Aga Khan ( Persian آقاخان - "lord" from Pratürk. " Aka" - senior and Turk. " Khan " - "ruler"), Eng. Aga Khan is the hereditary title of the head of the Ismaili religious community, the Nizari .
Shah of Iran Feth Ali Shah appropriated this title to his son-in-law Abu al-Hassan , the ruler of Kerman ( 1800 - 1881 ), who was considered a descendant of the prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima . But then Aga Khan I fled to Afghanistan and Sind after he led a failed uprising in Iran in 1838 . He managed to secure the support of Great Britain and settle in Bombay .
The grandson of Abu al-Hassan, Sultan Muhammad Shah ( 1877 - 1957 ), Aga Khan III , played an important role in the political life of India , trying to gain support for British colonial rule by the Muslim population, especially becoming president of the All India Muslim League .
Prince Karim Shah (born December 13, 1936 ) - the current Aga Khan IV , took office on July 11, 1957 at the age of 21, the 49th imam, a graduate of Harvard University .
The wife of the Aga Khan bears the title Begum Aga Khan. Begum denotes a Muslim woman of the corresponding rank.
Aga Khan Development Organization (AKDN)
It was created by Imamat Ismaili in 1967 and is one of the largest international private organizations cooperating with many international organizations, including the UN, UNDP, the UN Drug Control Program, the World Bank, etc., as well as with many states. . [one]
In 1998, the organization began cooperation with Kazakhstan , on August 31, 2000 the first visit of the Aga Khan to Kazakhstan took place, which resulted in the signing of the Agreement on the establishment of the University of Central Asia with the participation of Tajikistan , Kyrgyzstan , Kazakhstan and Imamat Ismailites.