Salam to bohra's .. need answer

[Ja'afari]

salam alikum all ....

we alway's heard rumors about bohra's and im here to be sure about what i hear ..

is that true that non- bohra not allowed to convert to bohra??

for example if shia twelver or sunni decided to convert to bohra sect he is allowed?? or not

[Muslim First]

You must be nuts to convert to Bohri religion!!!

You convert only if;
Either you want to merry a Bohri or you have foot fatish.

[Kaka Akela]

Brother Ja'afri: Welcome to this forum and don't pay attention to Brother Muslim First's rant against Dawoodi Bohras (whether orthodox or progressive). As you realize that the doors to any religion are always open, either to enter or to exit. Before you enter our doors please read a lot about the historical background of our religion and then assess your intention to see if you would want to be a part of this sect. A good book to start with in english language is " Mullahs on the main frame" by Jonas Blank. he covers the history and also both perspectives of orthodox as well as progressive with an even handed treatment. You also have to assess deeply your reasons for leaving the religious sect of forefathers.

[anajmi]

No one in their right minds would want to convert to bohra-ism because it is a great religion. People want to convert to bohra-ism either because they want to marry someone who is a bohra or because they've lost their marbles.

[Hussain_KSA]

Bro Jaafari

Please pm me to get pdf version of " Mullas on Main Frame".

[Ja'afari]

Thanks for whom all answerd me ... and for these whom racist pls be far

[Al Zulfiqar]

jaafari,

please read my replies below in red.

salam alikum all ....

we alway's heard rumors about bohra's and im here to be sure about what i hear ..

is that true that non- bohra not allowed to convert to bohra??

there is no such rule. all non-bohras are gladly welcomed to convert if they wish. in fact bohras take pride in pointing out such converts esp. when such converted bohras show great devotion and aqeeda for dai. they consider it a feather in their topi.

for example if shia twelver or sunni decided to convert to bohra sect he is allowed?? or not

already answered above. all they need to is to undergo misaq at the hands of an amil or appointed functionary of the dai.

[ghulam muhammed]

Bro jaafri,

Religion is something which is very sacred and hence conversion should be only for the purpose of seeking a way to come closer to Allah (swt) if at all the alternate religion seems to provide an avenue for achieving such goals. Embracing a faith only in order to satisfy the worldly greeds can never prove to be beneficial. I say this because in case of bohras (as Bro.anajmi rightly pointed out) people convert mostly for the sake of marriage and not for attaining inner peace, especially the other muslim sects to whom bohraism doesnt appeal. If there was any appeal then we would have witnessed mass conversions which is hugely lacking. The dai whose prime duty is to give daawat has himself not taken any pains in inviting people to his fold thereby failing miserably in his PRIME duty. He is too busy glorifying himself and his so called achievements which are nothing but some insignificant titles, travelling in concorde and the luxury liner QE II etc etc. The diehard bohras themselves are at pain in identifying areas wherein the dai has ever contributed towards the cause of Islam and its Ummah

[think]

jaafri; you are welcome to read the book by jonas blank; but think again to the published matter. This english writer was paid to write this book. The dawaat could not find any bohra writer. this in itself should be enough for you.

[Al Zulfiqar]

so jaafri,

have you given your misaq and already converted to a bohra?

when are you throwing a ziyafat for syedna?

are we forum members, who helped you with your queries, invited to said ziyafat?

have you got your first starter std kit stitched and got your ejamaat card? your aim should be to obtain a green colored one, as that is the magic color which will open doors to the best suites and get you vip treatment all over the world.

if you need help making connections within the top zaad echelons in mumbai, then pm me and i will have you set up with the head honcho himself.

all the best.

[think]

jaafri; all the best. Be ready to be manipulated, intimidated and dominated.

[candela]

A good book to start with in english language is " Mullahs on the main frame" by Jonas Blank. he covers the history and also both perspectives of orthodox as well as progressive with an even handed treatment. You also have to assess deeply your reasons for leaving the religious sect of forefathers.

This book was not written by a Bohra, nor was it endorsed by the Syedna, the primary and singular human spiritual leader of the Bohra sect. To the devout Bohras and to the non-Bohras, but especially the devout Bohras, is it not telling that an "outsider" came to ask questions about the sect and he was primarily referred to a book about the Bohras not even written by a Bohra?

Bohras, have you no shame? Are you going to let non-Bohras tell your story for the rest of Time? Are you too lazy to write your own books about your sect? Is the claim about your openness just lip-service... do you *really* care to spread the faith?

[Kaka Akela]

Dear Candela: Instead of shaming all Bohras, why don't you please give out the name of a book that is written by a bohra. For this book Jonas visited the Saifee mahal, interviewed many zaadas and was allowed to visit jamea and talk to anybody there and best of all, the zaadas did not put any conditions of censorship on his work. If you and I were to do the similar thing there will be 1000 conditions and the book will be reviewed at several levels and it would be so sanitized that it will not resemble to what you or I wrote, also in your book they will not allow any chapters about Progressive bohras. So, I thought it was best to suggest this book for a balanced view, if you have an alternate book please mention it here so we all can be enlightened.

[SBM]

the zaadas did not put any conditions of censorship on his work.

As per Jonas Blank he only met Syedna for very few minutes and he was not free to discuss without the presence of his Zaadas

[Smart]

I have read this book, which has been written with the razaa of the dai. While reading through all the chapters, it is clear to a discerning mind that the this razaa has ensured that the version projected by the author has been clearly slanted, with mild praise of the establishment and hints of criticism of the reformists.
The author is by no means perfectly objective. He creates a rosy picture about the community and is dismissive about the criticism.
The fact is that a PhD student from Harvard has been co-opted by the Kothar to whitewash their deeds and to do a PR exercise for them. From the author and his writings, it is clear that expenses have not been spared.

[ghulam muhammed]

It is like Narendra Modi of BJP writing a book on RSS. In fact Jaafri should also read some literature written by Asghar Ali Engineer as his works covers all the aspects of religiousity, rituals and history of bohras as well as throws light on the conduct of the administration under the present dai.

[candela]

So, I thought it was best to suggest this book for a balanced view, if you have an alternate book please mention it here so we all can be enlightened.

Hi Kaka Akela,

I *don't* really have alternate books about Bohras by Bohras to suggest, that's exactly the point. Actually when I thought about it, two books came to mind: "I Speak for Myself" (http://www.ispeakformyself.com/) edited by Maria M Ebrahimji and Zahra T Suratwala, and an English translation of the Qur'an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Both of these are very noble undertakings, but the point remains that I can't think of major instances of Bohras writing about Bohraism for the benefit of humankind. Apparently somebody else has to do it for them...

Fwiw, if a non-Bohra wanted to learn about Bohraism, I too think "Mullahs on the Mainframe" is a decent place to start, the valid comments about it on this thread notwithstanding (indeed, though, it's kind of one of the *only* places to start).

[SBM]

Without the cooperation of the dawat, no meaningful research could be conducted in the community, so I am grateful for their permission and assistance; I hope, however, that I have presented a fair-minded work,

Jonas Blank in reply to my letter.

[Reporter]

"The Bohras" by Asghar Ali Engineer is a good alternative.