Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, arrived in Dubai on Monday January 22, 2018 for a 4-day visit during which he will conduct religious work as well as bless the Jamat falling under the jurisdiction of the Aga Khan Council for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a Diamond Jubilee Darbar. 

Mawlana Hazar Imam is welcomed by His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister for Tolerance, and Her Excellency Reem Ebrahim Al-Hashimi, Cabinet Member and Minister of State for International Cooperation upon his arrival in Dubai. Photo: AKDN/Rafiq Hakim.

His Highness the Aga Khan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 3rd and 4th from left respectively, at the Aga Khan Award for Architecture ceremony in the UAE in 2016. Photo: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Facebook page.

Mawlana Hazar Imam is on an official visit at the invitation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, with whom he is pictured above at the Aga Khan Award for Architecture Ceremony in November 2016.



Mawlana Hazar Imam greets leaders of the Jamat upon his arrival in Dubai. AKDN / Rafiq Hakim

The visit to the Emirates is taking place just over a month after his momentous visit to Pakistan that took Mawlana Hazar Imam to Northern Pakistan, Islamabad and Karachi where he blessed hundreds of thousands of Ismailis with Darbars and special mulaqats  from December 7 to December 19. A few weeks earlier, in November, Mawlana Hazar Imam visited the Jamats in Eastern Canada during which he performed Jamati work in Toronto and Montreal. And, in October, he made a memorable 5 day visit to Uganda and Tanzania that included Darbars in Kampala and Dar es Salaam.

Tasbih making. Photo: The Ismaili.

In preparation for the visit, the UAE Jamat has been holding different activities for members of all ages. Last week, the courtyard of the Ismaili Centre in Dubai was  transformed to host a mela (fair) where Ismailis participated in a range of exciting and educational activities including calligraphy, dance and musical performances, as well as tasbih making.

Tasbih making. Photo: The Ismaili.

Ismaili children entertaining the Jamat. Photo: The Ismaili.

  Volunteers, who underwent a special orientation at the Ismaili Centre in Dubai for Mawlana Hazar Imam’s visit, pose for a group picture. Photo: The Ismaili. 

The Darbar hall at Dubai World Central.

The Jaman (feast) hall at Dubai World Central. 

Date posted: January 22, 2018.

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Note: This blog, Barakah, is a special project of http://www.Simerg.com and has been undertaken to celebrate 60 years of the Imamat or the Diamond Jubilee of His Highness the Aga Khan.