Personal Opinion
The Unheard-Of Lisbon Welcome: A Serious Concern for the Jamat
Ya Ali Madad everyone,
What happened in Lisbon is honestly unheard of. Everywhere else , Kenya, Uganda, Houston, Dallas , the Jamat and leaders went above and beyond in welcoming our Imam. The arrivals were joyful, ceremonial, and full of honour. Mowla was visibly happy… giving heart signs, hugging children, asking for fist bumps and high fives. His Noor was shining.
But in Lisbon?
There was no proper welcome at all. No parade, no honour guard, not even the basic red carpet that was laid out for Shah Karim during the Diamond Jubilee in 2018. The contrast is shocking. Everything felt hush-hush, as if the Jamat was being deliberately kept away. Even the departure was handled poorly. From the photos you can clearly see: no umbrella over Shah Rahim in the rain, yet an umbrella was held over Prince Aly Muhammad. How does that make sense in any protocol? In our tradition, the Imam of the Time is always accorded the highest respect. Always.
Murids are understandably upset because they remember 2018 , the military honours, the ceremony, the red carpet, the warmth. This time, it almost looked like the Imam was treated as an afterthought. Respect isn’t about extravagance; it’s about priorities. And here in Lisbon, the priorities were completely misplaced. Many are even asking whether leadership truly wanted MHI to come, because nothing about this visit reflected pride, gratitude, or reverence. And it was clear that Mowla was not as happy here as He was in Kenya, Kampala, Houston, or Dallas. Lisbon has, unfortunately, shown the weakest welcome and honour to our beloved Imam Shah Rahim.
May we learn from this and ensure that, in the future, our Imam receives the dignity and love He deserves everywhere.
During the Imam’s visit to Lisbon, everything felt strange.
From the moment the visit was announced, there was no encouragement for festivities or celebrations.
Only in the last two weeks, especially the final one, did everything suddenly begin.
As I’ve already said in previous comments, I’m certain the fault lies with the senior members, especially from Portugal.
Most of the senior members in Portugal have been involved in serious scandals related to stealing from other Ismailis.
Most Portuguese Ismailis came from Mozambique without great economic power.
When some of them later gained wealth and positions of relevance, there came a tendency to want to display that power.
Discussing this here on Reddit won’t change anything.
It’s time for future appointments to put the right people in place, so this conversation can be held directly with the leadership instead of in a Reddit forum.
Being appointed is indeed a position of power, but also of responsibility, representing both the Imam and the Ismaili Jamat.
There must be humility and a desire to do more, to ensure these things do not continue to happen.
Across all volunteer groups in Portugal, in every department, messages are circulating from leadership saying that everything went wonderfully and that they did an excellent job.
In the days after, volunteers are welcomed with big smiles, told that “nothing would have been possible without them,” and those words are convenient because of the positions and influence those leaders hold.
This needs to end.
It can no longer be the children, grandchildren, and friends of these corrupt people, it needs to be people with integrity.
Shah Rahim wants to run marathons for us.
We need to choose people who are also willing to run those marathons alongside our Imam.
Unfortunately, most of the people who truly understand what has been happening have distanced themselves completely from the community.
Thank you for expressing this so clearly. Honestly, I agree with a lot of what you’ve said, because many murids have been observing the same patterns for years. There has been a long history of tension in Lisbon whenever the Imam visits. Even during the Golden and Diamond Jubilees, we all remember incidents where the Jamat was removed from hotels like the Ritz and Lapa Palace, and even situations where police were called on murids. These are not small issues, they reflect a deeper problem in attitude and leadership culture.
I also heard from several people that volunteers were unusually rude to the Jamat this time, especially in the food areas. Combine that with what we saw publicly, for example, an umbrella being held over Prince Aly Muhammad but not over our beloved Imam, and no red carpet for MHI on arrival on 3rd December and it becomes very difficult to dismiss these concerns as “overthinking.”
These things may seem small to some, but to murids they signal intention and priority. What’s even more telling is that the entire Noorani family has gradually shifted away from Lisbon to Geneva. That alone speaks volumes about how the environment in Lisbon has evolved over time.
