Dhaka, May 22 (IANS) Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims worldwide, has urged Bangladesh to promote “freedom from fundamentalism” as part of school and university education. He agreed to an annual dialogue with the intelligentsia for which a proposal came Wednesday from Bangladesh’s Education Advisor Hossain Zillur Khan.

The Aga Khan suggested further promotion of university research activities and improvement of madrassa education.

“He also recommended inclusion of moral education, culture and subjects related to freedom from fundamentalism in the curriculum,” Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), the official news agency, reported Thursday.

The Aga Khan and Bangladesh Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury jointly laid the foundation for the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre in an upmarket Dhaka residential locality, which will be used as a place for congregational gathering of the Ismailis and their administrative functions, The Daily Star said.

Recalling his grandfather Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan’s call to Ismailis to settle in the then East Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947, he said the commitment to Bangladesh has continued, often channelled through the activities of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).

AKDN is one of the major NGOs engaged in development and disaster relief work in Bangladesh.