1986 Bohra Reformist Trust
‘DBWS meets the 1986 Bohra Reformist Trust’ – Written by Shakeel Hirani and Aquil Rajabali
The History of the 1986 Bohra Reformist Trust
At an international reformist conference held in Leicester, UK in 1986 it was decided that a permanent resource should be created to help the reformist movement worldwide. During the conference, the aims and objectives of such a Trust were agreed. Supporting religious education was the primary objective, supporting and propagating the reformist movement was the secondary and most important, and supporting any other appropriate charity was the third.
Hereafter referred to as ‘the Trust’
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The Trust was designed to be an independent organisation and ensure that it promoted the ideology of the Reformist Dawoodi Bohras worldwide.
The first 5 Trustees were elected by the conference. They were Mr Ahmed Luqmani, Mr Fakhrudin Kaderbhai, Mr Kutub Najmuddin, Mr Onali Anjarwalla, Mr Fazlehusein Kapasi. The trustees were then tasked to draft and have a constitution written and agreed.
The conference agreed that the Trustees were to be permanent members and not subject to elections. The reason for this was that any committee that is open to elections, is able to be influenced, and thus control could be gained by the Kothar. Any vacancies were to be filled by the remaining Trustees, and again would not be subject to elections.
Through resignations and deaths, the current committee as at August 2019 consists of:
Mr Fazlehusein Kapasi
Mr Kutubudin Najumudin
Mr Fakhrudin Kaderbhai
Mr Saifudin Tayabali
Mr Moiz Rajabali
Initial funds were collected by the attendees of the conference and further fundraising was undertaken. The 1986 Bohra Reformist Trust is a registered charity in the UK. The constitution and accounts are available via the Charities Commission website. – click here
The Trust has also become the legal owners of various properties for use by the Reformist Bohra community. This was done to ensure the safeguarding and protection of the properties to prevent them being usurped by the Kothar, due to various laws which state that anything with the name Dawoodi Bohra in it, can be owned by the Kothar. These properties are leased out to reformist Bohra organisations for their use, at a peppercorn rent.
How does The 1986 Trust run?
Meetings are held as and when the need arises for example, if an application for funding comes through, or if there is any business to discuss. Generally speaking, for funding to be approved, a unanimous decisions in sought. The Trust prefers to support organisations as opposed to individuals.
Current Trustees
(Correct at September 2023)
Mr Kutubudin Najumudin
Mr Fakhrudin Kaderbhai
Mr Moiz Rajabali
Mr Imtiaz Dungarwalla
Mr Shakeel Hirani
What are the criteria for funding?
Ideally a registered organisation. The Trust ensures that the funding goes to mainly Dawoodi Bohra Reformist causes. You would need to supply as much information as possible. The Trust will then scrutinise every application and consider whether they would provide funding, in line with their aims and objectives.
The Trust’s constitution only allows the income from its corpus fund to be used to achieve its aims and objectives. If, by agreement from all the Trustees, the corpus fund is used for a particular project, it is to be replenished at the earliest. This protects its resources from fraud and risk and ensures longevity.
Supported Projects
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Publications
– Supporting the Bohra Chronicle (India)
– The Jurat Weekly (Urdu publication in Malegoan, India)
– ‘Kitab-us-Salat’ (Namaz handbook)
– ‘Our Way of Life’ (Dawoodi Bohra handbook)
Conferences
– in Toronto, Canada in 2001
– in Bhopal, India in 2002
– in Daventry, UK in 2004
Religious Education projects
– Deen-e-Taleem (Udaipur, India) – Religious school for adults and children teaching Dawoodi Bohra practice.
– Maratha Wada Dawoodi Bohra Jamat (Aurangabad, India) – Supported Madrasa (religious education classes) and IT training for the poor
Reformist Activities
– Support of Bill S-13 in Canada – click for report
– The Udaipur court case – click for report
Humanitarian Aid
– The Indian Earthquake Appeal in 2001
Acquisition of property to be used by Reformist Dawoodi Bohras
All properties are leased to reformist jamats at peppercorn rents.
– Fatemi Manzil, Gooch Street in Birmingham, UK
– Huseini Manzil, Martin Street in Leicester, UK
– Jamat khana in Hyderabad, India
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A book entitled ‘The Life of a Reformist Bohra’ written by Haki Kapasi describes the full, detailed history of the 1986 Bohra Reformist Trust and the Dawoodi Bohra reform movement beginning in Uganda and continuing in the UK.
The book is available to buy here.
Get in Touch
By email : 1986BRTrust@gmail.com