Introduction

The Shia Ismaili Muslims are a community of ethnically and culturally diverse peoples living in over 25 countries around the world, united in their allegiance to His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan (known to the Ismailis as Mawlana Hazar Imam) as the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader), and direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).

 

Articles related to: Education

For students in IIS Graduate Programme, the whole world is a field for study

Horizons al-Ummah, a youth summer camp, provided an ideal field study on the development of Ismaili Muslim identity. Photo: Zuleikha Haji

This past summer, students of The Institute of Ismaili Studies’ Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) travelled to seven different locations across the globe as part of their field research projects. Zuleikha Haji and Sehr Tejpar share accounts from two sides of the globe.

more »

Mawlana Hazar Imam signs agreement between the Ismaili Imamat and the State of Illinois

Standing with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Mawlana Hazar Imam speaks at the signing of an Agreement of Cooperation between the State of Illinois and the Ismaili Imamat on 4 November 2011. Photo: Farhez Rayani

Chicago, 4 November 2011 — At the invitation of Illinois State Governor Patrick Quinn, Mawlana Hazar Imam travelled to Chicago today to sign an Agreement of Cooperation between the State of Illinois and the Ismaili Imamat. During the visit, Hazar Imam and Governor Quinn also held talks on a range of issues of mutual interest, including early childhood education and media and communications.

more »

Live Event: IIS Graduation Ceremony

 Copyright: The Institute of Ismaili Studies

The Institute of Ismaili Studies will hold a live webcast of the 2011 Graduation for the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities on Saturday, 22 October 2011 at 2:00 PM (London time). Professor David Ford of the University of Cambridge will deliver the Commencement Address.

» Watch the ceremony live at the IIS website.

more »

Kabul school sparks new opportunities for young people and a brighter future for Afghanistan

Children play with everyday food items as they learn about the world in which they live, at the National Council Sparks Early Childhood Development Program in Kabul. Photo: Karim Thomas

Sparks Academy in Kabul is a catalyst for community development and learning opportunities for people of all ages. When Tahmina Shayan began volunteering with a community-based early childhood development programme of the Ismaili Council for Afghanistan that was supported by the school, she discovered new opportunities for herself and an avenue to make a difference in the lives of other young Afghans.

more »

Talented musicians find space to grow in Ismaili Ensembles

The Ismaili Musical Ensemble performs a youth concert in the Social Hall of Houston Principal Jamat Khana and Center. Photo: Sohil Maknojia

Ismaili Musical Ensembles in the USA and Canada provide creative platforms for dedicated Ismaili musicians to learn, practice and showcase their talents. But the musicians are required to demonstrate the quality of their abilities and commit to the ongoing development of their musical education.

more »

Three years on, the Ismaili Centre, Dubai can look back with pride

Entrance into the Ismaili Centre, Dubai — a plurality of perspectives. Photo: Gary Otte

Three years after the opening of the Ismaili Centre, Dubai, it has emerged as a multidisciplinary hub of culture, faith, education, and community identity. Exemplifying the core values of Ismaili Muslims, the Centre offers a platform for dialogue, unity and progress within the Jamat and the wider community.

more »

Developing a child’s mind through the game of chess

Danial Asaria plays an intense game at a national US chess championship. Photo: MonRoi

Research shows that children who play chess cultivate good habits that benefit them academically and socially. Danial Asaria is a young chess champion from California who has won several local and national awards. His parents discuss how teaching their son chess has helped him to sharpen his focus, improved his analytical abilities and develop other important skills.

more »

Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa inspires Central Asian youth while developing their potential

The Tajik students together with Les Wilkins, the Head of the Junior School, dressed in traditional Pamiri outfits for the Junior School Assembly celebrating Navroz. Photo: Courtesy of the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa

Thousands of kilometres from Khorog, on the other side of the vast Indian Ocean, is the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa. Eight Tajik students were recently given the opportunity to attend the residential school, and are are now benefiting from a multicultural student body, experienced educators and state-of-the-art facilities.

more »

Singaporean Ismaili makes debut in television series “Dream School”

Shirin Keshvani shooting a scene from “Dream School”. Photo: Courtesy of Shirin Keshvani

Shirin Keshvani was a toddler when she first took to the stage. At age four, she was selected to emcee the official opening of her nursery school. In November, the 12-year-old made her television acting debut on Singapore’s Okto TV Channel in Dream School.

more »

Choosing an early child care centre with confidence

Little toddlers meet and make friends on the first day of school. Photo: Jasmine Amlani

