand years, to the role of his predecessors, the Fatimids, in founding the Azhar university and the Dar ul-Ilm in Cairo, known through the ages as the 'House of Knowledge.'He knew as well about other great Muslim institutions of scholarship and culture which flourished over many centuries, serving the whole of the Ummah and much of the known world, engaging the most advanced thinking from many cultures, ethnic groups and faith communities.It was true of the Fatimids 1,000 years ago and of the Abbasids in Baghdad even earlier. It was true of the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 16th century as well as the Ottoman Sultans, including Mehmed the Conqueror and Sulayman the Magnificent. And there were many others; the Safavid ruler Shah Abbasin Sifahan in Iran, and the great Timurid Sultan, Ulugh Beg, who built the world’s greatest observatory in Samarkand. You have just heard about some of the great intellects who flourished under these auspices.Whenever and wherever it may have been, in the Middle East, or South or Central Asia, or Northern Africa, the most brilliant periods in Islamic history were marked by an expansive quest for intellectual excellence. It was this tradition that I inherited from my grandfather — and it was not a static tradition, but one that was built around the power of new knowledge and the great adventure of learning how to go on learning."- Mawlana Hazar Imam2013 Aga Khan University Convocation Ceremony (Karachi, Pakistan)19 December 2013http://www.nanowisdoms.org/nwblog/10686/
Posted by Ismaili Gnosis on Friday, October 16, 2015


Saturday, October 3, 2015

Steps Towards an Egalitarian/Knowledge Society - Eye WitnessObservations

Pre-Election 2015
Debate between all candidates – “Why should we vote for you?”
Obtain a commitment from candidates to continue efforts to work towards a ROAD-MAP claimed, even if they fail to win.
Funded by AKRSP,
Facilitated by KADO through a joint invitation from HDF, Sujo Hunzo, and Pamir Times and held in Ali abad Hunza.
The proceedings shared with populations through cable TV.
Post Election Events:
Brain storming Session:
Venue: Karimabad Hunza
Participants: Concerned Intellectuals (including PHDs and other highly educated Hunzukutz). LSO Governance.
Purpose:
Debate possible formation of a “THINK TANK”.
Workout an outline ROAD-MAP for multi-stake efforts.
Motivate eight LSOs in Hunza to move towards NETWORKING – a pre-requisite towards availing potential of CPEC.
Funding: AKRSP (see TARGET number two)
Facilitated by KADO and HDF.
Proceedings shared on Facebook by Ikram Najmi of Sujo Hunzo.
LSO convention:
Theme:  “Public Private Partnership”
Venue:  Karimabad Hunza.
Participants: DC and AC Hunza and Line Departments, Chairpersons of 76 LSOs in GB and Chitral, RC Hunza, AKRSP Manager/Staff of AKRSP, Brigadier Hisamullah Beg SI(M) (for a special advocacy for two topics viz. “Better Future – Reorientation,- Self Help is the Best Help” and consensus on a name by all LSOs in GB/Chitral to represent them in PCECC and steps towards NETWORKING of LSOs as an essential step towards availing possible impact of CPEC on the region).
Purpose:
Advocacy with Government for initiating Legislative process in GB on the lines of what has been accomplished in KPK (as shared by Chairman LSO of NETWORKS in upper Chitral).
Sharing with government officials the long term development plans evolved by various LSOs.
Need for integrating “Public Private Partnership” in Government ADP in GB.
Funding and Facilitation of Event:  AKRSP
Venue: Karimabad Hunza


UPDATE DEC 2020


Political Action towards an Egalitarian Society


My proposal to all candidates contesting for a seat in legislative assembly in GB:


I hope you concentrate on legislation to result in establishment of DISTRICT and VILLAGE governments in GB as a replication of what PTI has done in KPK - Necessary step in establishing an EGALITARIAN SOCIETY in our region.


FILE A PETITION


Petition Submitted Successfully. Your Tracking ID is 20201202C538

What is an Egalitarian Society: An egalitarian society is one where every person is entitled to equal rights, receive equal treatment and opportunities. These societies comprise of groups of people who agree to live together in these societies as egalitarianism as one of their core values.


Egalitarianism is the position that equality is central to justice. Egalitarians think, firstly, that unfair life prospects should be equalized. Secondly, that equality is the most or one of the most important irreducible intrinsic or constitutive worth(s) of justice. Thirdly, that welfare should be increased.


Outline of an Egalitarian Society:

Extracts: "An active Civil Society can open the door for an enormous variety of energies and talents from a broad spectrum of organisations and individuals. It means opening the way for diversity. It means welcoming plurality. ......three critical underpinnings of a quality Civil Society — a commitment to pluralism, to meritocracy, and to a cosmopolitan ethic.

This means that initiatives cannot be contemplated exclusively in terms of economics, but rather as an integrated programme that encompasses social and cultural dimensions as well. Education and skills training, health and public services, conservation of cultural heritage, infrastructure development, urban planning and rehabilitation, rural development, water and energy management, environmental control, and even policy and legislative development are among the various aspects that must be taken into account.”

“An important facet of modern development thinking is that societies can best strengthen themselves by mobilizing their own dynamic forces rather than relying on external support and direction.”



Sources:


1. Book Titled Where Hope Takes Root


2. Civil Society Learning Material


3. Set of TALIMAT Publications.


4. Webcast dated 11th July 2017.

5. AKRSP: https://www.akdn.org/pakistan/akrsp

6. An extract from TALIMAT: 



TOWARDS KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY
A knowledge society refers to a society in which the creation, dissemination, and use of knowledge play a central role in economic, political, and cultural life. It is characterized by an increased reliance on information and communication technologies and the ability of individuals to access, process, and use the information to improve their lives. The knowledge society values education, innovation, and the exchange of ideas, and seeks to create conditions that support the development and application of new knowledge to solve problems and meet human needs.