Present Activities
While most Dawoodi Bohras have traditionally been traders, currently many are professionals. Within South Asia many are doctors, and in the Far East and the West, a large number now work as consultants or analysts, as well as medical professionals. Dawoodi Bohras are encouraged to educate themselves in both religious and secular knowledge, and as a result, the number of professionals in the community is rapidly increasing.
Dawoodi Bohra believe that the education of women is equally important to that of men, per a hadith from Muhammad: "seeking of knowledge is obligatory for all Muslims, both male and female." Many Dawoodi Bohra women choose to enter the workforce. The founding of Al Jamea tus Saifiyah, an Arabic Academy for Dawoodi Bohras in Surat and Karachi, is a sign of the importance of education in the Dawoodi Bohra community. The Academy's curriculum encompasses religious and secular education for both men and women.
As it is for other Shia Muslims, remembrance of the martyrdom of the Imam Husayn, in Karbala, Iraq, is an essential part of every Dawoodi Bohra community activity. Every year, the head of the Dawoodi Bohra community delivers religious discourses for ten days during Muharram, culminating in the 10th day of Muharram, ‘Āshūrā, and these are attended by a large number of community members. The martyrdom of Hussain is remembered with every prayer every day during ‘Āshūrā and all the attendees perform matam (beatings of their chests); matam is especially practiced in the month of Moharram and, also in other Islamic months. One key difference to be noted is that Dawoodi Bohras practice matam using only their hands and their religious practice forbids the use of any implements in matam. This is in stark contrast to other Shia sects that often use knives, blades, and metal chains in their matam.
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