PM inaugurates Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah Academy in Mumbai.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Dawoodi Bohra community’s Arabic Academy at Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah (The Saifee Academy) in Mumbai.

About Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah

• It is a world-class Arabic academy dedicated to producing graduates of the highest calibre.
• This will be the fourth campus of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah Arabic Academy (also known as Jamea). It is the premier educational institute of the Dawoodi Bohra community.
  • First established over two centuries ago in Surat, Gujarat, in 1810
  • In 1983, the Karachi campus was inaugurated by Pakistani president Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Jamea’s third campus was inaugurated in Nairobi in 2017 by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
• The four state-of-the-art campuses across the world are under the guidance and leadership of the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin , who is the sole benefactor of the institute.
• Objective– Jamea seeks to prepare young Dawoodi Bohra men and women for leadership positions within society, global citizens dedicated to serving others and committed to acting in accordance with the values, principles, and ideals imparted to them over the course of their education.

About Dawoodi Bohras

• They are Shia Muslims and they trace their heritage to the Fatimi Imams, direct descendants of the Prophet Mohammed, in Egypt.
• The Dawoodi Bohras throughout the world are guided by their leader known as the Al-Dai-Al-Mutlaq (unrestricted missionary), who first operated from Yemen and then, for the last 450 years, from India.
• The present leader is the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq, His Holiness Dr Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin. They today are generally highly educated, thriving business people and qualified professionals in numerous fields.
• Aggregating to around 1 million members, the Dawoodi Bohras have settled in over 40 countries across the globe to practice their faith and lead meaningful and prosperous lives

Related Information

• Female genital mutilation or Khatna is a practice that involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons.In India, it is practised predominantly within the Bohra Muslim community.
• It has been recognised by the United Nations as a human rights violation that can harm the health and integrity of women.
• UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) jointly lead the world’s largest programme to end FGM.
• UN General Assembly designated February 6th as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation