Golden Jubilee : Visits : united kingdom visit

United Kingdom visit



Mawlana Hazar Imam visits the United Kingdom and speaks of renewed partnerships


The ExCeL Centre in London’s Docklands area served as the UK celebration centre where hardworking volunteers busied themselves with a myriad of preparations including signage and exhibitions, food trays, staffing registration desks and helping orient international visitors. The vast bare halls were quickly transformed with gold banners, flowers arrangements and decorations in an atmosphere of anticipation and excitement.
Joyous memories of the last Padhramni in the UK in 1994 were fondly recalled. Mawlana Hazar Imam was about to commence a historic visit on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee. The Jubilee commemorates 50 years of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Imamat, and the seven-day visit was to take place from the 2 - 8 July 2008.
On his arrival in London, Mawlana Hazar Imam was received in the Royal Suite at Heathrow Airport by senior leaders of the British government as well as Institutional leaders and Jamati Mukhi-Kamadias. On Thursday, the first full day of his visit, Hazar Imam met with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Rt Hon David Miliband MP at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. The Rt Hon Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Justice and the Lord Chancellor, hosted an official luncheon on behalf of the government in honour of Mawlana Hazar Imam. Afterwards, Mawlana Hazar Imam called upon British Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.
That evening, Mawlana Hazar Imam hosted a reception for diplomatic and civil society leaders which included high profile individuals from commerce and the arts, as well as former British Prime Minister, Baroness Margaret Thatcher. The reception was followed by an Imamat dinner where leaders from industry mingled with senior government officials and members of the academia.
During the dinner, Mawlana Hazar Imam, who was accompanied by Prince Amyn, Prince Rahim, Prince Hussain and Princess Khaliya, acknowledged the various partners in the UK and Europe that have worked with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), noting in particular the deep-rooted relationship between the Ismaili Imamat and the United Kingdom.
“Over a century ago,” recalled Hazar Imam, “my grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, worked closely with Her Majesty Queen Victoria and her governments in the pursuit of common ideals. These ties were further strengthened by the strong presence of the Ismaili community.”
“It is striking to me that in 1957, there were only about 100 Ismaili residents in this country, and most of them were students. Today, there are fourteen thousand Ismailis permanently living here and of all ages and walks of life.” Mawlana Hazar Imam continued to speak of the Jamat’s development in the UK. Crediting Britain as an “an enabling environment,” Hazar Imam told the audience that the Jamat “is now making a meaningful contributions to the economy and civil society, whilst also providing a resource to support initiatives in other parts of the world.” Mawlana Hazar Imam referred to this story as a case study in the settlement of an immigrant community.
Mawlana Hazar Imam highlighted the importance of the first Ismaili Centre reflecting that it “serves not only as a gathering place for Ismailis, but as an active participant in local society, sponsoring a variety of cultural initiatives - exhibitions, lectures and other public events. These efforts reflect our pride in our heritage and our eagerness to share it with others.”
Mawlana Hazar Imam spoke of the work that AKDN has accomplished and concluded with his hope that this history of partnership with institutions across the UK would extend into “an even more productive future.”
The Rt. Hon John Denham MP, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, responded by acknowledging the work done by Mawlana Hazar Imam and the partnership of the government with the AKDN over many decades.
“As you said your Highness, the friendship between the United Kingdom and your family goes back to Queen Victoria and your own Grandfather. There have over that time been many shared goals. His Highness’ family has a tradition of support for higher learning that goes back a thousand years to the time of the Fatimid Empire in Egypt. This country shares His Highness’ view of education as the key ingredient for the developments of civil society. Education erodes segregation between faiths and cultures, is the source of the shared values that we need to develop and it is a chance to explore personal convictions,” he said.
On Friday morning, Mawlana Hazar Imam met with faculty and staff of The Institute of Ismaili Studies and the Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, at the Ismaili Centre.
At the gathering, the IIS took the opportunity to present Hazar Imam with a copy of their latest publication, titled The Ismailis: An Illustrated History. Later that day, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, visited the Ismaili Centre to meet with Mawlana Hazar Imam.
A full programme of celebrations spanned the days leading up to the Darbar day. Children were engaged in storytelling activities, making tasbihs, face painting and proudly joining ITREBs Children’s Assembly. Seniors were invited to a celebratory lunch, while families could immortalise the event at the souvenir photo booths or adorn themselves with mehndi. Singers, musicians, dancers and actors entertained and inspired with a specially created production entitled Taarif. As always, the exuberance of the Jamat was displayed in the dandia-raas and garba programme. There were opportunities for devotional expression through readings of Farsi poetry and recitations of qawwalis, geets, qasidas and ginans. The occasion was also an opportunity for the the IIS to launch the much-awaited publication The Ismailis: An Illustrated History and exhibit ‘Treasures of Knowledge’, a collection of precious manuscripts and artefacts. All this and more added to a culmination of over a year’s celebration by the Jamat.
On Saturday, thousands of members of the Jamat gathered at ExCeL for the highly anticipated Golden Jubilee Darbar. During the ceremonies, President Zauhar Meghji of the Ismaili Council for the United Kingdom delivered a homage address. Following the Darbar, Mawlana Hazar Imam spent time meeting with non-Ismaili family members before departing the venue.
On Sunday, Mawlana Hazar Imam was the guest of honour at a dinner hosted by the Jamati Institutions of the United Kingdom. The dinner, which was also attended by Prince Hussain and Princess Khaliya, was held at the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace in London.
During the evening, guests enjoyed a musical performance by the Ismaili Ensemble. The piece, which was specially commissioned for the occasion, was presented to Mawlana Hazar Imam as a gift and appropriately titled Armaghan — a Persian word meaning “gift.”
On Monday, Mawlana Hazar Imam resumed his meetings with government leaders; in the morning he visited with the Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, Secretary of State for International Development at the Department for International Development; in the afternoon, the Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Leader of the Opposition called on Hazar Imam at the Ismaili Centre.
In the evening Her Majesty the Queen hosted a black-tie dinner in honour of Mawlana Hazar Imam at Buckingham Palace. The Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke of York from the Royal Family, and Prince Amyn, Princess Yasmin, Princess Zahra, Prince Rahim, Prince Hussain and Princess Khaliya from the Imam’s family as well as seniors leaders of the Jamat and the AKDN were present at the dinner. The occasion marked the continuity of a long relationship between the Royal Family and the Ismaili Imamat.
On Tuesday, leaders of the United Kingdom Jamat gathered at one of London’s heliports in an emotional farewell to Mawlana Hazar Imam as the joyous seven-day visit came to a close.
This historic Golden Jubilee visit will always be remembered as a most happy and joyous visit by the Jamats of the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and murids from all over the world.