PIEN HUANG, HOST:
A lot of people know the influence of figures like the Pope or the Dalai Lama, but for about 15 million Nazari Ismaili Muslims, that spiritual leader is the Aga Khan, whose family line traces back to the prophet Muhammad. The newest Aga Khan recently visited northern Pakistan, drawing large crowds of followers eager to see him. Betsy Joles sends us this report.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Laughter).
BETSY JOLES: The reception begins as travelers enter Upper Chitral in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Volunteers stand along the road handing out Rooh Afza, a punch-red drink, along with hard candy wrapped in shiny foil.
MUBASHIR UDDIN: (Non-English language spoken).
JOLES: Mubashir Uddin, who grew up here, traveled halfway across the country from Lahore to help out. Only people from Chitral were encouraged to attend this gathering, called Didar. But many Ismailis live and work in other parts of the country, so they traveled home for it.
UDDIN: We are trying to facilitate them by giving them water, and this means we are welcoming them.
JOLES: The person they're coming to see is Swiss-born, American-educated Prince Rahim al-Hussaini, also known as the Fifth Aga Khan. He inherited this role from his father and great-grandfather before him, along with his family's wealth, which is in the billions, according to some estimates. Here he is speaking at the Ismaili Center in Houston last year.
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RAHIM AL-HUSSAINI: The relationships between Ismailis and the communities in which they live have always been grounded in understanding and common purpose.
JOLES: The 54-year-old imam is known to surf and run marathons. He's also believed to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammed by millions of Ismailis, some in remote corners of the world. Their branch of Islam is considered progressive by some outside the community and heretical by others.
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JOLES: Upper Chitral's Didar was held in a village called Parwak. It's one of several places the Aga Khan visited in northern Pakistan in late May. From the capital, Islamabad, Parwak is a 14-plus-hour drive, much of it on spine-rattling mountain roads. On the way, travelers stop at roadside camps where volunteers cook chicken in boiling vats of oil.
(SOUNDBITE OF OIL BOILING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
JOLES: Some people will go on to the venue from here on foot. Others will ride in shared vans or on the back of trucks, their heads swaddled in cloth to keep the dust out. Muhammad Sahib Khan has been driving on these roads for more than 50 years.
MUHAMMAD SAHIB KHAN: I'm a very old driver, old.
JOLES: He's from the Sunni sect of Islam but says he's transporting Ismaili neighbors to see their spiritual leader.
KHAN: (Non-English language spoken).
JOLES: In this district in Pakistan, Ismaili Shias live in pockets among the Sunni majority. This dynamic has at times been tense, says Masood ul-Mulk. He headed a development program in Chitral that began under the direction of the current Aga Khan's father, Prince Karim al-Hussaini, in the early 1980s. Some Sunni leaders in Chitral resisted the work initially, calling it religiously motivated.
MASOOD UL-MULK: What you find is that whenever you have any differences in the communities in our part of the world, there will always be people who will exploit it for the wrong reasons.
JOLES: Aga Khan development programs also operate in more than 30 countries globally.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Non-English language spoken).
JOLES: Standing near the Didar venue, 21-year-old Asma Hussain credits the Aga Khan's work in non-Ismaili communities with helping hers gain acceptance.
ASMA HUSSAIN: Saying that I am Ismaili, it means a lot for me. And I hope that our future generations - like, they are grateful for this because we were not able to express ourselves openly.
JOLES: Critics of the Aga Khan's development programs say they lack transparency, and some raise questions over the source of the family's wealth, since Ismailis contribute a portion of their income to their spiritual leader. In interviews through the years, the previous Aga khan made a distinction between his private wealth and development network revenue.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: (Non-English language spoken).
JOLES: In Parwak, followers crane their necks to watch the Aga Khan's helicopter glide down between snowcapped peaks. He walks a red carpet to greet followers before taking the stage to speak to them in casual English. Attendees weren't allowed to record him. Twenty-two-year-old Shaista Zaib came away feeling inspired.
SHAISTA ZAIB: He is giving us so much power, and we are feeling spiritually calm and comfortable. So it's like a more blessing for us.
JOLES: As she's speaking, the whir of helicopter wings begins again as the Aga Khan departs.
ZAIB: This is his helicopter.
JOLES: Yeah?
ZAIB: Yeah.
JOLES: His followers trickle out after him.
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JOLES: Car horns soon blare as thousands jostle for space on the narrow road to begin their rugged journey back home. With Siraj Uddin, for NPR News, I'm Betsy Joles in Parwak, Pakistan.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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