PM Modi’s Egypt mosque visit holds significance for Indian Dawoodi Bohra Muslims. Explained

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has short stop on his way from the maiden state visit to US, includes a visit to Imam al-Hakim bi Amr Allah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt. PM Modi is scheduled to visit the historic mosque on Saturday 24 June.

PM Modi's visit to Imam al-Hakim bi Amr Allah Mosque, a 1,000 year old mosque holds immense significance back in India, with focus on the Dawoodi Muslim community. Notably, the Indian premiere has always credited the community for helping him govern the state of Gujarat'.

The Prime Minister will spend nearly half an hour at the Al-Hakim Mosque-- a historic and prominent mosque in Cairo named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (985-1021), the 16th Fatimid caliph.

A cordial and long-standing relationship stands testament to the PM's alleged fundamentalist ideologies as opposed to human rights activists claims of minority right violation in India under PM Modi's governance. He has attributed the community to being "patriotic, law-abiding, and peace-loving', as quoted by NDTV.

Notably, the mosque is an important cultural site for the Dawoodi Bohra community in Cairo. Further mosque has been opened to all after along rennovation episode that took six years. The renovations was co-funded by the Dawoodi Bohra community from India.

Dawoodi Bohra Muslims- an Introduction

The Dawoodi Bohra Muslims are a sect of followers of Islam who adhere to the Fatimi Ismaili Tayyibi school of thought. This sect is known to have originated from Egypt later shifting to Yemen.

The Dawoodi Bohra Muslims settled in India in the 11th century. Notably, the seat of the sect was moved to Sidhpur (Patan district of Gujarat), India in the year 1539 from Yemen.

According to official data, the Bohra Muslims account for 5 lakh population in our country.

The Bohra Muslim community consider Surat in Gujarat their base, despite their presence in Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh as well.

Dawoodi Bohra dress- Men of the Dawoodi Bohra community wear white clothes and a golden cap, while women are known to wear bright coloured Burqas, as opposed to the black or dark tonned ones worn by Muslim women.

The Dawoodi Bohra-PM Modi connect

Modi has had a long-standing relationship with the Dawoodi Bohras, from when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

As Gujarat's chief minister in 2011, he invited the community to celebrate the 100th birthday of the then-religious head of the Dawoodi Bohra community, Syedna Burhanuddin.

After Burhanuddin's passing in 2014, PM Modi visited Mumbai to offer condolences to his son and successor, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin.

In 2015, PM Modi visited Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the current religious head of the community, with whom he has always shared a cordial relationship.

In 2016, Syedna called on the PM, who fondly reminisced about his relationship with four generations of Dawoodi Bohra religious heads.

Even during his visit to Bangladesh, PM Modi met with a delegation of Dawoodi Bohras.

In 2018, the Dawoodi Bohra community organised the Ashara Mubaraka, the Commemoration of the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (SA), at Indore's Saifee mosque, which was attended by over a lakh members of the community. The Prime Minister addressed the gathering during the event.

The community, too, has showed their unwavering support for the Prime Minister. They attended his overseas events in large numbers in 2014, including the Madison Square Garden gathering in New York and the Olympic Park Arena address in Sydney.

Al-Hakim Mosque

The mosque was originally built by Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah's father, Caliph Al-'Aziz Billah, towards the end of the 10th century, in the year 990, and was later completed by Al-Hakim in the year 1013, reports ANI.

The mosque is also known as Al-Anwar, meaning "the Illuminated", similar in style to the name of the earlier Al-Azhar Mosque founded by the Fatimids. It is the second-largest mosque in the city of Cairo, and the fourth oldest.

According to ANI, The mosque is located in the heart of Islamic Cairo, on the east side of al-Mu'izz Street, just south of Bab al-Futuh (one of the northern city gates of Fatimid Cairo).

The Al-Hakim Mosque is a significant example of Fatimid architecture and history in Cairo.

The mosque of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is an important cultural site for the Dawoodi Bohra community in Cairo. The latest renovation project was the second such initiative undertaken by the Dawoodi Bohra community after the first renovation and restoration project that was completed nearly forty years ago.

(With agency inputs)