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
- Ismail K. Poonawala honoured at a symposium
- On May 23, 2013 UCLA organized a symposium to pay tribute to UCLA Professor Emeritus Ismail K. Poonawala. Prof. Poonawala is a Bohra, and a renowned scholar of Isamili Shiism. A younger generation of scholars was invited to speak at the symposium entitled “Reflections on Ismaili Studies: Standing on Poonawala’s Shouldersâ€. Dr. Sumaiya Hamdani, Dr. Omar Ali-de-Unzaga and Dr. Daryoush Mohammadpour presented new research in a tradition made immeasurably richer by Prof. Poonawala contributions to Ismaili Shiism. more
Features
- An artist true to himself, true to his soil
- Every morning after breakfast you will find Abbas Batliwala in his studio communing with his canvas. “It’s the best time of day,†he says. A time to reflect on inner universe. From its unknown depths emerges an insistent creative urge that has defined his destiny and given him his true calling. If not for this urge Abbas would have been just another shopkeeper. “I’m no more than a salesman,†he says. Not for him the airs of an artist. He makes light of his talent and fame. more
Islamic perspective
- On Sufi approach to Islam
- Historically speaking sufism appeared in Islam towards the end of first century of Islamic calender. Some sufis of course maintain that the Prophet of Islam himself is the mainspring of sufism and they draw inspiration from him for their spiritual and devotional practices. more
Bohras and Reform
- When Sayedna finally came to Udaipur
- The visit of Sayedna Muhammad Burhanuddin to Udaipur in March 1999 was a milestone for the Bohra reform movement for reasons more than one. The Kothar has tried every trick up its sleeve to break the reform movement specially in Udaipur. more
- Bohra clergy: the myth makers of our time
- It is typical of our age that it considers the creative myths of antiquity as fairy tales when its myths are far worse: destructive and demonic. The Nazi myth of racial superiority and communist myth of a classless society were nightmares, destroying nations and communities. The capitalist myth of lasting prosperity through conspicuous consumption is equally destructive and wasteful of world's scarce resources. These and other similar myths have subserved narrow and sectarian group and class interests. Exploitation of a community for power and pelf is the concealed aim for the invention of these myths. 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
- How can we stop Kothar’s juggernaut?
- I was born in 1939 in a Dawoodi Bohra family. Having been brought up in a traditional Bohra household and later having migrated to North America I ensured that my children were raised in the same tradition. I taught them to read, write and recite Arabic, how to perform wudhu and offer prayers, explained Islam and its sects down to what we are as Dawoodi Bohras. more