Iranian Shia and Dawoodi Bohra - Literature review Example

Iranian Shia and Dawoodi Bohra The Iranian Shia and Dawoodi Bohra represent a perfect example of how religion has been used to influence almost all aspects of communities where the groups are functional. To start with, it is vital to note that the Shia Islam is the second largest sect of Islam. The Shias or shi’ites is a term that is commonly used to refer to the followers of Shia Islam. Shia is an abbreviation for the word Shi’atu Ali, which implies a faction of Muhammad’s son in law and Cousin Ali. The Shia Muslims believed that the leader was Muhammad’s successor. According to Mottahadeh (8), the Shia Islam, just like other factions of Islam, is strictly based on adherence to the message of Islamic prophet Muhammad and the holy Quran. The Shia differs from other Islamic groups in that they belief God is the only one who can select a leader to protect Islam, sharia, and the Quran. For that reason, the Shias belief that Ali, who was Muhammad’s son in law, as God’s rightfully appointed successor of Prophet Muhammad. Additionally, Shias also believed that Ali was the first Imam. The Shias belief system was deeply extended to the Ahl al-Bayt, who was members of Muhammad’s family, and some specific individuals among his descendants, who were called the Imams. That group of people was widely regarded to have some special political and spiritual authority over the community. This could be the main reason why the Islamic group has a wide influence in communities where many members are subscribers to their Muslim beliefs. Throughout history, there have been many branches of Shia. However, the modern Shia is generally divided into three main groups. During the 21st century, the Ithna ashariyya were the largest Shia sect, which was commonly known as the Twelvers (Espsito 5). However, there were other smaller branches that included the Zaidi, Alawis, Ismaili, Druze, Alevis, and the Bohra. The Dawoodi Bohra’s belief system can be traced back to Yemen where they were persecuted since their ideologies differed from that of Zaydi Shia Islam and the Sunni Islam. The term Bohra emanated from vehru, a Gujarati word which meant trade. The term was used in reference to their traditional profession. On the other hand, the term Dawoodi was used because the group had supported Dawood Bin Qutubshah during the 1592 leadership dispute. Thus, the sect came to be recognized as the Dawoodi Bohra. The Dawoodi Bohra has a central spiritual leader, who is normally referred to as an ‘unrestricted missionary’. At the same time, it portrays a blend of varied cultures, which includes Iranian, Indian, African, Yemeni, and Egyptian. The group has also successfully developed their own language known as the language of the Da’wat. They are widely recognized for their efforts in participating in various community projects such as, philanthropic efforts, building of schools, hospitals, and restoration of Shia and Islamic landmarks. Though their community comprises of a small number of members of approximately one million worldwide adherents, they are totally united (Mottahadeh 22). According to Blank, the Dawoodi Bohra has managed to create a tight-knit community because of their religion and practices associated with it. From his book, he points out that the Dawoodi Bohra has a number of life cycle rituals spanning from birth to death. The most fundamental ritual among the Dawoodi Bohra is the oath of allegiance to Da’i called mithaq. The oath is expected to set the path of what is expected of every Dawoodi adherent. The oath’s main purpose is to foster full obedience to the faction’s spiritual leader in all matters regarding their religious and temporal aspects. Having its members to take an oath acts as a strong sense of identity and unity. Also, the fact that all the members swear allegiance to one central leader and the controversy revolving around the meaning of an oath, has sparked massive power struggles within the Bohra community. The Dawoodi Bohra has a wide spiritual heritage that is responsible for various annual religious rites. The annual spiritual rites are instrumental in the provision of guidance to the Bohra faithful on the manner in which they should conduct themselves throughout the year. This implies that religion plays a fundamental social, economic, and political aspect of the community where the sect operates. Within their community, the Dawoodi Bohra has successfully created religious and social programs, which are expected to be strictly observed (Espsito 31). There are annual spiritual rituals and rites that are performed within the Dawoodi sect. the principal ritual is the Waaz ritual, which is normally presided over by the da’i himself. The ritual is normally typified by a sermon. The Majalis or religious lamentation assembly is another ritual that is normally presided over by a clergy. The ritual is normally mixed-sex in nature, although the roles and positions occupied by men and women during the ritual sessions differ. The Bohra community is well developed and allows for active participation of women in many important activities of the society. Women have been given authority not only to organize themselves, but also to pursue their interest in education to the level that they wish. Such steps have led to continuous improvement of the status of women in the Bohra community over the past decades. Towards the middle of the 20th century, the Bohra community had accepted the use of secular education, in addition to their vernacular. Blank (178) demonstrated the manner in which the Bohra clerics, together with ordinary people, have totally embraced the western education. The Bohra clerics are educated in a seminary while ordinary pupils within the Bohra community are trained in the cleric-managed madrasas cum schools. In the schools, the pupils are taught on both religious and cultural norms, together with other Western scientific pedagogy for the purpose of preparing them for their future material world and spiritual life. This implies that religion in that community is deeply engrained and ultimately affects the nature of their education system together with education programs chosen for students. Bohra community has a central leader who spearhead in both temporal and religious matters make them unique from other Muslim sects, who have remained mostly leaderless. Centralization of power among the Dawoodi Bohra has enabled the Da’i to enhance the process of modernization and invigorate selective traditions (Espsito 52). The Da’i spiritual hegemony is exercised via enforcement of strict dress code for both genders, providing certificates of orthopraxy, and collecting tithes and taxes from members. Issuance of certificates of orthopraxy for women has always been interpreted to mean the rival of the purdah practice under a modern guise known as rida. The rida is made up of a two-piece, which is colorful and comprises of embroidery and baubles. The colors green, yellow, and red are normally used in the certificates to represent the holder’s level of obedience to the regulations promulgated by the high