Ismailis cook up community spirit at 28th Stampede Breakfast
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The Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre hosted its 28th Stampede Breakfast on Saturday, an elaborate affair attended by Premier Danielle Smith, Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Salma Lakhani, lieutenant governor of Alberta, and several other public figures.
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'Ismaili communities are always and everywhere, defined by their respect, compassion and dedication to helping the people around them,' Smith told the crowd. 'You are a symbol of what this province is, which has become more diverse in every sense of the word.'
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Ismailis, a sect of Islam mainly comprised of South Asians whose ancestors had migrated to African countries, found a home in Calgary after Uganda's then-dictator Idi Amin expelled its South Asian population in the early 1970s.
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Ismailis differ from other Islamic sects by placing their belief in a living, hereditary Imam, whom they consider as their spiritual leader. The global community garnered prominence owing to their erstwhile Imam, Prince Karim al-Husseini, also known as the Aga Khan IV, who ran several philanthropic efforts across the world.
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al-Husseini, the community's 49th leader, passed away in February, giving the community its 50th Imam, Prince Shah Rahim al-Hussaini.
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Ismailis in Calgary began thriving soon after arriving in the city five decades ago and entered a float into the Calgary Stampede parade in 1986. A little over a decade later, its members began hosting a Stampede breakfast, which has since become one of the city's most important cultural events.
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This year, the breakfast featured traditional pancakes, eggs and bharazi, pigeon peas cooked in a coconut sauce.
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For the Islamic organization, the event is a way of serving Calgarians.
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'As Ismailis, a big part of our value system is to be able to give back to the communities in which we live, in which we come from,' Alisha Kanji, media spokesperson of Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre's Calgary chapter.
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'So the stampede… also allows us an opportunity to build bridges with other communities as well, and to showcase all of our wonderfulness that we have here in our community.'
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