DUSHANBE, October 12, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- An official ceremony of inauguration of The Ismaili Center in Dushanbe is being held today afternoon.

President Emomali Rahmon and His Highness, the Aga Khan, the Spiritual Leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, are attending the Center-opening ceremony, according to the MFA information department.

The Ismaili Center in Dushanbe will be the sixth major Ismaili Center.  Beginning in 1984, major Ismaili Centers have been established in London, Vancouver, Lisbon, Toronto and Dubai.  Like other Ismaili Centers, The Ismaili Center in Dushanbe is dedicated to enhance the process of understanding and exchange.

We will recall that the groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the Ismaili Center in Dushanbe was held on August 30, 2003.  The foundation stone of The Ismaili Center, Dushanbe was laid by President Emomali Rahmon.

Calling it "a place where people will come together to share their creativity and their wisdom," the Aga Khan said the Center would "recognize and promote the plurality of traditions and forms of expression to which Central Asia has been a welcoming home and eminent crossroads over the centuries."  The Aga Khan expressed the hope that the Center would "play a role in reminding the world of a fact, alas, too often ignored or misunderstood: that Central Asian traditions of spirituality and learning have had a lasting and positive impact on civilizations far beyond their own."  The Center, the Aga Khan said, would be "a place for contemplation, upliftment and the search for spiritual enlightenment."

Through the facilities which they offer for lectures, presentations, conferences, recitals and exhibitions, alone or in collaboration with other national or international entities, the Ismaili Centers have become important cultural institutions, the Aga Khan said.