Further reading: George F. Hourani, Arab Seafaring in
the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1995);
Dionisius A. Agius, In the Wake of the Dhow (London:
Ithaca Press, 2002).
Bohra
Bohras, whose name comes from the Gujurati
verb “to trade,” are members of an Ismaili Shia
community founded in Gujurat, india, in the late
11th century. The seat of the Fatimid dynasty,
then in cairo, dispatched the dawat, or religious
mission, to western India to increase membership
in this tradition of Islam. Early in the process, a
disagreement concerning the identity of the 19th
imam divided Ismailism; the Bohras believe that
Mustali billah (d. 1101) was designated as the
19th Imam, while the Nizari Ismailis believe that
this authority was invested in Nizar (d. 1095). In
1132, the 21st Imam from the line of Mustali bil-
lah, al-Tayyibi, became hidden from public. This
line of Imams continues in secret to this day. Since
al-Tayyibi’s concealment (ghayba), the community
has been led by a series of chief dais (religious
propagandists, missionaries); these leaders pos-
sess the title of dai al-mutlaq (cleric of absolute
authority). The dai al-mutlaq is the chief religious
figure of the Bohra community. He guides his fol-
lowers in both spiritual and worldly matters and is
thought to be in contact with the Hidden Imam.
The largest community of Bohras is the Daudi
Bohras, named after their 27th dai, Daud ibn
Qutb Shah (d. 1612). They number about 1 mil-
lion, live throughout South Asia, East Africa, the
Middle East, and the west, and are led by the 52nd
al-dai al-mutlaq, Muhammad Burhan al-Din (b.
1915), whose headquarters are in Bombay. Since
succeeding his father to the office of dai in 1965,
Burhan al-Din has initiated a number of changes
in the religious and administrative aspects of the
faith, emphasizing the congruence between Islam
and modernity. He has built an extensive network
of Bohra schools whose curricula include the
combination of Islamic and non-Islamic subjects,
he has mandated a distinctive dress code for the
community, and he has helped to restore Fatimid
relics and architectural sites in egypt.
The Daudi Bohras retain a religious hierarchy
similar to that of their Fatimid ancestors. The dai
al-mutlaq, who is appointed by his predecessor,
is responsible for filling positions in the dawat.
Local religious functions are performed by amils
(deputies/priests), community representatives of
the dawat. The Daudi Bohas also follow seven
(rather than five) pillars of Islam, as articulated
by Fatimid jurists. These are: wa l aya (love and
allegiance) to God, the Prophets, the dais, and
the Imams; tahara (ritual purity); salah (prayer);
zakat (almsgiving); sawm (Fasting); haJJ (pilgrim-
age to Mecca); and Jihad (struggle).
Other Bohra communities retain doctrinal
beliefs similar to those of the Daudi Bohras.
The Sulaymani Bohras, who have approximately
74,000 adherents, mostly in India and Yemen,
follow a different line of dais and are named after
their 27th dai, Suleyman ibn Hasan (d. 1597). The
Aliya Bohras are named after Ali ibn Ibrahim (d.
1637) and have approximately 5,000 adherents.
See also da awa; ismaili shiism.
Jamel VeljiFurther reading: Jonah Blank, Mullahs on the Main-
frame: Islam and Modernity among the Daudi Bohras
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001); Farhad
Daftary, A Short History of the Ismailis: Traditions of a
Muslim Community (Princeton, N.J.: Markus Wiener
Publishers, 1998).books and bookmaking
The 10th-century royal of cordoba (one of more
than 70 in the Umayyad capital of Spain) had a
catalog of 44 volumes listing more than 400,000
titles. The catalog volumes alone outnumbered
the total number of books in medieval France,
despite such important universities as those ofbooks and bookmaking 111 J