By Frank Kamuntu
The burial service for Aga Khan IV, the 49th hereditary imam of the Shiite Ismaili Muslims, was held in the southern Egyptian province of Aswan on Sunday.
A funeral service for Prince Karim Al-Hussaini was held in Portugal ahead of the private burial ceremony in Egypt.
Aswan Governor Maj. Gen. Ismail Kamal said it was Prince Karim’s wish to be buried in Aswan.
“When his will was opened, it was found that he had requested to be buried in Aswan near his grandfather, Sultan Muhammad Shah, and his grandmother, Begum Om Habibeh. We welcomed the family yesterday,” Kamal said.
His death was announced Tuesday by the Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili religious community.
The following day, 53-year-old Rahim Al-Hussaini was named as the Aga Khan V, the spiritual leader of the world’s millions of Ismaili Muslims, in accordance with his father’s will.
The Aga Khan is considered by his followers to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and is treated as a head of state.
Prince Karim was given the title of “His Highness” by Queen Elizabeth in July 1957, two weeks after his grandfather, the Aga Khan III, unexpectedly made him heir to the family’s 1,300-year dynasty as leader of the Ismaili Muslim sect.
Over decades, the late Aga Khan evolved into a business magnate and a philanthropist, moving between the spiritual and the worldly with ease.
A defender of Islamic culture and values, he was widely regarded as a builder of bridges between Muslim societies and the West.
The Aga Khan Development Network deals mainly with issues of health care, housing, education and rural economic development.
It says it works in over 30 countries and has an annual budget of about $1 billion for nonprofit development activities.
Ismailis lived for many generations in Iran, Syria and South Asia before also settling in east Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as Europe, North America and Australia more recently.
They consider it a duty to donate up to 12.5% of their income to the Aga Khan as steward.
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