Numerous studies have shown that proper care in the early years of childhood is essential to academic success. Birth to age six is a time of intense brain development; therefore, choosing a quality child care programme that caters to the child’s developmental needs should be a top priority for parents.

more »

Harvard University Professor Ali Asani discusses a new course on Ismaili history and thought

Shenila Khoja-Moolji interviewing Professor Ali Asani for this article. Photo: Courtesy of Shenila S. Khoja-Moolji

In the spring of 2010, Harvard University, for the first time in its history, offered a course on Ismaili History and Thought. Harvard student Shenila S. Khoja-Moolji spoke with Professor Ali Asani about his experience designing and teaching it.

more »

Malagasy students immerse themselves in Kenyan culture and hospitality

Students from Madagascar were excited to experience some of Kenya’s wildlife during a visit to the Nairobi Safari Walk. Photo: Courtesy of the Ismaili Council for Kenya

In April, 13 students from Madagascar travelled to Kenya for a week-long visit. It was an opportunity for them to experience a culture outside their own, meet Ismaili students from another country, and to immerse themselves in an environment where they could improve their spoken and written English.

more »

Scholarship opportunities abound; students need only apply

More than $2 billion in private scholarships are available each year to deserving students for filling out some paperwork, writing an essay or two and occasionally being interviewed in person or over the phone. Copyright: Mangostock | Dreamstime.com

Each year, companies and charities offer more than $2 billion in private scholarships, which, in addition to being an attractive form of education financing, are also a prestigious form of recognition. But many scholarships go unfulfilled because nobody applies for them. Three students share tips from their scholarship successes.

more »

Jamati reading programmes promote critical thinking in children

Students at the Learning Center for Parents and Children programme, together with their teacher Munira Sadruddin and her assistant Sarah Ali. Photo: Courtesy of Sarah Ali

Across the United States and Canada, year-round programmes in various Jamatkhanas encourage critical thinking and nurture a love of reading among children. In celebration of Reading Month, TheIsmaili.org is also pleased to highlight a number of web-based tools and resources to help parents enhance their children’s literacy.

more »

Cultivating a love of reading in young children

Keyaan Jaffer reads “Brown Bear” to his younger brother, Mikyle. Photo: Rahim Jaffer

Children enter the world eager to learn, and research shows that when parents read daily to their children — especially in the first five years of their life — it promotes language acquisition, literacy development, and academic success at school. In celebration of Reading Month, TheIsmaili.org explores the experiences of many Ismaili families who read to their children.

more »

The magic of reading: A mother’s account

Little Aanyah Abdullah discovers the magic of reading. Photo: Shaila Abdullah

Novelist Shaila Abdullah tells how just as her parents cultivated a love of books in her from a young age, she in turn shared this love with her daughter, Aanyah, from the moment she was born. Today, at six-years-old, Aanyah is the one reading to her mother!

more »

Novel approach to Early Childhood Education in Africa is creating a valuable legacy

Children prepare for snack time at an AKF Madrasa Programme preschool in Uganda. Photo: Courtesy of Shamim Murji

Canadian kindergarten educator Shamim Murji recently returned to her country of birth, Uganda, where she volunteered with the AKF Madrasa Resource Centre. She shares her impressions of their preschool programme and the impact it is having on children, teachers and their communities.

more »

Ismaili Student Network introduces young Ismailis to university life

The Ismaili Student Network ‘Get Fresh’ event brought together students from universities throughout the UK. Photo: Jamil Teja

Abeed Mohamed is one of a number of young Ismailis who left home for the first time this autumn, to begin life as a university student. The Ismaili Student Network helped him and other UK students to prepare for this important transition.

more »

First days of school: Project Shelter Wakadogo opens in Uganda

Children line up to brush their teeth for the first time. Photo: Andrea Charbonneau

Earlier this year, TheIsmaili.org reported on Project Shelter Wakadogo, which was building a nursery school in Northern Uganda. Five months later, with the school built, we caught up with Farah Williamson, one of the project principals, to learn how they are progressing and their hopes for the future.

more »

Lifelong learning graduates empowered by their achievements

Members of the ICEU Lifelong Learning team gather for a group photograph at the Ismaili Centre, London. Photo: Courtesy of the Ismaili Council for the EU

The idea that learning extends from the cradle to the grave underpins the philosophy of the ICEU Lifelong Learning Programme. The programme’s impact on the lives of participants has been as broad as the range of subjects that they have pursued.

more »

Born special: A family’s journey of acceptance and hope

The Alis on a family day out. L to R: Salima, Zain, Arif and Sofia. Photo: Courtesy of Arif Ali

