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Comment cooperation agreement

[Music] your highness thank you so much for being here today it truly is for us a very exciting day and it's an exciting day because we have the opportunity today to sign a memorandum of understanding that is going to allow us to share and learn together not only for the benefit of people in our province but more importantly i believe for people around the world i i truly enjoyed our conversation where we had the opportunity to talk about the work that you have personally been involved in around the world in very challenging environments in building civil society and it is always i believe for us as albertans a very important lesson and reminder as to how truly blessed we are in this province and i believe that the people of alberta all 3.7 million of us truly understand the importance of building community in civil society and one of the things that i'm so proud of in our province is that there are so many people that understand that we have challenges around the world and we need to be part of connecting and building partnerships sharing skills sharing experiences and learning from each other and to be able for me to have the opportunity to meet you and to have discussions with respect to the wonderful work that you and your foundation are doing everywhere in the world that is so committed to building civil society to understanding faith to being committed to education to primary health care to the equality of men and women in some circumstances that are very difficult it's truly an honor and it will be a day that i remember for the rest of my life thank you the agreement of cooperation will now now be signed by his highness the aggrecon and the honorable premier redford [Music] [Music] from here dear guests there are days in one's life that mark an individual that mark an institution and today is one of those days what are those days those are days which i think open doors to the future give you a sense of hope a sense of confidence a sense of not being alone in trying to achieve the goals that want to set oneself as an individual or as an institution and that is what you have allowed premier for me today and i thank you for that i would add that in the last decades i've come to an important conclusion about governance about the fragility of governance in the developing world and what people can do to protect themselves from governance which is not effective and i think that history is beginning to show that civil society in its complexity but also in its ability to impact the way people live is probably the most important single feature that i know and building civil society is a complex exercise needs multiple input and that multiple input again i hope we will develop with your institutions in alberta i would like to add also that this support that you are giving us should not be one way and i hope that we will be able to create new opportunity for canadian institutions canadian enterprises canadian academic centers that need global knowledge to work with us to strengthen their ability to perform at home and to perform internationally today we're looking at a number of case study situations how do you build for the aged and how do you make sure that they don't get isolated in society and what can we learn from an initiative in canada that could be replicated elsewhere in canada but also in the industrialized world how do you convince western societies that islam is the faith of civilization and not just a faith well i hope that the islamic garden when it comes into place will be able to show a different aspect of our faith we have other initiatives here the collaboration with the university of alberta so when i said that there are days that mark one's own convictions and hope now i hope you understand why that is such a day for me today thank you from here on behalf of all albertans i extend our gratitude to the various programs of the agican development network and personally to your highness for his continuing philanthropic efforts and for your commitment and dedication to helping others in need through tolerance understanding and friendship you are laying the groundwork for a better world we wish you enjoyable and safe travels on the remainder of your trip and we really look forward to your next visit to alberta thank you [Music] [Music] it is my honor to welcome to canada's parliament his highness the iago khan [Applause] i'm also pleased to recognize his family members and his merely leaders who have come from across the country and around the world to hear his highness address the canadian people please colleagues welcome them all as we all know canada is home to a well-established and fast-growing ismaili community his highness has therefore become an increasingly frequent visitor and always a welcome one affair in canada i remember well your highness the day you accepted honorary canadian citizenship something agreed to by all parties of this house it was during the foundation ceremony of toronto's ismaili center ogacon museum and park i'm told construction there has gone well into the and that the center will soon portray islamic contributions to the enlightened pursuit of knowledge in any case your highness know this when you are in canada you are home our decision to extend canadian citizenship to his highness recognizes the reality of values shared and values acted upon his highness as lifelong advocacy for humanitarianism pluralism and tolerance has gone far beyond words for example the santa his highnesses global center for pluralism here in ottawa advances good governance and engages with societies on the precipice of crisis similarly through the ogacon development network his highness has been tireless in humanitarian and development