Alwaez Mirza P Walji was born in Moshi, Tanzania and spent much of his childhood in East Africa. He studied in London, England where he met his wife, Zarina Dhanani. They were married in Kampala, Uganda in 1968. The family, including his two sons, Aleem and Ghalib settled in Canada in the early 1970s and moved to the United States for nearly a decade where Mirza was Mukhi of the Atlanta Jamatkhana and became an honorary Alwaez. Mirza's love for music and devotional poetry spanned many years. He recited ginans throughout his life and took time to study the languages, poetic traditions, history and culture from where they originated. He learned about the lives of the Pirs who composed the ginans and made great efforts to translate the many languages of the ginans into languages and accessible knowledge that could be understood by the Jamat. Mirza became an honorary Alwaez in his early forties in part because he wanted to share the 'wonderful tradition' of ginanic literature with the Jamat. He made dozens of waezes in the United States and Canada emphasizing the importance of the Shia batini tradition particularly the role of devotional literature within the faith. At the encouragement of his family and many members of the Jamat, Mirza recorded a selection of ginans that he loved to recite hoping that they would bring peace, inspiration and spiritual fulfillment to those who listened.
Birthplace:Moshi, Tanzania Centre/JK:Richmond, British Columbia, Canada Profile last updated on September 05, 2022. Back
Ginans by Mirza Pyarali Nazerali Walji (12) Profile Back