El principe Carim al Hussani, Aga khan IV, he died on Tuesday in Lisbon at age 88, leaving behind a life that ranged between spirituality and the earthly world, between the mysteries of an ancestral faith and the most mundane pleasures. It was the 49 magnet of the Chiíes Ismaelitas Muslims, a community scattered throughout the world that adds between 12 and 15 million faithful. For them, Aga Khan was not only a spiritual guide, but also an architect of opportunities, a visionary who understood that devotion could go hand in hand with social and cultural development. His death is not only goodbye to a man, but the end of an era marked by the search for a balance between tradition and modernity.
Born in Geneva in 1936, Karim al Hussaini arrived in the world with the serenity of the Swiss Alps as the first landscape. However, his childhood soon became a mosaic of cultures: between the luminous skies of Europe and the intensity of the African savannah, he grew up with the privileges of a noble lineage and the responsibilities of a centenary tradition. His family, a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad according to the Ismaelite tradition, prepared it for a destination that few could understand.
In 1957, with just 20 years, Karim was called to occupy the place of his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, as the spiritual leader of the Ismaelitas. Until then, he was a student in Harvard, immersed in the intellectual rigor and the effervescence of youth. His appointment as Magnet marked the beginning of a life that would soon be divided between religious duties, the pleasures of high society and an unstoppable passion for transforming the world.
However, the figure of Aga Khan IV cannot be understood without its contrasts. On the one hand, he was a man of deep spirituality, venerated by the Ismaelitas as a direct descendant of Muhammad, a living bridge between the divine and the human. On the other hand, he was a full -fledged European aristocrat, owner of opulent mansions, lavish yachts and a passion for the horse races that placed him in the most colorful pages of the international press. In the meetings of high society, its presence was unmistakable, always impeccable, with an elegance that seemed natural.
But behind brightness and opulence, Karim al Hussaini always maintained an unwavering commitment to the needy. His life was marked by a fundamental question: how can faith serve the well -being of people? Under this premise, he built schools for children without resources, universities for the brightest young people, health programs that saved lives and infrastructure projects that transformed entire communities.
In Portugal, where he lived his last yearshe found a shelter for his ideals. In 2015, the Portuguese government signed an agreement with Aga Khan to establish in Lisbon the world headquarters of Imamat Ismaelí. Three years later, the Henrique de Mendonça palace officially became the administrative and spiritual heart of the Ismaelite community. Portugal, with his history of cultural coexistence, welcomed Aga Khan IV as a symbol of understanding between the East and West.
The death of Aga Khan leaves the Ismaelitas at a crossroads. His successor, still to announce, will have the responsibility of continuing a legacy that is not only measured in institutions, but in values. For more than six decades, Aga Khan IV showed that spirituality could be a transformative force, capable of acting beyond the limits of religion to build a more fair world.
His life was a constant trip between extremes. He was a man who could speak with the same ease of Islamic theology as bets in a horse race. He could sail on a yacht through the Mediterranean and, the next day, inaugurate a school in a remote corner of Central Asia. This balance between the sacred and the profane, between tradition and modernity, was perhaps its greatest virtue.
AGA Khan IV leaves a difficult vacuum to fill. For the Ismaelitas, their departure is a moment of mourning, but also an opportunity to reflect on the path traveled. His legacy, immense in his reach, is not only found in the buildings that helped build or in the programs he promoted, but in the hope he sowed in millions of people.
His death, in the serenity of Lisbon, closes a chapter in the history of a community that has managed to adapt to changes without losing its essence. Aga Khan IV was more than a spiritual leader; It was an architect of progress, a bridge between worlds and a reminder that faith can be a force for good in the world. His life, full of contrasts and achievements, will be recorded as an example of how to live with purpose and dignity. The prince is gone, but his work endures. In each school, in each hospital, in every corner where his influence left his mark, the figure of AGA Khan IV will remain alive, as an echo of a man who knew how to transcend his time.
