Pours his wealth into Islamic sites in Syria

ALEPPO, Syria, (AFP) - The majestic citadel atop Syria’s ancient city of Aleppo, the Masyaf fortress and the castle of Arab conqueror Saladdin have all been given a new lease on life as part of a project by the Aga Khan to promote Islamic sites.

“We don’t do enough to illustrate to the people of our world the greatness of Islamic civilisations,” the 71-year-old billionaire spiritual leader of the world’s 15 million Ismailis told AFP in an interview.

The Aga Khan said at a recent ceremony capping work in Aleppo that his goal is to educate the world on the wealth of Muslim culture.

“Because they don’t know our history, they don’t know our literature, they don’t know our philosophy, they don’t know the physical environment in which our countries have lived, they view the Ummah (the Muslim nation) in terminology which is completely wrong.”