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Tutzing, Germany (dpa) - The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili branch of Islam, was awarded the tolerance prize of the Evangelical Academy on Saturday.
In an address at the ceremony, German Foreign Minister Frank- Walter Steinmeier praised the Aga Khan as a builder of bridges between religion and society.
The academy, based in the Bavarian town of Tutzing, honoured the Aga Khan for his "personification of a tolerant and socially committed Islam."
Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, who lives near Paris, is one of the world's richest man.
He is founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, a private foundation which promotes social and economic development as well as cultural projects around the world.
There are around 20 million members of the Ismaili community, a splinter group of the Shiite religion.
Following the ceremony, Steinmeier headed for Kuwait, where he is due to start a six-day tour of Gulf nations.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
