THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2002

are cultural pluralists who deplore religious intolerance. For the Aga ISMAILIS also have a tradition of phi- lanthropy. The presides over one Khan, Building of the world’s richest charitable organiza- tions, the Aga Khan Development Network, which says its assets are approximately Are Bridges $1.87 billion. The network joins all the Aga Khan’s charitable ventures, including initia- tives for economic and social development, universities in Pakistan and Tajikistan and a cultural trust. By Dana Micucci The Aga Khan, a Harvard graduate who as a young man considered becom- he instability that we see around the ing an architect, has long been a champion “ world, from Afghanistan to Central of modern and traditional architecture and T Europe, is a consequence of the re- of historic preservation. He is the patron jection of cultural pluralism,” said the Aga of the \yOr1d’srichest architectural prize, a Khan, a man who knows a great deal about $500,000 award given triennially to groups cultural pluralism. Garry Otte/The Aga Khan Development Network of architects whose projects contribute to so- He blames that rejection on the enormous WALKING THE WALK The Aga Khan, gesturing, on a tour of Stone Town, a historical site in Zan- cial, economic and cultural development in gulf of knowledge between the Islamic and zibar being renovated by this foundation. the Muslim world. His new venture, Arch- the non-Islamic world, a situation that, he Net, is part of the Aga Khan Program for said, leaves him deeply saddened. Middle East, the United States threatening the Aga Khan said that the grandfather’s Islamic Architecture, which he founded in It is late September, and the Aga Khan is war with Iraq and Muslim charities facing will stipulated that a younger imam would 1977 at Harvard and at M.I.T. speaking to an interviewer in a Boston hotel increasing scrutiny as potential underwrit- be more effective in dealing with a rapidly To the Aga Khan, cultural and economic suite, where he has come to introduce the lat- ers of terrorism, the Aga Khan finds himself changing world.) development are part of the same continuum. est brainchild of one of his favorite causes. straddling a cultural divide in which his vari- For this sect of , the roles of globe- “Philanthropic initiatives cannot be contem- Called ArchNet, a collaboration among the ous roles as billionaire philanthropist, spiri- trotter and imam are not necessarily mutu- plated exclusively in terms of economics,” Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Harvard Uni- tual leader of 15 million Ismaili and ally exclusive. Ismaili Muslims are a small he said, “but rather as an integrated program versity and the Massachusetts Institute of globe-trotting businessman give him a per- minority within the faith, scattered among that encompasses social and cultural dimen- Technology, it is billed as the world’s larg- spective that is unusual, to say the least. many nations but concentrated mainly in sions as well” est online resource for the study of Islamic The hereditary title Aga Khan means India, Pakistan, Central Asia and parts of As an example, he cites his work in architecture, urban planning and landscape great king. It was used as a term of respect North America. Their” roots go back a mil- Afghanistan. This year, the Aga Khan Devel- design. in countries like Persia, India and Pakistan, lennium, when there was a split among Shi- opment Network made a $75 million dona- But right now he is addressing the height- where some of the Aga Khan’s ancestors ite Muslims. Most Shiites believe that the tion to reconstruction and long-term efforts ened perceptions of a post-9/11 world. The originated. Yet, by all appearances, he is line of imams, the Muslim religious leaders in Afghanistan, including programs for dis- entire Islamic faith, which he describes as a king without a country. That is both the descended from the prophet , tributing food, resettling refugees, providing being as “diverse in its beliefs and practices advantage—and the difficulty—of the Aga ended in the ninth century. Ismailis believe social services and restoring historic build- as ,” is, he said, often wrongly Khan’s role. that the line has continued to the present with ings. identified with a single destructive element. The man who now carries the title was the current Aga Khan, whom they consider “In Afghanistan, he’s using his resources “No one would look upon” the Irish Re- born Prince Karim in 1936 in Geneva, the to be the 49th imam. to benefit both the Ismailis and the larger com- publican Army “as representative of Chris- son of Prince Aly Khan and his aristocratic Generally progressive and open minded, munity,” said Vartan Gregorian, the president tianity,” he said. “The attempt by communal English wife, the former Joan Yarde-Buller. Ismailis