 The Mahdi is therefore a mission carried out by several Shi‘a Ismaili Imams and not a specific individual.Today, the 49th hereditary Ismaili Imam, Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV, is undertaking the “Mahdi-ist” mission – the functions of the Mahdi – through the work of his institutions in the Aga Khan Development Network.In Ahmadiyya belief the terms "Messiah" and "Mahdi" are synonymous terms for one and the same person.