Aga Khan III

His Highness
Aga Khan III
GCSI GCMG GCIE GCVO PC
Shah in 1936
48th Imam of the Nizari Isma'ilism Muslim
In office
17 August 1885 – 11 July 1957
Preceded byAga Khan II
Succeeded byAga Khan IV
Permanent President of the All-India Muslim League
In office
1906–1957
Member of the Assembly of The League of Nations
In office
1934–1937
President of the Assembly of The League of Nations
In office
1937–1938
Preceded byTevfik Rüştü Aras
Succeeded byÉamon de Valera
Personal life
Born(1877-11-02)2 November 1877[1]
Died11 July 1957(1957-07-11) (aged 79)[1]
Versoix, near Geneva, Switzerland
Resting placeMausoleum of Aga Khan, Aswan, Egypt
Spouse
  • Shahzadi Begum
  • Cleope Teresa Magliano
  • Andrée Joséphine Carron
  • Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan (birth name: Yvonne Blanche Labrousse)
Children
Parents
  • Aqa Ali Shah (father)
  • Nawab A'lia Shams al-Muluk (mother)
Other namesSultan Mohammad Shah
Religious life
ReligionShia Islam
DenominationIsma'ilism
SchoolNizari Ismaili
LineageFatimid

Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah[a] (2 November 1877 – 11 July 1957), known as Aga Khan III,[b] was the 48th imam of the Nizari Ism'aili branch of Shia Islam. He was one of the founders and the first permanent president of the All-India Muslim League (AIML). He was also a descendant of Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali ibn Abi Talib (601–661), the fourth Rashidun Caliph and first Shia Imam.

His goal was the advancement of Muslim agendas and the protection of Muslim rights in British India. The League, until the late 1930s, was not a large organisation but represented landed and commercial Muslim interests as well as advocating for British education during the British Raj.[2] Shah advocated for the recognition of Muslims in India as a distinct political and cultural community, a position that would later align with the principles underlying the two-nation theory. Even after he resigned as president of the AIML in 1912, he still exerted a major influence on its policies and agendas. He was nominated to represent India at the League of Nations in 1932 and served as President of the 18th Assembly of The League of Nations (1937–1938).[3]

  1. ^ a b https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aga-Khan-III, Biography of Aga Khan III on Encyclopedia Britannica, Updated 18 September 2003, Retrieved 31 March 2017
  2. ^ John Keay (2001). India: A History. Grove Press. p. 468. ISBN 978-0-8021-3797-5.
  3. ^ "Conferencing the International".


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