From the Miracle-performer to Reformer: Articulating Authority among the Da’udi Bohras of South Asia, 1803-1921

This paper examines how modernity has altered the notions of authority in a South Asian Muslim devotional community. In focus are the Da’udi Bohras, a close-knit community of Shi‘i Isma‘ili Muslim merchants led by a lineage of holy men called da‘i al-mutlaq (or da‘i, the summoner). In response to colonial modernity, the Indic caste of Bohras (Gujarati, traders) became a global Isma‘ili community, claiming to be the true heir to the Fatimid-Isma‘ili heritage. This redefinition has also seen the representation of the da‘i shifting from a miracle-performing “perfect guide” to a scholarly figure. Such articulations have significant implications for the post-colonial identity of the Bohras and Muslim communities in South Asia.