Aga Khan laid to rest in Egypt during private burial ceremony

The Aga Khan IV has been laid to rest at a private ceremony in Aswan, Egypt.

The death of Prince Karim – the 49th hereditary imam of the Shiite Ismaili Muslims – was announced on Tuesday by the Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili religious community.

His son, 53-year-old Rahim Al-Hussaini, has been named as the Aga Khan V, the spiritual leader of the world’s millions of Ismaili Muslims, in according with his father’s will.

The Aga Khan is considered by his followers to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed and is treated as a head of state.

The governor of Aswan welcomed Prince Karim’s family at the southern Egyptian province’s airport on Saturday.

“When his will was opened, it was found that he had requested to be buried in Aswan near his grandfather, Sultan Muhammad Shah, and his grandmother, Om Habiba,” said Major General Ismail Kamal.

Ismaili mourners marched as bells rang during the burial ceremony in the country’s southern Aswan province, as Prince Karim’s body was taken in a van.

They carried his body, draped in a white shroud, and placed it on a yacht on the Nile River.

The late Aga Khan evolved over decades into a business magnate and a philanthropist, moving between the spiritual and the worldly with ease.

He was a defender of Islamic culture and values, but also widely regarded as a builder of bridges between Muslim societies and the West.

The Aga Khan Development Network deals mainly with issues of healthcare, housing, education and rural economic development.

It says it works in more than 30 countries and has an annual budget of about one billion dollars for non-profit development activities.

Ismailis lived for many generations in Iran, Syria and South Asia before also settling in east Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as Europe, North America and Australia more recently.

They consider it a duty to donate up to 12.5% of their income to the Aga Khan as steward.