There is no easy access to Zain Ali’s mind — at the age of two he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. But his parents decided they would leave no stone unturned in exploring the various programs, therapies and interventions that exist for children like him.

more »

University’s international ambitions resonate with students

Mawlana Hazar Imam at the University of Alberta Convocation ceremony where he was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Photo: Moez Visram

That students at the University of Alberta are inspired to make an international impact through their activities is no coincidence. Their school is engaged in an array of international collaborations around the world, a fact remarked upon by Mawlana Hazar Imam in his convocation address.

more »

A project for the little ones

Farah Williamson with children at a camp for internally displaced persons in Northern Uganda. Photo: Courtesy of Farah Williamson

In Northern Uganda, encouraging steps have been made towards peace in recent years, but there is a desperate need to rebuild civil institutions. One modest project is bringing hope to children and their families in a village just outside of Gulu district.

more »

Talking the talk early in life

 Photo: quil / SXC

Research shows that young children are not just capable of learning several languages — they are hard-wired to do so. And being multilingual has cognitive and intellectual benefits that extend beyond the basic advantage of knowing another language.

more »

Graduates of IIS programme carve out dynamic career paths

GPISH students listen during a course lecture at The Institute of Ismaili Studies. Photo: Courtesy of the IIS

Ismailis interested in tackling pressing issues faced by societies around the world increasingly see the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities as a stepping stone. The multi-disciplinary programme is a bridge to new and exciting opportunities.

more »

UCA-NUS partnership to develop a cadre of Central Asian scholars

Sitora Shokamolova and Murdobek Laldjebaev are two of the first scholars to study at Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy under a partnership between the University of Central Asia and the National University of Singapore. Photo: Courtesy of Murdobek Laldjebaev

A partnership between the University of Central Asia and the National University of Singapore aims to ensure that Central Asian scholars with top international academic credentials are strongly represented in the UCA’s faculty. The first students selected for the programme have high aspirations for their native countries.

more »

Civic participation and institutional expertise assist villages in Tajikistan to prepare for natural disaster

In the Ghund Valley of Shugnan district in 2004, community members engage in a mapping exercise to gauge their preparedness for potential disasters. Photo: Courtesy of FOCUS

Thousands of families living in Tajikistan experience earthquakes and other hazards throughout the year that impact their lives and livelihoods. Focus Humanitarian Assistance strives to reduce the impact of natural disasters through community-based initiatives.

more »

Qatar’s quest to build a knowledge society

The Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha’s Education City. Photo: Vobios (Flickr.com)

Qatar is in a hurry to meet the challenges of a dynamically changing world by transforming itself into a knowledge society. Its leaders are propelling the nation on a quest for excellence in education.

more »

Academy in Mombasa on the fast-track to realising its vision

A view of the Senior Block at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa. Photo: Courtesy of The Aga Khan Academy

Aziz Batada is a teacher at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya. He reflects on the rapid progress that he has witnessed over the past four years, and opportunities presented by the Academies programme.

more »

Educational trends in Europe

Educational trends in Europe. Photo: Gozde Otman

Globalisation and the rapid emergence of new academic institutions have created an environment where students are offered more educational choices than ever before. Alnoor Bhimani, Professor at the London School of Economics identifies some educational trends and issues which will have an effect on the educational decisions made by European Jamat over the next decade.

more »

Camp Wasal 2007

Madagascar’s Lake Mantasoa — site of Camp Wasal 2007. Photo: Farah Rahemtula

The Indian Ocean region islands include: Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Comoros and Reunion Island. The predominantly French-speaking Jamat is spread among these islands and, in an effort promote English among the youth, the Aga Khan Education Services, Madagascar organised an English language camp that brought together participants from continental Africa and the Indian Ocean region.

more »

Forays into the global village

Sabeen Virani in Aleppo at the Church of St. Simeo. Photo: Provided by Sabeen Virani

Sabeen Virani talks about the growing phenomenon of young people across North America going overseas to study, work, or volunteer. She recounts her own experience in Syria as well as other individuals’ ventures to places like Sudan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uganda.

more »

“Shoot for the moon” they say

Class of 2006, first day at the British Council. Photo: Karim Valimohamed

"Shoot for the moon", they say - "even if you miss, you will land among the stars." Are these just statements to give hope or is it a reality? As participants in the Syrian Preparatory Programme (SyPP) Ruba Dayoub and Ahmad Alkasir set it to the test.

more »

 
 
Sharing Options:  Email this page Email    Print this page Print    Bookmark and Share Bookmark & Share
This is the official website of the Ismaili Muslim Community © Islamic Publications Limited 2009. Terms and Conditions