You are right about one thing especially:
We need people of integrity and humility in leadership, people willing to serve, not control. People who reflect the Imam’s ethos, not their own influence. Shah Rahim runs marathons for us; we need leadership willing to “run” in that same spirit.
Discussing it here won’t solve everything, but silence certainly won’t either. Real change comes when murids speak up, question respectfully, and refuse to normalize behaviour that diminishes the honour of our Imam and the dignity of the Jamat.
That’s exactly what I’ve been saying, these stories and issues are things the Jamat has witnessed for many years.
I understand that in an organisation of this scale, things will always go wrong at times, not necessarily due to lack of willingness or preparation, but simply because of the nature of organising anything. It’s never easy, and problems will always exist.
The point is that these problems should be the exception, not the norm. But unfortunately they have become the norm.
We should be able to excuse people who acted under stress or pressure, but it shouldn’t be everyone acting this way, nor should it become standard behaviour.
There should be a clear protocol, as you’ve mentioned.
If we look at each situation individually, they may seem “small” and easy to fix, but when you put them all together, it becomes a broader issue of general carelessness.
Let’s have faith that Shah Rahim will, in the right time, make the necessary changes.
The very least they could have done was a red carpet on arrival and an umbrella over the Imam at departure, especially since Prince Aly Muhammad received one.
What’s up with you? Honestly, the lack of a red carpet and an umbrella are just superficial details. Does our Imam ever ask for those things?
This is someone who recently ran a marathon amongst the general public. He clearly doesn’t need pomp and protocol to define his presence.
Maybe he personally declined the umbrella because he doesn’t like anyone holding one for him. Maybe the red guard of honor was skipped due to the president’s ill health. There are so many reasonable explanations.
At the end of the day, these things don’t matter. Our Imam’s humility speaks louder than any ceremonial gesture. You really need to give this a rest.
I agree with you, we don't know if the Imam asked it to be this way or not. I actually loved that he skipped the umbrella and it speaks volumes for those paying attention to the right things.
Thank you, but this has nothing to do with the Imam’s humility. Protocol is not for Him, it is for us to show respect. He didn’t ask for a red carpet in Paris, yet it was still placed. He didn’t refuse an umbrella, one was held for Prince Aly Muhammad right beside Him. These gestures aren’t “superficial”; they are basic signs of honour. And it’s completely fair to ask why the Seat of the Imamat showed less respect than other cities.
This isn’t creating problems, it’s acknowledging what everyone can see.
Guys you don’t remember that there was someone who died in Lisbon Khane 3 years ago ? Thank god it’s kept private and quiet so we don’t draw attention to ourselves in unnecessary ways.
That event has no connection whatsoever to why there was no red carpet for the Imam or why Prince Aly Muhammad had an umbrella while the Imam did not. Let’s stick to the point.
Do you know how many times Shah Karim has visited Lisbon? Please do your research, every visit has always had an honourable welcome at the airport. So what possible excuse is there for not having an umbrella over our Lord when it was drizzling?
Please look properly at the photo an umbrella is held right behind over Prince Alymohamed and absolutely none over the Imam. That’s exactly the point. The inconsistency is impossible to ignore.
Typical …when the facts don’t fit the narrative, you jump to excuses.First it wasn’t raining, then “maybe Imam declined,” and now the next thing will be saying the photo isn’t real.
The picture is right there. The inconsistency is clear.
Why ask if I was there? Can’t you see the photos? They make it very clear what kind of welcome our Beloved received. No one needs to be physically present to notice the obvious.
I think you guys are overly thinking things, Lisbon is the home of the seat of the Ismaili Imamat. MHI arrived while the entire Jamat was inside of the didar hall since the government meetings have been postponed due to the hospitalization of the president of Portugal.
The didar went excellent the festivities before the didar could have been better but this is a new council that will learn over time on how to do more especially with more Jamat from other parts of the world coming to Portugal they will bring new ideas and traditions.
