The Dawoodi Bohra Community high priest, Sayedna Mohammad Burhanuddin Saheb is 97 years old but he spends billions of rupees every year on his Birthday and Moharram Tamasha. Full page advertisements with colour photographs are given in newspapers like Times of India, New York Times etc. Any one can understand that it cost a fortune to advertise in these papers. Beside them many pages special supplements are taken out in regional language newspapers. Several parties are organised with lavish dinners and expensive decoration. Sayedna Saheb is been projected as "Messiah of Humanity", "Ambassador of peace", "Humane at Core" etc. These titles are self-assumed.
Dawoodi Bohras are insignificant minority even among Muslims. There are hundreds of Muslims Ulemas, Scholars and high profile Muslims who work day and night in the cause of Islam and Muslims. They have written several books on Islam and the problems Muslims and are they publishing resalas, participating in Muslims conferences and seminars. Even Muslim leaders like Agha Khan, Azeem Premji , do not do such wasteful expenditure on their false publicity. We have neither seen nor heard any one spending billions of rupees on their publicity as Sayedna does year after year. Their work speaks for them.
Even Hindu religious leaders like Shankar Acharya and Satya Sai Baba, who have their followings in crores , are not heard doing such publicity stunts.
One then wonders what is behind such wasteful publicity stunts of Sayedna. Especially because the money he spends is community's hard-earned money collected forcefully, and thousands of Bohras are suffering in acute poverty.
It is not difficult to understand for those who have some knowledge of working of present Sayedna and his establishment.
Let's examine him step by step.
Religion-wise: one wonders what religion he is following. He all the times holds a copy of Qura'n in his hand and claims that he is followers of Qura'nic teachings and Islam. But he makes claims that are totally un-Islamic and against the basic tenets of Ismaili Bohra sect, such as"
1) He is "Elahul-Ard" (God on earth) though Islam believes in "la-Elaha El-Allah", there is no God except Allah. The present Sayedna after making these claims goes on renovating the old Bohra mosque. One wonders if he himself is God on earth for which other God he is offering his prayers.
2) He claims that he is the master of mind, body, soul and properties of his followers.
3) He even claims that he is the owner and of the mosques and though other Muslims dedicate mosques to Allah but Bohras must dedicate mosques to him.
4) Qura'n emphasises Sajda only for Allah. But the present Sayedna compels every Bohra to perform Sajda before him and call it Sajda-e-Ubudiat", which un-Islamic.
5) There is no priesthood in Islam but he takes pride in calling himself "the high priest of the Dawoodi Bohra community. He claims that without his permission Qura'nic instructions like Namaz, Roza, Hajj etc. are unacceptable.
6) Though he holds Qura'n in his hand all the times but he claims that this Qura'n in book form is a dead book and he is Qura'n-e-Natiq (the Speaking Qura'n).
7) The Qura'n strongly warns and exhorts the money-hoarders not to hoard their wealth but take care of the poor, orphans and the needy. Qura'n strongly condemns the practice of accumulation of wealth and warns the hoarders of dangerous consequences.
Qura'n warns that:
"Those who has gathered wealth and sedulously hoard it, thinking that their riches will render them immortal! By no means! They shall be flung to the Destroying Flame. It is Allah's own kindle fire, which will rise up to the hearts of men. It will close upon them from every side, in towering columns."
That means those who have accumulated wealth are destined to go to hell and burn in hell fire. In this light look at present Sayedna's huge accumulation of wealth, living in luxuries of palaces and spending extravagantly in image-building efforts, without caring for the poor and needy.
Inspite of the above Qura'nic warning, as if he is the sole owner of the heaven and hell, Sayedna claims to personally take to heaven those Bohras who pleases him by holding their hands.Constitution and Law-wise:
1) He is citizen of India which is a democratic and secular country as per its constitution. In a democratic and secular country he is carrying on his most authoritarian rule crushing Bohras human, civil and democratic rights under his feet. He and his family members have never taken part in to the electoral process of the country except donating to the local parties of all shades.
2) He makes his followers his slaves, slaves of his undemocratic dictates not only in religious but even secular matters.
4) His father had unlawfully usurped the properties and the trusts of the community, disposing of and selling of many and converting others as his commercial ventures.
5) He is openly playing fraud with Charity laws and Waqf laws. He has on his own coined a word "Sole-trustee" and claiming to be the owner of all the community's trusts and properties world-wide.
6) No court so far has accepted his fantastic claims but he shamelessly goes on carrying them.
7) Earlier like in other Muslim community the whole faith run about belief in Allah, his messenger and Qura'n. But he has put them on back burner and emphasises on the importance of loyalty of Dai also known as Sayedna, in every matters including personal matters like marriage death, naming of child or starting a business.
A large number of the Sayedna huge wealth remains unaccounted and large number of cases of illegal transfer of money goes unnoticed.
Humanity-wise:
1) He has started a practice of "Baraat" some thing unknown in the entire history of Dawoodi Bohra Community which is a different name for worst kind of ex-communication. It is most barbaric practice and it has broken many families. A person under "Baraat" has to do most inhumane acts like cursing his own parents and blood relations, stoning their dead bodies.
2) "Misaq" the oath of loyalty to Dai or Sayedna is another form of inhuman behaviour which claims that if one breaks the oath his properties will be looted, his wife will have an effect of three Talaqs, even Allah can not pardon such a person if does bear-footed tawaf of Kabah, unless Dai or Sayedna accepts his apology. Misaq is most powerful instrument in making Bohras slaves of orders of the Sayedna. Misaq is a part of Bohra faith but it was limited to Imam and not that harsh earlier. More ever it is not just a warning but it is implemented in most efficient manners. There are thousands of examples of Bohras who have committed suicide because of unbearable physical and mental torture due to Baraat.
3) The present Sayedna's vindictive and revengeful nature has been reflected in sudden agitation against the Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank in 1980 rendering thousands of Bohras jobless and making their established life miserable. Laanat (Cursing of Sunni Muslims khalifas) episode in 1988 resulted in riots between Bohras and Sunni Muslims killing five innocent persons.
3) His worst ugly face was seen in Galiakot where his own follower Bogra women from Udaipur were dishonoured in his presence. Thereafter sudden most barbaric attack took placed on the members of Bohra Youth, men and women in Udaipur's Moiyadpura mosques by Sayedna's goons under protection of state machinery.
Two enquiry commissions reports and print and electronic media world-wide has exposed several incidents of the persecution by the present Sayedna which are irreligious, unconstitutional and inhuman.
Inspite of these exposures, Sayedna under pressure from his family does not want to mend his ways and his style of functioning.
Rather he wants to hide his misdeeds behind this kind of extravagant publicity stunts every year. These also provides him platform for further corruption and exploitation.
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