Paper short abstract:

This paper traces the formation of Bohra Muslim infrastructures of piety from 1880s-1980s and its connection to the gradually strengthened position of the da'i, the Bohra spiritual authority. The Bohra case casts light on the relation between modern technology and traditional religious authority.

Paper long abstract:

This paper traces the historical formation of Bohra Muslim infrastructures of piety from the 1880s to the 1980s and its interrelation with the position of the da'i al-mutlaq, the spiritual authority of the Bohras. In following the establishment and development of the main Bohra fund and institution for pilgrimage, the Faiz al-Husayni, and similar subsequent Bohra efforts, the paper argues that in developing these modern infrastructures of piety, the Bohra leadership was simultaneously developing and strengthening da'i-ship. Beginning in Karachi in the late 19th century, on the pilgrimage route to the shia shrines of Iraq, these infrastructural networks subsequently developed and expanded throughout the Middle East, culminating in the Bohras' "return" to Cairo in the 1970s. The paper zooms in on three moments during this history: (1) the establishment of the Faiz al-Husayni and the initial power struggles between da'is and wealthy reformist merchants; (2) the interwar takeover of the Faiz by the da'i Syedna Tahir Saifuddin as well as his contributions to and own use of these infrastructures; (3) the culmination of the Bohra infrastructures of piety in the revival of the Fatimid "ritual city" from the 1980s onwards.