Bohra issues: archive of eye-opening articles and posts
This website and Forum have many interesting and thought-provoking posts submitted by various members over a period of many years, and which are difficult to locate. We have gathered this material in one place to provide easy access, and a starting point. Do yourself a favour, read this today.
News & Events
- Democracy in action - Bohras have their say
- One of the prime objectives of the Dawoodi Bohra reform movement is to run jamaat affairs on democratic principles. To abolish the supremacy of few individuals, reformist jamaats everywhere strive to cultivate transparency and accountability through periodic elections and thus make the common members equal partners in decision making. Since its "independence" from Kothar's domination in the early 70's, Udaipur's Bohra Jamaat and its other affiliated units are run on democratic principles and they are an example for the rest of the community. more
Features
- Zehra Cyclewala: Taking on the high and mighty
-
Tell the auto rickshaw driver to drop you off at the Red Tower in Zampa Bazar, that is the only tower in Surat, he will know, she said. Fifteen minutes later I arrived in a busy street swarming with people and traffic, a typical late-morning rush of any mid-sized Indian city. There she was, standing across the street:  A bespectacled middle-age woman wearing a cotton shalwar-kameez. We greeted, and made small talk as we took a short walk to her house through the narrow, claustrophobic lanes.
more
Islamic perspective
- Composite culture: celebration of Indian unity
- Composite culture is celebrated by some and denounced by others. The purists of all religions denounce the concept of composite culture. They accept nothing short of 'pure Hindu' or 'pure Islamic' culture. The pure culture, needless to say, divides while composite culture unites the people of a country. more
Bohras and Reform
- Dai and his qualifications
- It is generally believed that a Da'i is as infallible as an Imam. Such a belief is certainly wrong. As far as the Ismaili beliefs go, there is no such belief about the infallibility of a Da'i. Only an Imam after Nabi and Wasi is believed to be infallible. more
- Karbala and its relevance to Dawoodi Bohras: 2
- This is the second part in a series discussing the relevance of Karbala to our community. Saifuddin Insaf argues that our present-day priesthood is completely out of step with the principles for which Imam Hussain sacrificed his life. more
Multimedia
- Interviews and talks
- Few people understand what the reform movement is about. They think reformists are against the Dai. This is not true. Check out a series of long-ranging interviews and talks to understand why reformists are fighting and what they are fighting for. more
Your story
- Victim of Sayedna's diktat
- As kids we were subjected to some sort of confusion at home... there was my Mom telling us to do sajdah and kiss the feet of the Sayedna whenever he was in town and on the other hand, my Dad scoffed at even the thought and reprimanded us for having done so. We wondered why the disparity in thoughts when all we could see around us was an insane sort of worshiping for the High Priest. more