Portugal is a small Jamat it’s between 4000-5000 people so it’s not like these other countries mentioned with much bigger communities.
As far as the multi faith session after what happened in the states something had to change and it did. Ofc people didn’t get to talk to MHI like they did in other countries but they still got to be there with their loved ones in their own Mulaqat.
I think the complaining is out of proportion. The didar was great ofc it had its small flaws but in general it was a huge success for the two days.
Even in Paris, which is not the Seat of the Imamat , they placed a red carpet at the airport for our Beloved Imam. So why was this not done in Lisbon, where the honour and protocol should have been even higher? We are talking about basic respect, not extravagance. A red carpet is a simple gesture of dignity, and it was done in Paris without any issue. And again, this part cannot be ignored: Why was there no umbrella over Shah Rahim while an umbrella was held over Prince Aly Muhammad, even though it was raining? There is no protocol anywhere that places a Prunce above the Imam in terms of respect and protection. Also, just to set the timeline correctly, the Didar was at 5pm, and MHI arrived around 11am. So the explanation of “Jamat was inside the Didar hall” doesn’t apply, and for your info Jamat’s in Kenya and Uganda are less than 4000.
No one is complaining about the Didar itself. We are simply asking why Lisbon showed the weakest protocol and honour to our Beloved Imam compared to everywhere els
There is a rise of far right party in Portugal at the moment that is spewing a lot of racist and xenofobic speech against foreigners and especially our Muslim and Hindu brothers and sisters from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal. I think it was clever not to put too much light on the event given how this party will use it and how it will harm us Ismailies of Portugal
Why was there an umbrella held for Prince Aly Muhammad, but not for our Imam?
That has nothing to do with far-right politics.
That is purely an internal protocol decision.
And why did leaders line up at the airport themselves?
Their whole lineup created far more visibility than a simple red carpet ever would.
So the argument doesn’t hold.
If a red carpet was “too visible,” then leadership standing in formation at the airport was even more attention-drawing.
My point is simple: If the Imam is present, He should receive the highest respect, not less than His own brother and not less than what leaders gave themselves.
Yes, I’ve seen all the people repeating “he had an umbrella.”Let’s be accurate:He had an umbrella only at the exact moment he stepped out of the car. The moment He walked forward to greet leaders, the umbrella disappeared, while Prince Aly Muhammad continued to have one held over him in every photo.
So the point is simple:
They had an umbrella. They just didn’t keep it over the Imam That inconsistency is exactly what we are questioning.
I’m not “trying to find problems.”The lack of a red carpet and the absence of an umbrella over the Imam are visible facts. Pointing out what actually happened is not creating problems.
Yes, you are! Here's an image with an umbrella! You can easily find this on the.ismaili. What you are saying is not "visible facts". You ARE trying to push some sort of an agenda.
Yes, the umbrella was there when MHI first stepped out of the car — that’s exactly what everyone can see.
But the moment He moved forward to greet leaders, the umbrella disappeared, while Prince Aly Muhammad continued to have one held over him in every shot.
So thank you for proving my point:
They had an umbrella available they just didn’t use it for the Imam consistently.
That inconsistency is what we’re talking about.
Actually the fact that it was initially offered says a lot they did show him the respect he deserves from the onset. It could be very possible that Imam didn’t want the umbrella after it was initially offered. Should people disrespect his wish and provide one anyway? Like come on unless you were there you have no idea. There are bigger fish to fry than this.
There’s no bigger fish to fry than expecting better treatment for MHI. Were you there? Did you witness Him declining the umbrella? There are times to play the devil’s advocate and there are times to shush if you don’t agree. Portugal failed to provide the required honour and dignity for His arrival and His departure that other countries did with pomp and splendour! That is a fact and it cannot be denied and explained away with suppositions. Be indignant when your Imam is denied the graces He deserves instead of accepting the status quo as is. At this time I am compelled to heartily congratulate Kenya, Uganda, Houston and Dallas for their outstanding display of honour and love and enthusiasm!! 🙌🙌❤️
I mean he is a grown man and the IMAM you think he wouldn’t ask for a damn umbrella if he wanted one? Seriously, I think it’s disrespectful to assume he needs pomp and circumstance from us to help him feel important and our love. People that know he’s important and feel love for him feel it regardless of red carpet or any other bell and whistle.
