Dawoodi Bohra Forum

Criticism of the sayedna and his administration does not constitute bigotry. Also, challenging someones deeply held views does not constitute bigotry either. If this was the case then no social reform would be possible at all. Any leader will be deeply respected by at least a few people and so ...

Porus: I do not completely agree that we are beyond the humanistic outlook fostered by the Enlightenment. Also, the fact that humans are notoriously irrational does not mean that reason alone can not be a guide to how one should live ones life. In many ways a "New Enlightenment" is needed. People ...

It is not a "massive generalization". I have been watching and occasionally participating on this board for many years now. I say what I see. Religiosity is correlated with a sense of smugness and hostile behavior. It is not clear, of course, that religion is the cause of this behavior, but it is a ...

I want to point out one rather paradoxical thing. On this board, people who are least religious are generally most respectful. I have seldom seen Porous or Humsafar curse or rant. One would think that followers of a prophet who is mercy for all mankind would be more merciful and respecting of others ...

I disagree with this banning decision. It is pointless to ban people as they will reappear in a different guise anyway. The sorry spectacle of the fights between the Wahabbis and Isamilis shows their moral and intellectual bankruptcy. They display the worst possible character, not worth of a decent ...

The reform movement is not about religion. It is about social issues. For example, a few key demands of the reformists are transparency in handling community property (including financial resources), reduction in financial burden on common Bohras and non-interference in secular matters. If you read ...

Porus: The answer to both your questions is "no". That is why I said it could be someone else in question. I just want to verify the facts.

We have to careful here. When someone says Firoz Baduwala from Pune they will assume Sh. Firoz Bandukwala, who is still alive. Hence, I just want S. Insaf to ...

Please do not get carried away. I did call my friend this morning and Sh. Firoz Bandukwalla is alive but in the hospital. The Bandukwala family is very prominent. S. Insaf may mean some other person with the same or similar name. I do not think he is lying. But to maintain credibility he needs to ...

Which Firoz Bandukwalla is this? There is one Firoz Bandukwalla I know and he is alive but is sick and in the hospital. Firoz Bandukwalla is a very well known and gentle shaikh. His son and I are very good friends. He does a lot of charity and helps many poor people. It is true that he is not on ...

At one time Kalim also suggested that he has a good deal of bohra literature that can be make available in PDF format. We would like to ask him revisit that project.

I will certainly do so. In fact, I would like to contribute in anyway possible, financially or otherwise.

Yes, I am still lurking on this board. I visit it once in a while to catch up with what is happening here. I have become quite busy in the past six months with leading a large scale physics/mathematics modelling project. There are also other reasons for silence, outlined below.

As I see it the ...

Actually, if you say even the "false" religions can not be falsified rationally then how can you judge between any two given religions? Maybe all religions are false, including the one you follow. Religions are like fairy tales: there is no content in them that can be proved or disproved. Maybe you ...

I would like to elaborate on Porus's comment on mystic experiences. First, such experiences need not point to a divine origin or as a gateway to any great "truth", inaccessible otherwise. Such experiences are simply brain states in which a person feels deeply connected to his surroundings or ...

Everyone knows of the story of the Emperor's new clothes. In reality, the Emperor was naked. Although everyone could see it for themselves no one dared point out the obvious, for they thought that if not them, someone else did see the clothes and all they needed to do was pretend that they could see ...

Anajmi: You say you will debate falsehoods. How have you decided that what constitutes falsehoods? Also, there is really no proof for belief. Your belief in quran and Islam is no different that hindu belief in gita and the vedas. They are the same: there are no objective basis for distinguishing one ...

Anajmi: Actually I do not consider anyone more or less intelligent than me. A person can only be judged on how they behave with family, friends and others. All that is needed is that they care sufficiently for their loved ones, live a productive and informed life. Nothing more or less. Whether they ...

I would like to add a few points to what Humsafar had said. First, most bohras (orthodox/progressives) are highly religious. People do not join the progressive movement because they want to break away from religion, but simply because they can no longer stand the tyranny of the da'i and his ...

The statements in the above fictional piece being attributed to a Muslim is quite ironical but appropriate. It does display a 7th century understanding of science and the scientific method, no doubt picked up from ancient scriptures, tafsirs and hadiths collections. Not surprising that bulk of the ...

Dear kseeker,

I have been on this board for a long time (about 6 years) and have never felt as angry as on reading your previous post on FGM. FGM is a crime. Period. No one can justify it by talking about "arousal", "temptation" or "pre-marital sex". People who condone it, for whatever reason, be ...

Average Bohra has a good point: most of us are trapped by history. Some are obsessed with gruesome descriptions of death of Hussain and his family rather than reflect on the greater message of his sacrifice. Others are even more obsessed with excruciating details of what exactly happened at the time ...

Anajmi: I agree with AB on two points: (a) you need to get more creative in insulting people. It is getting rather predictable and boring. (b) Your story is highly suspect. It is possible that the bhaisaheb may say you are no longer shia as you pray in a Sunni mosque, but not because you pray 5 ...

Although I do not care when or even if one prays, here are my observation of Namaaz in Pune, specially in Ramazan. The magrib and isha namaaz are not joined. There is about an hour to hour-and-half of time gap. After magrib there is a whole series of prayers and duas and often a 15-20 minute sermon ...

Dear anajmi: First, the Progressives are not loosing anything. In fact the awareness among the bohras, at least in the West, is increasing. Almost every single bohra one talks to is fed up of the corruption and the heavy handedness of the amils and vali-mullahs. Some few are trying to put a ...

If, by saying that Bohras should convert to "mainstream" Muslims one means bohras should become Sunnis, then I think that is essentially a betrayal of Progressive principles as they are usually understood. Progressive leaders have repeatedly said that we want to carry forward the Fatimid heritage ...

Here we go again. I seem to be repeating the same thing again and again. I believe our friend Muslim First has not learned much from the word "read". Or else he has forgotten what awaits hypocrites and trouble makers in the after life. So let me repeat once more.

1) The books of Tawil were ...

Dear MF and Anajmi,

First, tawil is in written form. The book Tawil al-Daim is the tawil counterpart of Daim al-Islam. Both books are written by Sayedna Qazi Noman. Unfortunately the Tawil al-Daim is still in Arabic. However, Dr. Engineer has a very good article on it. I could not find the link ...

Anajmi: Simply reading a translation of the Quran will not get you understanding. Quran is not an ordinary book like a book on Imam Hakim's history. Even for people who do not accept its divine origin it is still can not be read without the context in which it is revealed. The Quran has centuries ...

Anajmi: That is not fully accurate. The da'i does not have the authority to tell you not to pray namaz or not to fast. His permission is not required and he does not claim otherwise. In this scenario the Bohra outward practice of religion is very similar to that of the Sunnis. The Aga Khan does ...

First, if you want to learn doctrinal system of the Bohras then please read the "Daim al-Islam". I even recommend it to MF and Anajmi. What you find is that the Bohras in practice are very close to the Sunnis, more so than other Shia. This is not surprising as Sayedna Qazi Noman, who compiled it ...

Zahid Ali's book is in Urdu. Its full title is "Hamare Ismaili mazhab ki haqiqat aur us ka nizam : Ismaili mazhab ki malumat ka mukammal khazanah". It is published in Karachi by Maktabah-yi Bayyin¯at. I do not know if it has been translated into English. I am quoting this information from my copy ...