Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, head of the Mumbai-headquartered Dawoodi Bohra sect, will be conferred ‘Nishan-e-Pakistan’, making him the third Indian to get that country’s highest civilian award.
In Mumbai, the headquarters of the community at Badri Mahal, Dr D N Road, said that they have not received any official communication from the Pakistan government on the award, but PTI quoted a statement by Pakistan President Arif Alvi, who approved the conferment on Wednesday. The Mumbai office said the Syedna is currently touring Pakistan which has a sizeable population of Dawoodi Bohras.
Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin |
The Dawoodi Bohras are spread across over 40 countries and Syedna Saifuddin is the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq, or leader, of the sect. The Syedna or Dais are revered as representatives of Imams – a line of successors to Islam’s prophet – who went into seclusion after disputes over succession. The Dais first operated from Yemen, but have been based in India for the last 450 years, first in Gujarat and now in Mumbai.
Under their Syednas, the community has been implementing many social and infrastructure projects. The Mumbai community is currently constructing one of the largest urban renewal projects in the city, with a massive housing and commercial project in Bhendi Bazaar. A few years ago the Dawoodi Bohras inaugurated an education complex in Marol, Andheri.
Though the post of the Dai is not a hereditary title, some families have controlled the office for generations. The title is coveted because it gives control over the rich trusts of the one-million-strong sect largely made up of traders and professionals.
With Shahid Afridi during his current visit to Pakistan |
Morarji Desai was the first Indian to get the Nishan-e-Pakistan in 1990 and Kashmiri separatist leader Ali Geelani received the award in 2020. Other awardees include Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Xi Jinping, Presidents of Turkiye and People’s Republic of China, Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro, former Presidents of South Africa and Cuba.
The award is announced every year on August 14, Pakistan’s Independence Day, and the awards are conferred next year on Pakistan National Day, observed on March 23. But in special cases, these dates are not followed.
The Dawoodi Bohras in Mumbai
Community owned Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) is building one of India’s largest cluster redevelopment projects at Bhendi Bazaar, covering 250-odd buildings in an area of 16.5 acres. The project, which started in 2009, aims to rehabilitate over 25,000 people living and working in the area. Around 3200 families and 1250 businesses are being rehoused in the new high-rise buildings with wider roads and features like solar energy installations and sewage treatment plants.
Last month, the community inaugurated their largest mosque in India, at Bhendi Bazaar. The mosque, built after demolishing a century-old shrine,
The community recently started the Mumbai campus of their main educational trust, the Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, at Marol, Andheri.
The Syedna at a recent sermon at the main Dawoodi Bohra mosque. |
Succession disputes
The Dawoodi Bohras diverged from the mainstream Shias – which itself had separated from the larger Sunni group after the first dispute over the successor to Islam’s prophet. There were reported splits in the sect during the leadership of the 18th, 26th, 28th, 40th and 49th Dais. In the 1960s and 1970s, after an agitation against the religious leadership, one group became the Reformist Bohras who do not have a spiritual leader, but have a trust to manage their religious affairs.
The last split took place around 10 years ago when Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the 52nd Dai who led the community for 49 years, died on January 2014 at the age of 98 years, leading to the succession of his son, Mufaddal Saiffudin, but the title was also claimed by the Syedna’s half-brother Qutbuddin. After Qutbuddin died in March 2016, his son Taher Fakhruddin is pursuing the claim as the successor. The followers of Qutbuddin, who have split from the main sect, now call themselves Qutbuddin Bohras and have their headquarters at their leader’s house in Thane. The Bombay High Court is hearing a suit in the case.
