Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, on July 11, Ismaili Muslims in Canada and around the world will gather and celebrate Imamat Day, which marks the day that His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather to become the forty-ninth hereditary spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims.

Over the past 66 years, when so much has changed in the world, the Aga Khan’s unwavering commitment to improve the lives not only of Ismaili Muslims but of vulnerable people around the world has remained the same.

For more than six and a half decades, the Aga Khan has built upon his grandfather’s legacy, providing education for girls and advocating for equality for women. It is because of the guidance and work of the Aga Khan and his grandfather before him that my mother attended school. It is because of that same guidance that my sisters and I were afforded the same opportunities as my brother. Personally, I would not have had the honour and privilege of standing in this chamber had it not been for the investment and belief in women’s education.

His Highness the Aga Khan also arranged with then-prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau for thousands of Ugandan refugees to seek asylum in Canada. He found my family and many other Ismaili families the best country in the world to live in, and he encouraged us to always call Canada our permanent home.

At one of the most difficult times of our lives, the Aga Khan told us that we should never become a demotivated, marginalized minority; instead, we should demonstrate the will to rebuild our future — and we have done just that.

Honourable senators, the Aga Khan has committed his entire adult life to service. He has been a beacon of hope during extremely challenging and divisive moments in global history, and he continues to drive change by promoting pluralism and diversity and challenging the world to view difference not as a weakness but as a powerful force of good. He has said:

Diversity is not a reason to put up walls, but rather to open windows. It is not a burden, it is a blessing.

Honourable senators, on the occasion of Imamat Day, I know you will join me in thanking the Aga Khan for challenging us to make space for one another, to understand and accept our differences and to find ways to build and grow from them.

To my Ismaili brothers and sisters around the world, khushali mubarak. Thank you.