Aga Khan, leader of Ismaili Muslims, dies at 88

Aga Khan IV, the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims for almost seven decades, a man who combined moral leadership and philanthropic activities with a vast personal fortune, has died in Lisbon, Portugal, according to a statement released today by his spokesperson, Fayyaz Nurmohamed. He was 88.“He was a unique historic figure,” said Arif Lalani, a former Canadian ambassador who ran the Aga Khan’s diplomatic service from 2016 to 2020, comparing the span and influence of the Aga Khan’s reign to that of the late Queen Elizabeth II. That role began in 1957 when the 20-year-old prince was catapulted from his life as an undergraduate student at Harvard University to become the 49th hereditary imam of the world’s estimated 15 million Ismailis.