The Aga Khan, who assumed the role of spiritual leader for millions of Ismaili Muslims at age 20 while an undergraduate at Harvard, has died at age 88. He dedicated vast resources, amassed from millions of dollars in tithes, toward the construction of homes, hospitals and schools in developing nations.

An urbane but almost mythical figure who saw no contradiction between his life’s religious and secular aspects

In 1908, the British Colonial Government appointed Prof Nelson Fraser as an education adviser for East Africa. His first task was to review the prevailing socio-economic and cultural environment and recommend appropriate learning programmes for the Protectorate.

Throughout his life, Aga Khan IV championed the belief that Islam is a thinking,