Kareem Aga Khan, the 49th Imam of the Ismaili Shia, passed away at the age of 88

Kareem Aga Khan, the 49th Imam of the Ismaili Shia, passed away at the age of 88 in Lisbon, Portugal. The "Aga Khan Development Network," which he founded and led, announced in a statement early Wednesday, February 6, that he died peacefully on Tuesday alongside his family. The statement noted, "His successor will be announced subsequently." Ismaili followers, estimated to number 2.5 million worldwide and potentially reaching up to 15 million, believe that after "Jafar Sadiq," the sixth Imam of Shia Islam, his son, "Ismail bin Jafar," is his successor and the seventh Imam. Most Ismaili followers live in the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan, with significant populations in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Kareem Aga Khan was born in 1936 in Geneva, Switzerland, and became the Imam of the Ismaili community at the age of 20 in 1957 after his grandfather. He studied Islamic history at Harvard University. In 1967, he established the "Aga Khan Development Network," which engages in humanitarian efforts such as food provision in impoverished areas and disaster relief in Asia and Africa. The network also works in building bridges, sanitation services, and developing green infrastructure, including a network of hospitals and schools in Afghanistan and Tajikistan.