2007 Ismaili Muslim Community Parade Float

This year, the Ismaili Muslim Community has partnered with Habitat for Humanity-Calgary, through their annual Calgary Stampede Parade Float entry and breakfast, to showcase their vision of providing families in need with a key to a better life.

Themed “Building Communities One Brick at a Time”, the annual float entry will share with the world the journey that a community takes with Habitat families to build a new home and ultimately a new life and will highlight common values shared by both organizations, including developing capacity and opportunity, giving back to the community, volunteerism, as well as dignity and respect.

Habitat for Humanity has a strong belief that it is important to provide a hand up and not a hand out to low-income families in need.  With a volunteer base of over 2,500 volunteers from the community, Habitat for Humanity encourages their volunteers to work directly with future homeowners during the building process.  Working with recipient families of diverse backgrounds, Habitat ensures that every member of the family, including children is engaged in the entire process of home construction and ownership in order to develop a sustainable model for families as they move forward in their future lives.

The base structure of the float will represent the land that a new home is built on and through diverse features will demonstrate not only the process of building a new home but also what a new home does for a family unit by bringing them together.  The rear of the float will demonstrate a home during the construction process with volunteer construction workers showcasing the spirit of volunteerism and giving back to the community.  The front of the float will be a completed home to share the dream that the community helps to build with Habitat, for every recipient low-income family, symbolizing the importance of shelter, dignity and respect of all members of our society. 

At the top of the float there will be a gold key which will signify the importance of a ‘key’ to a Habitat family – in that it doesn’t only open the door to their new home but instead it opens the door to a life of opportunity.

History of the Float

Followers of His Highness The Aga Khan, The Ismaili Muslim Community of Calgary have consistently been entering floats in the Stampede Parade for the past 19 years.  Consecutive winners of numerous outstanding awards, Ismailis have strived for excellence in their presentation, and have modeled great civic pride and spirit.  A strong commitment from volunteers combined with highly creative talent, has contributed to success in previous years.

In the past, the Ismaili Muslim Community has dedicated their floats to organizations such as Calgary Meals on Wheels, the YMCA, the United Way of Calgary, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and Federation of Calgary Communities.  Today Ismaili Muslims come from diverse countries from all over the world and are known for their strong principles of volunteerism and support for humanitarian causes.

The Ismaili Muslims

The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, generally known as the Ismailis, reside in over 25 countries including India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe, and in parts of China and Tajikistan. The Ismaili Muslim community’s diversity is a microcosm of the Islamic world, which in itself comprises many communities with differing tariqah (interpretations) and cultural traditions. Like all Muslims, the Ismailis are monotheistic and affirm that Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) was the last in a line of prophets that includes Moses and Jesus.

In common with other Shia Muslims, the Ismailis affirm that after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his cousin and son-in-law Ali became the first Imam of the Muslim Community. Ismailis believe that this spiritual leadership, known as the Imamat, continues through the hereditary line of Ali and his wife Fatima, the Prophet's daughter. His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan is the 49th Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims, and is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The Ismaili Muslims in Canada

The first group of Ismailis arrived in Canada in the mid-1960s as part of a professional pool that emigrated to Canada from the United Kingdom and western European countries. A few Ismaili entrepreneurs also arrived at that time in search of economic opportunities. This steady growth continued until the early 1970s when political changes in many Asian and African countries led to the arrival of large numbers of Ismailis in Canada.

Today, Ismailis are settled throughout Canada, and occupy senior positions in the professions and in government, and many are successful business people. In Canada, Ismailis have become known for their strong principles of volunteerism and support for humanitarian causes.

The Ismaili Muslim Community in Canada is governed by volunteers under the aegis of His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Canada, headquartered in Toronto. Local Ismaili Councils are based in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.

In consonance with the vision of Islam and their tradition of service to humanity, wherever Ismailis live, they have elaborated a well-defined institutional framework to carry out social, economic and cultural activities. Under the Aga Khan's leadership, this framework has expanded and evolved into the Aga Khan Development Network (www.akdn.org), a group of institutions working to improve living conditions and opportunities in specific regions of the developing world. In every country, these institutions work for the common good of all citizens regardless of their origin or religion. Their individual mandates range from architecture, education and health to the promotion of private sector enterprise, the enhancement of non-government organisations and rural development.