initiatives in africa in asia including in afghanistan where the network continues to be a brave partner in canada's efforts to secure and improve the lives of afghan citizens over the years then we have built together a solid record of genuine assistance to some of the world's neediest people today that work goes on in particular our government and the network cooperate in the development priority that canada assumed at the muskoka g8 the promotion of maternal newborn and child health la mar in his work your highness we are delighted to have your personal support and the capable assistance of the yogacon foundation of canada and the iacon development network the canadiens mr speaker mr speaker colleagues canadians are strongest when we have the support of those who share our values those who love freedom and democracy those who desire peace those who will uphold the basic rights of every man and woman and those who such as his highness share our belief that pluralism diversity within a united country is the basis of all of these things these are our friends your highness we've met on several occasions and like our country as a whole i value your council and your friendship exists occasionally you once said and i quote we cannot make the world safe for democracy without first making the world safe for diversity this is a most canadian way of seeing things effective s your highness the depth of our relationship suggests more frequent and deliberate dialogue between the imam and i'm therefore pleased to announce that after the conclusion of these proceedings the yamamot and the government of canada will sign a protocol of understanding that builds upon our broad historic relationship [Applause] let me just conclude your highness by returning to the subject of canada's ismaili community which began its life here more than 40 years ago as penniless refugees from uganda yet from that moment on canada's ma canada's ismailis have become one of canada's most successful immigration stories that the smiley combination of self-reliance and willingness to give for the better betterment of others and of canada itself is a reflection of your teachings and your highness it was a good day a good day for all of us when you told your followers to quote make canada your home we you must be very proud of them certainly we all are nominated [Applause] foreign [Applause] speaker kinsella speaker shear honourable members of the senate and house of commons chief justice of the supreme court honourable members of the diplomatic community distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen the prime minister's generous introduction has been very kind i'm grateful for this invitation for our association and for us so thoughtfully enabling leading representatives of our community and institutions around the world to join us on this occasion thank you prime minister i'm thankful that these leaders of the ismaili community will have this opportunity to see for themselves why canada is a leader in the community of nations i must also thank you prime minister for inviting me to become an honorary citizen my may i congratulate you on the gold medals of your remarkable hockey teams in sochi [Applause] as an ex-player myself i was hoping you would require your honorary citizens to join your team i'm convinced that the dalai lama and i would have been a formidable defense [Music] representing the parliament of federal canadia are presents the blizzard authorities federal government representatives m it should be a politic toutist mali it's on aventura situation situation the stampede nations with adoption the demand [Music] i propose today to give you some background about myself and my role and then to reflect about what we call the ummah the entirety of muslim communities around the world i will comment as a faith leader on the crisis of governance in so much of the world today before concluding with some thoughts about the values that can assist countries of crisis to develop into countries of opportunity and how canada can help shape that process first then a few personal words i was born into a muslim family linked by heredity to the prophet muhammad may peace be upon him and his family my education blended islamic and western traditions and i was studying at harvard some 50 years ago yes 50 years ago actually 56 years ago when i became the hereditary imam of the shia imami is muslims this final imam is a supranational entity representing the succession of imams since the time of the prophet but let me clarify something more about the history of that role in both the sunni and the sheer interpretations of the muslim faith the sunni position is that the prophet nominated no successor and that spiritual moral authority belongs to those who are learned in matters of religious law as a result there are many sunni imams in a given time and in a given place but others believed that the prophet had designated his cousin and son-in-law ali as his successor from that early division a host of further distinctions grew up but the question of rightful leadership remains central in time the shia will also subdivided over these questions so that today the ismanis are the only sheer community who throughout history have been led by a living hereditary imam in direct descent from the prophet the role of the ismail imam is a spiritual one his authority is that of religious interpretation it is not a political role i do not govern any land at the same time islam believes fundamentally that the spiritual and material worlds are inextricably connected faith does not remove muslims or their imams from daily practical matters in family life in business in community affairs rather is a force that should deepen our concern for our worldly habitat for embracing its challenges