The Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims, History, Latest Video, News and Downloads

Firoz Rasul was flying with the Aga Khan on his private plane to Vancouver in 2005, when the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims made a pitch to him about a new job in Pakistan.

Mr. Rasul, who had retired two years earlier as chief executive officer of fuel-cell developer Ballard Power Systems Inc. and was heading the Canadian association for the Muslim sect, was stunned by his offer to become president of Aga Khan University.

“I was shocked, flattered … and terrified,” recalls the 57-year-old, who agreed to take on the job. “It’s a massive role. You are talking about a university in the developing world – in countries that are highly volatile and fragile. We are in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya and Syria [among others].”

But these countries need universities to develop leaders capable of improving education and health care, battling corruption and increasing social cohesion, he said.

While he was thrilled to accept the challenge of running a multicampus university and its myriad programs, he was asked to do so as a volunteer. “My wife and I have done reasonably well in life, and we feel it’s time to give back,” Mr. Rasul said during a visit to Toronto.

Born in Kenya, Mr. Rasul was educated at the primary and secondary Aga Khan schools in Nairobi. That provided the foundation for his engineering degree, which he obtained in Britain, and his MBA from McGill in Montreal.

Not only did he get what he describes as a high-quality education at the Aga Khan schools that would ordinarily be the privilege of the rich, he also gained a set of values that would guide him in life. “It spoke not just about ethical behaviour, but also about compassion, generosity to those who are less privileged and giving back to the community.”

As president of an international university, Mr. Rasul spends a lot of time on the road. But his base is in the original campus in the Pakistani port city of Karachi. He is expanding the school’s focus beyond medicine and teacher development to arts, science and graduate programs.

Mr. Rasul acknowledged that leaving a comfortable life in Vancouver for the dust and heat of Karachi has been a bit of a shock. It is not uncommon to be without power several times a day. “You could be driving home and the street lights go off. You could be sitting in a restaurant … or be at the airport and the power goes off. You could have a 44-degree day outside, and no air conditioning at the airport.”

But he sees such things as minor discomforts.

“You realize that what you are doing is actually making a difference to change lives,” Mr. Rasul said. “That is what is so exciting about it.”

Shirley Won

Source: TheGlobeandMail