priest. The Bohra’s rida can be easily distinguished from other forms of Veils used by Muslim women in that they are colored and decorated with lace and patterns. Unlike the traditional Muslim veils, the rida does not require women to conceal their faces. The rida is specially designed so that it is fixed with a flap known as pardi, which is normally folded to one side so as to facilitate visibility. On the other hand, the Dawoodi Bohra man are required to observe complete adherance to a traditional cloth characterized by a white, three piece outfit combined with a white and gold cap. Most of the ancient traditions within the Bohra communities have been revitalized after many of the clerical class adopted modern information and communication technologies. Adoption of technology by the Dawoodi Bohra has helped the community to adopt global views in many aspects of their lives. However, the use of modern technologies and globalization has contributed to threats faced by the spiritual leader in his quest to enforce them. The Bohra’s dedication to adopting modern technology represents a unique quality that the Muslim group can embrace modernity while, on the other hand, remains true to their core beliefs and traditions. The research that was done by Blank (62) revealed that the Dawoodi Bohra uses modern communications technologies such as cell phones and internets to connect with far-flung believers. Over the past two decades, many Bohra believers have adopted modern technologies with an aim of reinvigorating traditional values by enabling them to have an immediate and constant communication with their Da’i. Their system of central leadership played a fundamental role in enabling them to adapt to new forms of communication. This is because the Da’i acts as their touchstone for guidance in almost all aspects of their lives. Therefore, communication with him is considered as crucial, and that is the reason why many Dawoodi Bohra members throughout the world have continually adopted new technologies ranging from the fax, emails to digital cell phones. Technology is also used within the Bohra community for maintaining political and religious control over observant subjects. For instance, the dawat use yellow, green and red cards for printing certificates of orthopraxy. The green color is normally used to represent full compliance with religious mandates, yellow represents satisfactory compliance with an urge for improvement while red represents a mere achievement of basic requirements with a call for hard work. The card holder system is a modern innovation that was introduced to help the clergy maintain a good record of the believers’ compliance level. Technology is also applied by the Bohra believers when seeking any form of service from their religious leaders, for example, when seeking for clerical blessings before a wedding. In some instances, it may be necessary to call a believer to provide evidence concerning his or her religious status within the community. Despite the advancement and liberal nature of the Dawoodi Bohra, there are some notable religious or cultural practices that can be regarded as unfit for the modern society. For instance, the practice of female genital mutilation is widely practiced within the Bohra community. Although the practice is common in other Muslim communities, the Bohra are widely known to be more notorious (Mottahadeh 97). The Dawoodi prides itself on their level of modernity in terms of family planning, professional occupations, gender equality, and education. However, they have continued to remain stuck to old traditions by permitting and encouraging the application of female genital mutilation. Research reveals that close to seventy percent of Bohra followers adhere to the old tradition without questioning it. The procedure is commonly practiced within the Bohra community because it is widely perceived as a vital external mark of submission to God’s will. The practice of female genital mutilation is normally conducted by the mullanis, midwives, dais, or any woman with adequate experience. In the modern Bohra society, many people have become more interested in conducting safe ‘female circumcision, and thus, they prefer hiring doctors to carry out the practice. The ritual is normally done when a girl attains the age of seven, although the age limit has not been clearly defined. Generally it is done during times when the girl is considered innocent and incapable of understanding what is going on around her. Some of the main reasons, why the practice of female genital mutilation is conducted among the Dawoodi Bohra society include; obligation to parents as mentioned in the shariat, to curb girls’ sexuality, a tradition or custom in the society, cleanliness and purity. However, the main justification for the continued application of the ritual in the community is to curb female sexuality. Unlike in other Muslim communities, sexual desires of the Bohra women are controlled via physical and cultural techniques. In normal circumstances, the term sex is not mentioned within the Bohra community, and, in fact, girls are often warned to avoid strange men. Such tasks are often bestowed to older women in the Bohra families. Women consider the duty as religious rather than cultural because Muslim religion encourages purity of women. This implies that in Bohra community, religion also impacts heavily on the manner in which young children are brought up. Believers adhere to the seven pillars of Ismaili Islam, which includes Walayah, taharah, salah, zakat, sawn, hajj, and jihad. According to beliefs of the Bohra, walayah or guardianship of faith is the most essential pillar. Because of their belief, they have always organized themselves under a central leader known as the Da’i. They perceive their allegiance to Da’i as love and devotion to God. Unlike other Muslim organizations, the Dawoodi Bohra exhibits a greater degree of tolerance towards other religions. Over the years, the inclination towards tolerance of other religions has enabled the Borha community to co-habit peacefully with people from other religious backgrounds including Christians, Hindus, and other sects within the Islam religion. The Bohra community retained the tabular Islamic calendar because they believed that it matches perfectly well with the lunar cycle, without the need to make any correction. This aspect differs from that adopted by other Muslin communities, who base the start of Islamic months on the positions of the moon. The other Muslim communities also apply religious authority so that they could determine the beginning of religious months. The application of Islamic calendar within the Bohra community has helped them to eradicate problematic situations that are normally associated with differing opinions on the exact period when Islamic months are supposed to commence. Works cited Espsito, John. Islam: the straight path. Oxford: Oxford University press, 1998. Print. Blank, Jonah. Mullas on the mainframe. Chicago: University of Chicago press, 2000. Print. Mottahadeh, Roy. The mantle of the prophet. Washington: One World press, 2008. Print. Read More