and for improving the quality of human life the muslim belief on this fusion of faith and world is why much of my attention has been committed to the work of the icann development network in 1957 when i succeeded my grandfather as imam the ismaili community lived for the most part in the colonies ex-colonies of france belgium and the british empire or behind the iron curtain these are still this a highly diverse community in terms of ethnicity language culture and geography they continue to live mostly in the developing world through increasing numbers now live in europe and north america before 1957 individual ismaili communities had their own social and economic institutions where that was allowed there was no intent for them to grow to national prominence and even less a vision to coordinate their activities across frontiers today however that situation has changed and the arkhan development network has a strong presence in several dozen countries where appropriate regional coordination also is useful the akdn as we call it is composed of a variety of private non-governmental non-denominational agencies implementing many of the environment's responsibilities we are active in the fields of economic development job creation education health care as well as important cultural initiatives most of our akdn activities have been born from the grassroots of developing countries reflecting their aspirations and their fragilities through the years of course this landscape has changed fundamentally with the creation of new states like bangladesh the horrors of ethnic cleansing in uganda the collapse of the soviet empire and the emergence of new countries with larger smiley populations such as tajikistan more recently of course we have faced the conflicts in afghanistan and in syria but through all of these experiences the israeli peoples have demonstrated an impressive capacity to persevere and to progress our work has always been people driven it grows out of the age-old islamic ethic committed to goals with universal relevance the elimination of poverty access to education and social peace in a pro-list environment the akdn's fundamental objective is to improve the quality of human life amongst the great common denominators of the human race is a shared aspiration a common hope for a better quality of life i was struck a few years ago to read about a undp survey of 18 south american states where the majority of the people were less interested in their forms of government than in the quality of their lives even autocratic governments that improved their quality of life would be more acceptable for most of those polled than ineffective democratic governments i cite that study of course with due respect to governmental institutions that have had a more successful story including certain very distinguished parliaments [Applause] but the sad fact behind so much instability in our world today is that governments are seen to be inadequate to these challenges a much happier fact is that in the global effort to change this picture canada is an exemplary leader let me now describe a few examples of a quarter of century of though of close collaboration between and the available of that time it was the first component of the arkhan university the first private university in that country the nursing school's impact has been enormous many of those who now had other nursing programs in hospitals in the whole of the region not just pakistan are graduates of our school canada was also one of the first donors to the icon rural support program in northern pakistan tripling incomes in this remote marginalized area the approaches developed there have shaped our further collaborations in tajikistan in afghanistan in kenya and in mozambique canada has also helped establish the arkhan university's institute for educational development in karachi and in east africa along with other educational initiatives in kenya tanzania uganda mozambique afghanistan tajikistan and pakistan including pioneering work in the field of early childhood development i could speak about our close ties with canadian universities also such as mcmaster mcgill the university of toronto and the university of alberta enhancing our own institutions of tertiary education the arkhan university and the university of central asia the latter institution has resulted from the imam's unique tripartite treaty with the governments of kazakhstan kyrgyzstan and tajikistan it serves some 22 million people who live in central asia in hillside and high mountain environments areas of acute seismic and economic vulnerability and i could list many more examples in cultural development and in scientific research and we are especially proud of the global center for pluralism here in ottawa a joint project of the umami and the canadian government in just three years canada will mark its 150th anniversary and the whole world will be ready to celebrate with you sharing canada's robust pluralistic history is a core mission of our global center and 2017 will be a major opportunity for doing so operating from its headquarters in the former war museum on sussex drive perhaps 2017 and the celebrations can be a catalyst with our neighbors to improve the entire riverfront area around that building our partnership in canada has been immensely strengthened of course by the presence for more than four decades of a significantly ismaili community like most historical global communities the ismaili peoples have a variegated history but surely our experience in canada has been a particularly positive chapter i happily recall the establishment of the delegation of the ismail mahmut here in 2008. and the prime minister's description that day of our collaborative efforts to make canada and i quote the headquarters of the global