M. Ali Lakhani, (born 1955) is a traditionalist writer, lawyer, and editor whose works focus on metaphysics and the perennial principles found in the wisdom traditions of the world. He is married to Nazlin A. Lakhani and lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Biography

Born in England in 1955, Lakhani was educated at

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's oldest public school and is considered to be the oldest continuously op ...

before receiving his undergraduate and graduate degrees in law from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He immigrated to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in 1973, and was called to the Bar in British Columbia in 1979. He practises law in Vancouver as a trial lawyer. In 2015, he was conferred the designation of "Queen's Counsel" by the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia to recognize his work as a lawyer. In 1998, he founded the Traditionalist journal, ''Sacred Web: A Journal of Tradition and Modernity''. The bi-annual journal has included contributions by many leading traditionalists including

Titus Burckhardt Titus Burckhardt (; ; 24 October 1908 – 15 January 1984) was a Swiss writer and a leading member of the Perennialist or Traditionalist School. He was the author of numerous works on metaphysics, cosmology, anthropology, esoterism, alchemy, Su ...

, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy,

Jean-Louis Michon Jean-Louis Michon (13 April 1924 – 22 February 2013) was a French traditionalist and translator who specialized in Islamic art and Sufism. He worked extensively with the United Nations to preserve the cultural heritage of Morocco. Biography Bo ...

Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian Americans, Iranian-American academic, philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and Ulama, Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. ...

Frithjof Schuon Frithjof Schuon ( ; ; 18 June 1907 – 5 May 1998) was a Swiss philosopher and spiritual leader, belonging to the Traditionalist School of Perennial philosophy, Perennialism. He was the author of more than twenty works in French on metaphys ...

Huston Smith Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 – December 30, 2016) was a scholar of religious studies in the United States, He authored at least thirteen books on world's religions and philosophy, and his book about comparative religion, ''The World's R ...

, and

the Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. In 2001, Lakhani was invited to address the International Congress on Imam 'Ali in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

where he presented his essay on ''The'' ''Metaphysics of Human Governance''. This essay garnered the First Prize in English at the conference. The prize was awarded at a special ceremony in Tehran in March 2002. A revised version of Lakhani's essay is included in ''The Sacred Foundations of Justice in Islam''. The anthology was described by Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr, as "among the best writings on this extraordinary figure in Western languages and are obligatory reading for anyone interested in ‘Ali but not familiar with Islamic languages. In May 2016, at the invitation of the Temenos Academy, Lakhani presented a talk at the Royal Asiatic Society in London, England, titled ‘The Integral Vision of the Aga Khan’. The talk focused on a question asked by the

Aga Khan Aga Khan (; ; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imām of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ilism, Ismāʿīli Shia Islam, Shias. The current holder of the title is the ...

in 2006: "How, in an increasingly cynical time, can we inspire people to a new set of aspirations - reaching beyond rampant materialism, the new relativism, self-serving individualism, and resurgent tribalism?" Lakhani's book, ''Faith and Ethics: The Vision of the Ismaili Imamat'' was published by I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies in 2018. The book examines how the ideas and actions of the current

Ismaili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept ...

Imam, and fourth Aga Khan, Prince Karim al-Husseini, provide an Islamic response to the challenges that face Muslims in the modern era. The book provides an extensive survey of the Aga Khan's aspirations, showing how the values of integrity and dignity are at the forefront of his work, with the traditional Muslim concepts of cosmopolitanism and social justice guiding his response to the stark challenges of the modern age. In 2021, The Matheson Trust published an anthology of spiritual aphorisms by Lakhani, titled ''When the Rose Blooms''.

Bibliography

*''The Sacred Foundations of Justice'' (

World Wisdom World Wisdom is an independent American publishing company established in 1980 in Bloomington, Indiana. World Wisdom publishes religious and philosophical texts, including the work of authors such as Frithjof Schuon, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Titus ...

, 2006), edited anthology, where he contributed with a prize-winning essay *''The Betrayal of Tradition: Essays on the Spiritual Crisis of Modernity'' (

, 2005) *''The Timeless Relevance of Traditional Wisdom'' (World Wisdom, 2010) *''Faith and Ethics: The Vision of the Ismaili Imamat'' ( I.B. Tauris, 2018) * ''When the Rose Blooms'' (The Matheson Trust, 2021) *''Compassion in Traditional and Secular Morality'' (Religions: A Scholarly Journal, Issue 1, 2011, published by the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue) *''Aesthetic Foundations of Ecological Responsibility'' (Religions: A Scholarly Journal, Issue 4, 2012) *''Integral Pluralism as the Basis for Harmony: The Approach of His Highness the Aga Khan'' (Religions: A Scholarly Journal, Issue 9, 2016) *‘The Clash of Fundamentalisms’ in ''Clashing Fundamentalisms: When Rival Truth Claims Meet Head-On'' (Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, Community Seminar Volume 14, University of Victoria, Canada)

References

External links

M. Ali Lakhani: Life and WorkSacred Web“Not a Clash of Civilizations, A Clash of Ignorance”. Article by Douglas Todd in Vancouver Sun, September 4, 2012“Sacred Web Conference contemplates the role of religion in a secular age”. Article from Vancouver Observer, April 27, 2014

YouTube
(Interview by Iain T Benson, conducted at The Ismaili Centre, Toronto, on his book ''Faith and Ethics'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Lakhani Living people 1955 births 20th-century Canadian philosophers 21st-century Canadian philosophers Alumni of the University of Cambridge British writers of Indian descent Canadian editors Canadian King's Counsel Canadian spiritual writers English editors English people of Gujarati descent 20th-century English philosophers 21st-century English philosophers English spiritual writers Khoja Ismailis People educated at The King's School, Canterbury Traditionalist School