have made contributions to Islamic of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, of groups, be they ethnic, religious or tribal, to He would probably have remained Prince thought and culture that are disproportionate his friend the Aga Khan. “The Shia Ismaili impose themselves on others aims to eradi- Karim into adulthood had his grandfather to their numbers. For Ismailis, material suc- Muslims are an enlightened, inclusive group cate the cultural basis of group identity, and not conferred the title on him at age 20, by- cess is no impediment to spiritual progress, who believe in education and progress, self without cultural identity social cohesion passing his father, who was known as a play- and they see no contradiction in their spiri- help, and equality between men and women. gradually dissolves.” boy and was once married to the American tual leader being renowned for his stable of He’s an example of a modern Islamic leader With tensions at a boiling point in the actress . (A spokesman for racehorses. Most Ismailis, like their leader, who’s building bridges between cultures, dispelling the notion of Islam as a monolithic less than half that price. The year before, he faith and rightly presenting it as a mosaic of was also unsuccessful many different voices.” in his efforts to buy a site owned by the Royal If the Aga Khan seems to be a king Army Medical College. (On the other hand, without a country, he is in reality a, citizen in 2001 he established of the world. He lives in Switzerland and in the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civili- , but carries a British passport and a zations in London, a branch of the Aga Khan French diplomatic passport. Recent global University in Pakistan.) events have left him caught between Islamic Instead, the Aga Khan chose Toronto as and Western viewpoints. The Aga Khan said the site for the Islamic museum and cultural that his middleman position allows him to center, which will house his collection of art cultivate an East-West dialogue. But his sit- and historical manuscripts. He cited Toron- uation can isolate him from other Muslims. to’s tradition of inclusiveness as one reason Because of age-old tensions between Shiite for his choice. arid Sunni Muslims, he is not as active in The project is an example of his crusade his philanthropic efforts in Muslim countries to “build unity in diversity.” Strengthening that have large pluralism in all corners of the globe, he said, populations of Sunni Muslims, like Saudi “is critical to the development of peace and Arabia. humankind in the 21st century.” But, he add- The Aga Khan lives in Geneva and near ed, “We must educate for it.” Chantilly, in France, the capital of French racing, where he breeds racehorses. He has three children from his first marriage, to an English society figure, Sally Croker-Poole, and one child from his second marriage, to Princess Gabriele zu Leiningen of Ger- many. His three older children work for his network, which has offices in Geneva and Stefano Bianca/Aga Khan Development Network IN KABUL The Aga Khan’s group is restoring in Gouvieux, outside Paris. His half-sister, the tomb of Timur Shah. Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, the daughter of Prince Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth, is also active in philanthropy, raising money for Al- ernmental agencies, like the United States zheimer’s disease, the illness from which her Agency for International Development and mother suffered. the European Union. The size of the Aga Khan’s personal “He puts his money where his beliefs fortune has been the subject of conjecture, are,” said James Wolfensohn, the president especially in the British press, where he ap- of the World Bank, which has joined with the pears frequently. Though estimates cannot Aga Khan to finance programs in Afghani- be confirmed (even by Forbes’ Magazine), a stan and elsewhere. spokesman for the Aga Khan would only say IN some cases, however, money is not that “he is a billionaire.” enough, no matter how carefully he treads or The basis of the Aga Khan’s wealth is how unimpeachable the project. Last month, contributions from Ismaili Muslims, who are he canceled plans to build an Islamic mu- required to donate up to 10 percent of their seum and cultural center in London, on a yearly income to the imam, in addition to his choice site along the personal inheritance and investment income Thames River, opposite the Houses of Parlia- from that money. ment. He offered King’s College, the owner The network is financed by the Aga of the 1.8-acre parcel, Khan’s personal resources, additional con- an estimated £24 million (about $39 million) tributions from Ismaili Muslims and others, for the land, but was turned down in favor of and from a range of international and gov- a neighboring hospital, which wanted to expand but was offering