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Rehana Ghadially on Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam And Jonah Blank. Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam and Modernity Among the Daudi Bohras. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. xviii + 408 pp. $50.00, cloth, ISBN 978-0-226-05676-0. Reviewed by Rehana Ghadially Published on H-Gender-MidEast (November, 2002) Jonah Blank's book on the Daudi Bohra sect of form program launched in the 1970s which in‐ the Ismaili branch of Shi'a Muslims is a welcome cludes elements of cultural revival and a forward addition to the scarce literature on both the Is‐ movement in the world of technology and West‐ maili sect of Shi'ism as opposed to the Ithna- ern pedagogy. Ashari or Twelver branch of Shi'ism, and on The book is divided into two main parts. Part South Asian Muslims compared to Middle Eastern 1 deals with ethnographic material and is divided Muslim communities and societies. Farhad Datary into fve chapters. The frst chapter traces the his‐ traced the development of Ismaili Studies and torical roots of the faith from early Shi'ism mentions work centering on their literary her‐ through early Ismailism and the establishment of itage and history but makes no mention of socio‐ the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt to the origins of the logical and anthropological work. Blank's work community in India through Yemen in the represents a refreshing departure from this exclu‐ eleventh century and the various schisms within sive concern. The only other works in a similar the community into Daudi, Sulemani, Jaffari, etc. category are those of Shibani Roy, The Dawoodi since the sixteenth century. The spiritual history Bohras, and A. Engineer, The Bohras.[1] of the community and their religious organization Drawing on secondary sources, participant has been written about previously and this chap‐ observation, interviews and a questionnaire sur‐ ter offers little new information or insight. What vey, Blank has grasped the main nuances of this are instructive and novel are the next four chap‐ important Muslim sect. The major objective of his ters. The second chapter focuses on the life cycle research, as he states, is to detail the orthodox rituals of the Daudi Bohras from birth to death of paradigm of Bohra society. The author describes which perhaps the most important is mithaq or and analyses its critical markers, namely the tra‐ the oath of allegiance to the da'i. The oath sets the ditions as embodied in the fgure of their spiritual tone of what is expected of every Daudi Bohra, head, da'i-al-mutlaq, and his neo-traditionalist re‐ namely complete obedience to the sect's spiritual H-Net Reviews head in religious and temporal matters. It is the or Qasr-e-Ali which Blank translates as children controversy surrounding the content and mean‐ and grandchildren of the ffty-first da'i Syedna ing of the oath that has resulted in much of the Taher Saifuddin, along with their spouses and de‐ power struggle within the community. The next scendants. Many ordinary Bohras see only one chapter describes the important annual religious side of the da'i and his family. This chapter serves rites of the Daudi Bohras. These rituals not only the function of taking away some of the mystique set the rhythm of Bohra life throughout the year surrounding the OEroyals. but also provide valuable insight into the spiritual Part 2 of the book, titled "Analysis," also has heritage they share with other Muslims, simulta‐ five chapters. The pervasive, central authority of neously making space for three sacral identities: a the da'i extending in both religious and temporal pan-Islamic, a pan Shi'a and a unique sectarian matters is unique only to the Bohras and the Agha identity. The primary ritual is waaz, a formal oc‐ Khanis (a sister Ismaili sect) on the Indian sub- casion presided over by the d'ai himself or his continent. This sets them apart from other Mus‐ agent. The characteristic aspect of the waaz is a lim sects and groups, which remain by and large sermon. The second most important rite is majalis leaderless. This centralization of power has en‐ or religious/lamentation assemblies. These rituals abled the head cleric to promote its own discrimi‐ are presided over by the clergy and are mixed-sex natory brand of modernization and invigorate se‐ in nature, although women are relegated to the lective traditions at the same time. The four chap‐ margins. The author's main source for the de‐ ters deal with the variety of ways this two-point scription of these rituals is his personal observa‐ program has been accomplished and the fnal tion combined with instruction from members of chapter deals with the dissident movement within the religious establishment. The result is a limited the sect. The spiritual hegemony of the da'i is ex‐ male elite