Some residents applauded President Obama’s speech, especially the part where he talked about enlisting the Muslim community as some of our strongest allies rather than pushing them away. “So this is really about peace, about community, getting together, getting our own circles together, praying for peace and praying to make sure we stand strong together as a community and do not fragment because it’s all about fragmentation that’s kind of going on,” Fremont resident Raj Munaim said.
Moldaw Residence resident Janice Weinman, 73, right, chats with minister Amin Saheb Huzefa Poonawala, left, during a visit to the Palo Alto mosque (Masjid) in Palo Alto, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015. Members of the Mosque follow Dawoodi Bohra, a sub-sect of Shia Islam. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)
On Tuesday, about two dozen Moldaw residents walked and bussed over to the Dawoodi Bohra Community, where the world of Islam was calmly revealed by a two-man welcoming committee that lectured, laughed and answered all manner of questions. The topics ranged from prayer practices and women’s rights to the harrowing politics of extreme, Islamic terrorism.
“We emphatically and unequivocally condemn those atrocities in the harshest terms — the savagery that has been committed,” said Zoaib Rangwala, secretary of the community who said terrorists are not representatives of Islam. “What happened last Friday in Paris…was done by a “detestable organization called ISIS.” He continued “we urge the U.S. government and other nations to…wipe out this organization, to remove this cancer from the earth, to eradicate this poison.”
“thaali” containers, one for each family , prepared daily
through the initiative of Faiz al-Mawaid al-Burhaniyah Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin ensures that not a single Dawoodi Bohra is hungry, or ever experiences the fear, pain anguish or helplessness of where their next meal may come. Whether out of necessity or not, rich or poor – in Los Angeles, London, Karachi, Mombasa or Mumbai – every man, woman and child has a proper, home-cooked meal, delivered to their home often six days a week. The magnitude of that vision lies in its simple underlying assumption, that it is a basic responsibility to not allow your fellow man’s stomach to ache with hunger and his mind to fret with anxiety about where he may find his next meal. He taught a fundamental tenet, that first and foremost as a faith community, we must ensure our brothers and sisters do not suffer from food insecurity. It is our duty to love one another and care for another. He once noted in a sermon discussing thaali, “When you feed a hungry man, you do not need to ask for his duas (prayers) for you, it comes spontaneously from his heart.”
General V K Singh today said these “silent workers” did a tremendous job but have not been adequately recognised for their work.
Hailing Dawoodi Bohra community’s role in the evacuation of Indians from Yemen during ‘Operation Rahat’, Minister of State for External Affairs General V K Singh today said these “silent workers” did a tremendous job but have not been adequately recognised for their work.
“For evacuating Indians, not only did we get great amount of help from Yemeni authorities who were willing to come to the airport while it was otherwise barren, we also had the Indian Bohra community which provided us volunteers and assisted us in gathering people to come to us,” Singh said.
“These silent workers did a tremendous job and I think nobody seems to have recognised the type of role this little community played out there in ensuring that people could come to the airport, could be ferried to the airport. Word would be passed around to them that aircraft will start landing at so and so time so we want you to come early,” he said.
“They were also ensuring that immigration authorities worked there and assisted us,” the former Army Chief said.
When Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin arrived in America for his historic first visit as Dai-al-Mutlaq, his message resonated with love. “This is your outpouring of love [mohabbat] that my father taught you,” he said, “and you see my love for you.” His father, the 52nd Dai-al-Mutlaq, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (RA), traveled to the United States a number of times. He, too, delivered that very same message of love.
This October, His Holiness returns to America (Houston, specifically) to lead our sect’s most important event: Ashara Mubarakah. Ashara Mubarakah is a ten-day commemoration of the martyrdom of Prophet Mohammed’s (SAW) grandson, Imam Hussain (AS), along with 72 of his family and companions. This is only the second time in our sect’s history that Ashara Mubarakah is being hosted by the Dai-al-Mutlaq in America. Ashara Mubarakah is, in one way, a celebration of love–the love that Imam Hussain (AS) felt for all of us. A love so great that he succumbed to the will of God and gave his life for us; a love so profound that his last gesture before his departure was to pray for us.
Dr Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin being received by Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum at the Dubai International Airport (previously, Dec 2014)
Sultan ul-Bohra, 53rd Dai el-Fatemi, Dr. Syedna Aaliqadr Mufaddal Saifuddin, who was en route to Houston from Mumbai, USA was received at the Dubai International Airport by members of the protocol, Emirates officials and prominent members of the community in the UAE.
A large number of community members comprising men, women and children accorded him a grand welcome to their leader at the Masjid al Burhani Complex in Al Ghusais. He also led the afternoon prayer and addressed the gathering emphasising on the importance of education. He advised the community members to rise to the occasion as loyal citizens and engage in nation-building activities through hard work and determination.
“With great energy and vigor dedicate yourselves to activities that contribute to your cities and benefit their inhabitants. Become exemplary citizens through your wholehearted participation in projects and enterprises that contribute to the progress of the country that you reside in. This is my counsel to Mumineen the world over.”
— Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, 52nd Dai ul Mutlaq, father of present Dai ul-Mutlaq Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin
Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community, has been awarded the ‘Global Peace Award’ for 2015 in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the promotion of human rights and social justice.
The award was presented by Joginder Singh Bhadoriya, Chairman of the All India Council of Human Rights, Liberties and Social Justice (AICHLS) on September 23 here, according to a release.
Acknowledging the multi-faceted human rights values that are promoted by Saifuddin, Bhadoriya lauded the spiritual leader’s global food distribution program and his efforts in the social upliftment of thousands of families and in empowerment of women across the world.
Ameer Ali Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community, was awarded an honorary degree of doctorate in literature by Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad on Tuesday.
In his address, the chief of the Dawoodi Bohra community valued the work and dedication of the governor to promote education and research. He also appreciated the work done for the betterment of KU.
The Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment plan was lauded by graduate students of Columbia University’s school of architecture, planning and preservation who are visiting the city to examine its model of urban renewal.
… The ambitious Rs 4000 crore project, undertaken by the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT), seeks to redevelop 16.5 acres containing several crumbling residential and commercial structures, which have remained in general disrepair for more than a century. Spearheaded by the late Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community, this plan was drawn up to better the lives of 3,200 families, incorporating holistic, sustainable development with new buildings, green spaces, wide roads, modern infrastructure and more visible commercial areas.