effort to foster peace prosperity and equality through pluralism we're deeply pleased [Applause] we are deeply pleased that we can sign today a new protocol with your government further strengthening our ongoing platform for cooperation as we look to the next 25 years of the akdn we believe that our permanent presence in the developing world will make us a dependable partner especially in meeting the difficult challenges of predictability against this background let me move on to the broad international sphere including the role of relations between the countries and cultures of islam what we call the ummah and non-islamic societies it is central to the shape of global affairs in our time i will begin by emphasizing a central point about the ummah often unseen elsewhere the fundamental fact of its immense diversity muslim demography has expanded dramatically in recent years and muslims today have highly differing views on many questions essential among them is that they do not share some common overarching impression of the west it has become commonplace for some to talk about an inevitable clash of the industrial west and islamic civilizations but muslims don't see things in this way those whose words and deeds feed into that point of view are a small and extreme minority for most of us it is simply not true we find singularly little in our theological interpretations that would clash with other abrahamic faiths with christianity and judaism indeed there is much that is in profound harmony when the clashes of modern times have come they have most often grown out of particular political circumstances the twists and turns of power relationships and economic ambitions rather than deep theological divides yet sadly what is highly abnormal in the islamic world gets mistaken for what is normal of course media perceptions of our world in recent years have often been conveyed through a lens of war but that is all the more reason to shape global conversation in a more informed direction i am personally aware of the efforts the prime minister has made to achieve this thank you prime minister [Applause] the complexity of the ummah has a long history some of the most glorious chapters in islamic history were purposefully built on the principles of inclusiveness it was a matter of state policy to pursue excellence through pluralism this was true from the time of the abbasids in baghdad and the fatimids in cairo over a thousand years ago it was true in afghanistan and timbuktu in mali and later with the safa bids in iran the mughals in india the uzbeks in bohara the ottomans in turkey from the 18th from the 6th to the 18th century al-andalus thrived on the iberian peninsula and the muslim aegis but also deeply welcoming to christian and jewish peoples today these islamic traditions have been obscured in many places from muslims and non-muslims alike the work of the icon trust for culture including the icon award for architecture and our historic cities program is to revive the memory of this inclusive inheritance another immediate initiative is the arkhan museum which will open this year in toronto an important testimonial in a canadian setting to the immense diversity of islamic cultures perhaps the most important area of incomprehension outside the ummah is the conflict between the sunni and shia interpretations of islam and the consequences for the sunni and shia peoples this powerful tension is sometimes even more profound than conflicts between muslims and other faiths it has increased massively in scope and intensity recently and has been further exacerbated by external interventions in pakistan and malaysia in iraq and syria in lebanon and bahrain in yemen and somalia and afghanistan it is becoming a disaster it is important therefore for non-muslims for dealing with the ummah to communicate with both sunni and shia voices to be oblivious to this reality would be like ignoring over many centuries that there were differences between catholics and protestants or trying to resolve the civil war in northern ireland without engaging both christian communities what would have been the consequences if the protestant catholic struggle in ireland had spread throughout the christian world as is happening today between shia and sunni muslims in more than nine countries it is of the highest priority that these dangerous trends be well understood and resisted and that the fundamental legitimacy of pluralistic outlooks be honoured in all aspects of our lives together including matters of faith [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] a [Music] [Music] no constitution mortal [Music] [Music] [Music] smiley clearly the voices playing a major role in tunisia were the voices of civil society by civil society i mean an array of institutions which operate on a private voluntary basis but a motivated by high public purposes they include institutions devoted to education and culture science and research to commercial labor and ethnic and religious concerns as well as professional societies in law accounting banking engineering and medicine civil society encompasses groups that work on health and safety and environmental matters organizations that are engaged in humanitarian service or in the arts of the media there is sometimes a tendency in the search for progress to focus solely on politics and government or on the private profit-making sector and surely they both have roles to play but in my view the world needs to pay more attention much much more attention to the potential role of civil society we see it expanding in many places from sub-saharan africa to tunisia and egypt from iran to bangladesh at a time of extreme danger in kenya a few years ago the beginnings of a civil war the former secretary general of the united nations kofi annan