Lisbon:
Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan V was on Wednesday named the 50th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims following the death of his father, Prince Karim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV, who died in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday at the age of 88, in accordance with historical Shia Imami Ismaili tradition.
Born on October 12, 1971, Prince Rahim is the eldest son of the late Prince Karim Aga Khan and his first wife, Princess Salimah.
Prince Rahim was educated at the Phillips Academy Andover and graduated in 1995 from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature.
Prince Rahim Aga Khan V is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter, Hazrat Bibi Fatima, and the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, Hazrat Ali, the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph of Islam and the first Shia Imam.
Throughout their 1,400-year history, the Ismailis have been led by a living, hereditary Imam.
The Ismailis live in more than 35 countries and their number is nearly 12 to 15 million.
He has two sons from his former wife, Princess Salwa: Prince Irfan (born in 2015) and Prince Sinan (born in 2017).
He serves on the boards of many agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). He has closely followed the work of The Institute of Ismaili Studies and the Ismaili community’s social governance institutions.
Prince Rahim has been particularly concerned with the AKDN’s drive to protect the environment and mitigate the effects of climate change, serving as Chairman of its Environment and Climate Committee.
He has also given sustained attention to the work of AKDN and the Ismaili community institutions in addressing the needs of those living in the greatest poverty and supporting the improvement of their livelihoods through education, training, and enterprise.
Prince Rahim meets regularly with leaders of government, international organisations, and civil society to strengthen their relations with the Ismaili Imamat and to advance the AKDN’s efforts to improve the lives of marginalised and vulnerable communities.
The Ismailis are a Shia Muslim sect who revere a number of Imams, including Imam Ismail, who died in 765 AD.
The Ismailis – a sect originally predominant in India, but which expanded to large communities in east Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East – consider it a duty to tithe up to 12.5 per cent of their income to the Aga Khan.
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