Human Dignity
Human dignity stands at the core of Ismaili thinking across the years. The 48th Imam, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III, the grandfather of His Highness the Aga Khan,
stated before the League of Nations in 1914:
Indeed, all the problems that fall to the League of Nations may be ultimately reduced to one – that of man, and the dignity of man.
It is in that sense that the work of the League assumes its true significance and acquires its permanent value.
The tribulations of one people are the tribulations of all. That which weakens one weakens all. That which is a gain to one is surely a gain to all. This is no empty ideal.
It is a veritable compass to guide aright the efforts of statesmen in every country and of all men of good will who, desiring the good of their own people, desire the good of the whole world.1
This position continues to inform Ismaili thought and action, today. As His Highness the Aga Khan stated when adressing graduates of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs:
A passion for justice, the quest for equality, a respect for tolerance, a dedication to human dignity – these are universal human values which are broadly shared across divisions of class, race, language, faith and geography. They
constitute what classical philosophers – in the
East and West alike – have described as human “virtue” – not merely the absence of negative restraints on individual freedom, but also a set of positive responsibilities, moral disciplines which prevent liberty from turning into license.2.
A recent book written by M. Ali Lakhani,
titled Faith and Ethics: The Vision of
the Ismaili Imamat, shows how the values of integrity and dignity are at the forefront of His Highness the Aga Khan’s work, “with the traditional Muslim concepts of cosmopolitanism and social justice guiding his response to the stark challenges of the modern age.” Lakhani goes on to say:
Today, as ‘Imam’, or spiritual leader of the Shi’I Imami Ismili, the Aga Khan has, during the 60 years of his Imamat, worked to promote a view of faith and ethics founded on principles of integrity and dignity, and on values that are central to Islam’s message of peace, unity, generosity, compassion and equity, and consistent with its position as one of the major civilizational influences of mankind. He has sought to articulate this core message and spoken of its relevance to the modern world. He has also made efforts to put the message into practice by creating global institutions which promote it ethos. The Aga Khan’s beliefs and goals, and the inclusive and compassionate dimensions of the Islamic values that he advocates in our materialistic age, make his voice particularly relevant both to those who want to better understand Islam and to those who see ‘a light in much of the world’s
conflicting darkness.'3
A passion for justice, the quest for equality, a respect for tolerance, a dedication to human dignity – these are universal human values which are broadly shared across divisions of class, race, language, faith and geography.
— His Highness the Aga Khan
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