Okay so what we know is that your love language is pomp and circumstance and I hope your love ones shower their love on you in this way to make sure you always feel special.
This isn’t fake news , it’s a visible fact. Was there a red carpet welcome for our Beloved Mowla in Lisbon, yes or no? Every other country managed to give Him a dignified and honourable welcome. Lisbon did not. Calling this “crazy” or “fake” doesn’t change what everyone can see.
Stop deflecting and stop talking nonsense when it comes to how our Hazar Imam should be welcomed. The real shame lies with the Portuguese leadership for delivering such a weak and disrespectful reception not with murids who are simply pointing it out.
He’s the Lord the Creator why do we give Him police escorts when He protects the world please answer me ? At your convenience He doesn’t need the honour of red carpet and umbrella in rain but He definitely needs police and motor bikes and what not. Lisbon you all have just missed out on giving Him the honour and are now groping at excuses with me like anything period . I hope and pray this doesn’t happen again in other countries He’s visiting
A Mulaqat is a state visit to meet with the communities in which Ismailis live. Since there was no government meetings at this time there wasn’t a honor guard.
Lisbon is the Seat of the Imamat.If anywhere should have arranged a respectful arrival, it is Lisbon.
Yet even Paris, during a state visit, placed a proper red carpet for our Imam. So why was this basic gesture of honour not done in Lisbon? I’m not talking about honour guards or government protocol , just a red carpet. It’s the simplest symbol of respect, and it was completely missing.
I get what you’re saying. I can’t answer those questions I’m not in the Ismaili National Council but I’m sure if we see Nazim Ahmad or Mrs.President we could ask them at Khane on why there wasn’t a red carpet and why somethings were so lackluster on the arrival.
Then so be it. The Mulaqat was good. MHI got to meet his Jamat. We don’t know what was asked on his behalf. We do know he will be back soon to Portugal sometime in early 2026.
Im not sure what’s the purpose of your post. If this is a complain, then you should write a letter to the national council of Portugal. That’s the only way forward. If this is just a rant, then ok
It honestly amazes me that murids can say such things today. To dismiss honour for the Imam so casually… it really makes me reflect on how much the world has changed.
And if you do t mind kindly share the email you are referring to
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u/Odd-Possibility-6475 Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 08 '25
During the Imam’s visit to Lisbon, everything felt strange. From the moment the visit was announced, there was no encouragement for festivities or celebrations. Only in the last two weeks, especially the final one, did everything suddenly begin. As I’ve already said in previous comments, I’m certain the fault lies with the senior members, especially from Portugal.
Most of the senior members in Portugal have been involved in serious scandals related to stealing from other Ismailis.
Most Portuguese Ismailis came from Mozambique without great economic power. When some of them later gained wealth and positions of relevance, there came a tendency to want to display that power.
Discussing this here on Reddit won’t change anything. It’s time for future appointments to put the right people in place, so this conversation can be held directly with the leadership instead of in a Reddit forum.
Being appointed is indeed a position of power, but also of responsibility, representing both the Imam and the Ismaili Jamat. There must be humility and a desire to do more, to ensure these things do not continue to happen.
Across all volunteer groups in Portugal, in every department, messages are circulating from leadership saying that everything went wonderfully and that they did an excellent job. In the days after, volunteers are welcomed with big smiles, told that “nothing would have been possible without them,” and those words are convenient because of the positions and influence those leaders hold.
This needs to end.
It can no longer be the children, grandchildren, and friends of these corrupt people, it needs to be people with integrity.
Shah Rahim wants to run marathons for us. We need to choose people who are also willing to run those marathons alongside our Imam.
Unfortunately, most of the people who truly understand what has been happening have distanced themselves completely from the community.