DUSHANBE, August 23, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- Central Asia Premiere of documentary “An Islamic Conscience: the Aga Khan and the Ismailis” will be held at Dom Kino in Dushanbe on August 29. 

Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, the film producer, Mr. Shamir Alibhai, said that “An Islamic Conscience: the Aga Khan and the Ismailis” is an independent documentary feature film directed by multiple Emmy-award winning filmmaker Bill Cran.  It was first broadcast nationally on television in Canada and has been screening all over the world including at Harvard, Stanford, London, and East Africa. 

The film is about His Highness the Aga Khan, who became Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims on July 11, 1957 and his efforts to promote dialogue between civilizations.  

Born into a world of wealth and privilege, he devotes his life to eliminating poverty and inequality. A religious leader who traces his ancestry back to the Prophet Muhammad, he struggles to balance the traditional with the modern.

For the past five decades, the Aga Khan has been the spiritual leader and Imam of the 15 million Ismaili Muslims in a world that has changed dramatically. From the end of colonialism and the expulsion of the Asians in Uganda to the fall of the Iron Curtain and 9/11, the Aga Khan has struggled for a common humanity in a divided world.

At a time when Islam is at odds with itself and with the West, the Aga Khan represents a voice of moderation, speaking out for pluralism and diversity, and promoting dialogue between civilizations.  But will he be heard?