Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini has been named the brand new Aga Khan, non secular chief of tens of millions of Shia Ismaili Muslims world wide.
He’s going to take at the position from his father Prince Karim Aga Khan, who died on Tuesday on the age of 88.
The appointment was once made after Prince Karim’s will was once unsealed, the Aga Khan Building Community mentioned in a commentary.
Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan V would be the fiftieth hereditary Imam of the Ismaili Muslims, who say they’re direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
The Ismailis are a Shia Muslim sect who revere quite a lot of Imams, together with Imam Ismail, who died in AD765.
They’ve a world inhabitants of about 15 million, together with 500,000 in Pakistan.
There also are massive populations in India, Afghanistan and portions of Africa.
Prince Karim Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather as Imam of the Ismaili Muslims in 1957 on the age of 20.
He died surrounded by way of circle of relatives in Lisbon, Portugal, which is the seat of the Isamili Imamat. A funeral will probably be held there in coming days.
All over his time because the non secular chief of the Ismaili Muslim neighborhood, the overdue Aga Khan helped discovered a charity chargeable for operating loads of hospitals, instructional and cultural tasks, principally within the creating international.
He was once additionally recognized for his immense wealth. Forbes mag in 2008 estimated his fortune amounted to $1bn (£801m). Trade ventures integrated motels and telecommunications firms in addition to a sizeable investments in horse breeding.
He was once a number one proprietor and breeder of racehorses in the United Kingdom, France and Eire, breeding Shergar, as soon as essentially the most well-known and most respected racehorse on this planet.
The brand new Aga Khan is the eldest son of his overdue father and Begum Salimah, a British ex-model who transformed to Islam and adjusted her identify from Sarah Croker Poole.
America-educated, Swiss-based Rahim is deeply concerned with the community of charities and businesses his father helped spearhead.
In line with the Aga Khan Building Community (AKDN) site, Prince Rahim has served on a lot of its forums and he these days chairs its Surroundings and Local weather Committee.
“Prince Rahim has been in particular excited about the AKDN’s pressure to offer protection to the surroundings and mitigate the consequences of local weather alternate,” the site mentioned, including that he was once additionally serious about paintings “addressing the wishes of the ones residing within the biggest poverty”.
Prince Rahim has two sons via his marriage to former American type mannequin Kendra Spears.