led the way to a peaceful solution which rested heavily on the strength of kenya's civil society increasingly i believe the voices of civil society are voices for change where change has been overdue they have been voices of hope for people living in they fear voices that can help transform countries of crisis into countries of opportunity there are too many societies where too many people live in a culture of fear condemned to a life of poverty addressing that fear and replacing it with hope will be a major step to the elimination of poverty and often the call for hope to replace fear will come from the voices of civil society an active civil society can open the door for an enormous variety of energies and talents from a broad spectrum of organizations and individuals it means opening the way for diversity it means welcoming plurality i believe that canada is uniquely able to articulate and exemplify three critical underpinnings of a quality civil society a commitment to pluralism to meritocracy and to a cosmopolitan ethic a cosmopolitan ethic is one that welcomes the complexity of human society it balances rights and duties freedom and responsibility it is an ethic for all peoples the familiar and the other whether they live across the street or across the planet the arkhan development network has worked over five decades to assist in the enhancement of civil society and as we look to its future we are honored that canada views us as a valued partner thank you prime minister one key to canada's success in building a meritocratic civil society is your recognition that democratic societies require more than democratic governments i've been impressed by recent studies showing the activity of voluntary institutions and not-for-profit organizations in canada to be among the highest in the world this canadian spirit resonates with a cherished principle in sheer ismaili culture the importance of contributing to one's individual energies on a voluntary basis to improving the lives of others this is not a matter of philanthropy but rather self-fulfillment enlightened self-fulfillment during my golden jubilee and this is important six years ago ismailies from around the world volunteered their gifts not only of wealth but most notably of time and knowledge in support of our work we established a time and knowledge framework a structured process for engaging an immense pool of expertise involving tens of thousands of volunteers many of them traveled to the developing countries as part of this outpouring of service one-third of those were canadians [Applause] their impact has been enormous in helping us to achieve best practice standards in our institutions and programs making us we hope an even better partner for canada such efforts thrive when multiple inputs can be matched to multiple needs which is why canada's immense economic diversity is such a valuable global resource one of the foundational qualities of canada's civil society is its educational emphasis studies show that canadian students with a native of foreign born perform in the very top tier of students internationally and indeed that more than 45 of the foreign-born population in canada has a tertiary degree this record of educational opportunity resonates strongly with the sheer ismaili belief in the transformative power of the human intellect a conviction that underscores akdn's massive commitment to education wherever we are present not only education for our faith but also education for our world to do this we are engaged in all levels of education the icon university in karachi and east africa are expanding to create a new liberal arts faculty and to establish eight new postgraduate schools in collaboration with several canadian universities we share with canada a deep appreciation for the potential of early childhood education congratulations prime minister for your initiative on this [Applause] it is the period of the greatest development of the brain this education is one of the most cost effective ways to improve the quality of life for rural as well as urban populations in this regard let me take a moment to salute the late dr fraser mustard whose work in early childhood development will impact millions of people around the world the akdn has been fortunate to have been inspired and counseled by this great canadian scientist and humanist quality education is fundamental to the development of a meritocratic civil society and thus to the development of pluralistic attitudes the history of canada has a great deal to teach us in this regard including the long incremental processes through which quality civil societies and committed cultures of pluralism are built one of the work's watchwords of our new global center for pluralism is that parallelism is a process and not a product i know that many canadians would describe their own pluralism as a work in progress but it is also an asset of enormous global quality so finally what will equality civil society require from us sadly the world is becoming more pluralist in fact but not necessarily in spirit cosmopolitan social patterns have not yet been matched by a cosmopolitan ethic in fact one harsh reality is that religious hostility and intelligence seems to be on the rise in many places from the central african republic to the south sudan to nigeria to myanmar the philippines and other countries between major religious groups and within them again canada has responded in notable ways including the establishment just one year ago of the office of religious freedom its challenges like those facing the center of global pluralism are enormous and its contributions will be warmly welcomed welcomed and surely it will also serve a worthy model for other countries in some i believe that civil society is one of the most powerful