PAKISTAN: Imam at Work

By train, boat and plane, the handsome young Harvard man beat his way through 15,000 miles of back-country Pakistan, winding up the tour last week by bouncing in a Jeep over 75 miles of mule trail to the remote Himalayan state of Hunza near the borders of Russia and Red China.

Surrounded by a flock of wazirs (councilors) everywhere he went, he blessed thousands of faithful followers, who fought to touch his hand and besieged him with requests. The visitor listened gravely, kept three secretaries busy handling his replies. For the 20 million members of the Ismaili Moslem sect face challenging times, and their new Imam was determined to lead them well. “All that really matters for me is my work.” says 23-year-old Karim Aga Khan. “All the rest is tripe.”

Give to Receive. The Ismailis are a prosperous minority scattered mainly through Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Naturally industrious, they gave tithes for more than 40 years to Karim’s grandfather, the old Aga Khan, and their gifts came back to bless them. A playboy but a shrewd financier, the old Aga Khan invested the Ismailis’ money in blue-chip stocks, used the proceeds to finance a network of Ismaili banks, shops and factories. In Ismaili communities, he built hospitals, mosques and schools. He left an estimated $800 million, though the young Aga Khan warns, “You can’t count hospitals—they’re an expense, not a profit.” Since his grandfather willed him the title three years ago, the Aga Khan’s principal job has been dispensing largess. Inevitably, he must turn down far more requests than he grants. In Pakistan, he inaugurated a housing project as a step toward his goal of “a house for every Ismaili family.” At Punjab University, he set up five scholarships abroad, but he rejected a student demand for a $500,000 contribution: “Not a chance.”

Young Karim gives and invests with an eye on political trends. In Uganda, where the 10,000 Ismailis almost monopolize retail trade, black nationalist leaders last year organized a boycott of Ismaili shops, and the Aga Khan is now advising his followers to shift into other lines—”small industry, the professions, the civil service.” In every country, the Aga Khan interviews key Cabinet ministers to find out what industries the government is keen on developing, and sets up a local

Ismaili to get the business going. “Any little tidbit that comes up. I jump on.” he says. Sound Ismaili business ventures can count on low-interest (about 3%) loans from the Aga Khan’s banks.

Open to All. Prince Karim urges his followers to show loyalty to the countries where they live and to “open up a bit” with their neighbors. In East Africa, he threw the excellent Ismaili hospitals and schools open to blacks, and anti-Ismaili feeling has-considerably subsided. But he is a devout Moslem and is determined that his people shall not be swallowed up by the majorities around them. To this end, the serious young bachelor has traveled 264,000 miles in three years, sparing little time for the beautiful women and good life on the Riviera that both his grandfather and his father Aly Khan enjoyed. Says Karim, “I’m anti-irresponsibility.”