Trudeau & Aga Khan IV
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As an East African Ismaili, I grew up in a community that almost worshiped Pierre Treadau. This became extremely apparent during the 2016 federal elections, when his son, Justin Trudeau ran for prime minister. At 11 years old, I didn't understand the complexities of Ismaili's ‘allegiance’ to Trudeau, but every Ismaili I knew voted for Trudeau. I knew that Pierre Trudeau played a significant role in establishing Ismaili's presence in Canada, but only recently did I begin to understand its complexities.
Muhammad, in Gifts of Amin, discusses the relationships between Pierre Trudeau and Aga Khan IV (more commonly referred to as Hazar Imam by the Ismaili community) and his role in bringing Asian Ugandans into Canada. Pierre Trudeau and The Aga Khan IV’s friendship began when they studied together at Harvard University, and their relationship undoubtedly impacted migration quotas for Ugandan Asians because of the large Ismaili population that made up that demographic. As Muhammedi illustrates, The Aga Khan “had advised the Ismaili community to secure Ugandan Citizenship to reduce tensions between the community and Ugandan Africans” (Muhammedi 17) which required them to give up British citizenship. Thus, at the time of the exodus, Ugandan citizenship was revoked and large number of Ismailis were stateless. This categorization was pivotal in The Aga Khan IV's advocacy for Trudeau to accept large numbers of Ismailis, by highlighting their dire situation. Trudeau settled on allowing 6,000 Ugandan Asians in the country, a large portion being Ismaili.
I was never aware of the process of Ugandan Ismaili migration to Canada which entailed a unique categorization of Ismailis as stateless, granting them preferential treatment throughout migration applications. As an Ismaili, I feel almost weird that as a religious group, we gained preferred treatment because of the personal and political pull of our religious leader. I really wonder if that wasn't the case, how would Ismailis retain their religious and cultural values either in Africa, or where would they have gone? The fiscal resources from Ismaili institutions also supported the migration of Ismailis into Canada through flights, accommodation, and the establishment of cultural institutions. The combination of support and fiscal resources, as well as preferential treatment, must have complicated the migration of other south asians living in Uganda (Sikhs, Hindus, other Muslims, etc) who experienced the same external threats of Idi Amin's regime, especially since other minority Ugandan Asian communities did not have the same access to resources as the Ismailis.
As I previously mentioned, Pierre Trudeau is a significant figure for East African Ismailis because of his key role in their migration and integration. His pluralistic and multicultural philosophy facilitated conversations between him and The Aga Khan, where he fostered a cultural climate that would allow Ismailis to thrive.
While reading Muhammedis's paper, I reflected a lot about Ugandan Asians (specifically Ugandan Ismailis) and their embodiment of the ‘desirable migrant’. On a political level, Ugandan Ismailis were seen as model migrants because many were skilled and educated. Ismailis in Uganda were encouraged to get educated and build up skills, by the Aga Khan IV and his implementation of institutions including Aga Khan Schools that served to educate Ismaili populations. In this way, the Aga Khan was able to market Ismailis as ‘desirable migrants’ which helped increase migration quotas to Canada because of their economic and social contributions.
Although Ugandan Asians were characterized as ‘model migrants’ on a political level, they were not received as such in Canada. The social climate of Canada had not yet embraced the pluralistic nation Pierre Trudeau advocated for. Thus, many Ugandan asians faced challenges finding jobs often rooted in discriminatory and racial bias. My grandfather, although not from Uganda, was an East African Ismaili who struggled to find a job because of his accent, and he was denied even an interview because of it. Within the Canadian context, Ugandan Asians were constantly ‘othered’ and perceived as a threat to Western culture, challenging their integration. So despite the education and skills that the Aga Khan emphasized and the ‘cultural richness’ that appealed to Trudeaus ideas of pluralism, Ugandan Asians still experienced a great deal of discrimination.