forces in our time one that will become an increasingly universal influence engulfing more countries influencing reshaping and sometimes even replacing ineffective regimes and i also believe that civil society around the world should be vigorously encouraged and wisely nurtured by those who have made it work most successfully canada first amongst all [Applause] i'm most grateful to the prime minister and to you who have given me this opportunity to share from a faith perspective some of the issues that preoccupy me when looking ahead i hope i have explained why i am convinced about the global validity of our partnership for human development let me end with a personal thought as you build your lives for yourselves and others you will come to rest upon certain principles central to my life has been a verse in the holy quran which addresses itself to the whole of humanity it says o mankind fear your lord who created you of a single soul and from it created its mate and from the pair of them scattered abroad many men and women i know of no more beautiful expression about the unity of our human race born indeed from a single soul thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] your highness ms sullivan reminisced here honorable senators and members of the house of commons distinguished guests with enzo monsieur on behalf of all present at this joint session of the parliament of canada i wish to thank your highness for your thoughtful address to parliament this morning your highness your insight and leadership inspires us all to continue our work of humanitarian intervention throughout the global village your words today have underscored for canadians the importance of humanitarian work as part of our national canadian vocation as a caring and generous society the lifelong commitment to the service of humanity exemplified by your highness is a beacon to all of us and is greatly admired during a 2006 inaugural ceremony to establish the delegation of the ismaili imamat here in ottawa your highness said and i quote even against the most daunting challenges social and economic progress can and must be a shared experience based on a cosmopolitan ethic and nurtured by a spirit of genuine partnership end quote your highness these words convey the essence of our joint efforts [Music] [Music] ours is a natural partnership in this area based on canada's reputation as a global leader in education and the long-standing tradition of the ismaili imam in education development through collaborative projects involving several canadian universities we are undertaking important work to strengthen jointly the quality of teaching and learning particularly in such areas as health and medicine business and the humanities [Music] [Music] your highness prime minister the esteem in which we regard his highness's commitment not only to educational development but to global progress more generally is reflected in the unanimous adoption of a motion in both houses of our parliament in june of 2009 to bestow honorary canadian citizenship on his highness just permit me to share another of his highness's visionary statements drawn from his address in 2009 at a graduating class of the university of alberta and i quote in today's community of nations a country's standing is no longer recognized simply by what it can achieve for itself but just as much by what it can do for others end quote these words honorable colleagues the words are a powerful idea emanating from one of the rare true global and most highly respected statesmen of our time they set a high standard that we tried to achieve and so on behalf of the honorable members of the house of commons and the senate of canada we thank your highness for your visit for your inspiring message this morning and for your continuing efforts to make this world of ours a better [Applause] place [Applause] your highness prime minister mr speaker of the senate honorable senators and members of the house of commons right honorable friends distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen on behalf of all members of the house of commons it is a personal honor to be able to add my thanks for your presence here today and for your kind and inspirational words your highness during the nearly 57 years in which you have been imam much has changed around the world and for ismailis one constant throughout however has been your unwavering dedication to improving the lives of the world's most vulnerable your leadership in these bold initiatives has garnered support from countries organizations and agencies the world over and canada and indeed canadians from across our country are proud to count themselves among your most ardent supporters as we all know an important element of true dialogue is respect for different positions and for diversity fundamentally it is about respecting and honoring the dignity of all people in this you are and have always been a clear beacon and an example to follow your unabating tolerance and hope in the face of challenging circumstances and seemingly insurmountable odds is an inspiration for us all longash ma sizzi day kavu laguna mondo canada party cetera foundation through your knowledge your vision your commitment and your dedication you are changing the world and making it a better place for those who are most in need of our assistance on the tulle deputies mercy thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] his highness and the prime minister are signing a protocol of understanding that will enhance our strategic partnership in a number of areas the promotion of human rights and socioeconomic development the promotion of trade and economic objectives and enhanced cooperation in promoting peace abroad and in the fight to reduce poverty in select countries and regions [Music] you