viewpoint, which overlooks the rich ercised by enforcing a strict dress code for both fabric of rituals performed almost exclusively by men and women, collecting a variety of taxes and ordinary women in the domestic sphere without tithes deemed Islamic and issuing of certificates any presence of the clergy class or men. To cite of orthopraxy. For women this has meant the re‐ two examples: ritual meal trays (thal bharvanu) vival of purdah practice in a modern guise called held in honor of important Islamic fgures, espe‐ rida, which is a two-piece colorful synthetic gar‐ cially Fatima Zahra, the daughter of the Prophet; ment with baubles and embroidery. The certifi‐ and Ali Groups (Ali ni tasbi) or women¹s neigh‐ cate colors green, yellow and red reflect the de‐ borhood networks which meet every day in gree of obedience by the holder to the strictures homes on a rotating basis during the Islamic promulgated by the high priest. Many of these tra‐ month of Rajab, to call out the name of the ditions have been revitalized by adoption of mod‐ Prophet's son-in-law. The last two chapters de‐ ern information and communication technologies scribe the kinship terminology and organization by the cleric class. But paradoxically, these tech‐ and the status of Bohra women. The centerpiece is nologies and the globalization of the sect threaten the remarkable rise in the status of women not the very boundaries the spiritual head is trying to only in the last ffty years but well before India's enforce. The focus on harnessing of technologies independence. The 1920s saw the acceptance of to fulfill traditional purposes and the readiness secular education besides the vernacular, the with which the common Bohras and the cleric 1930s witnessed the relaxation of purdah rules class have adopted computer use as constituting and in the 1940s higher education for women was modernity of a sect is problematic. officially approved. The fnal chapter in part 1 of the book gives a peek into the life of the OEroyals 2 H-Net Reviews The second half of this section of the book Overall the author makes a strong case for deals with Western education and the whole- how this sect and its leadership has demonstrated hearted manner in which the clerics and the ordi‐ that it is possible to modernize and yet remain nary people have embraced it. The education of deeply rooted in one's traditions. This is true pro‐ future clerics at the main seminary in Surat city vided the word modernity is used in a narrow and cleric-managed madrasas cum schools train sense of adoption of information, communication ordinary pupils in Bohra cultural and religious technologies and secular education. Secondly, the norms as well as Western scientific pedagogy, pre‐ author highlights the political quietism of the sect paring them for a spiritual life and the material vis-a-vis the wider Hindu society; its history of re‐ world. The hegemony of the spiritual head of the sorting to peaceful means in the face of danger; community has not gone unquestioned. The de‐ its implantation on Indian soil not through con‐ bate centers on secularism, whether Muslim spiri‐ quest of territory but through missionary effort tual and material life is intrinsically connected or and none of the militant stereotypes of Muslim can be separated. This brings us back to the prob‐ males that the media are prone to conjure up. Un‐ lem of a limited modernity, which the author fortunately the fap of the book with mullahs leaves unexamined. Why have the demands of the holding swords against a backdrop of binary (ma‐ dissidents, with the exception of secular educa‐ chine) language ends up sending a mixed message tion, remained unfulfilled? Is it because they cen‐ and dilutes the purpose of the book, which is to ter on democracy and transparency in the utiliza‐ challenge the extreme stereotypes besetting the tion of funds collected from the community? Do Muslims and Muslim communities. Thirdly, as the these form elements of modernity? How would title suggests, the spotlight of the book has been the community fare if the dissident¹s demands for on the cleric and orthodox elite of the community. modern infrastructure such as hospitals, libraries The history of the community has been so far the and other welfare services were included? How history of its leadership. What is needed is a shift would it fare if education included not just the from an elite perspective to researching the mun‐ pursuit of business and technical education but dane lives of people. The book has made a small also encouragement of the humanities and the beginning in this direction; what is awaited is a fine arts such as creative expression through mu‐ more systematic documentation of the social, eco‐ sic and dance? Also, to equate the phenomena of nomic and cultural lives of ordinary people.
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