Sunni Vahoras or Sunni Bohras ( ar, سنی بوہرہ; also
Jafari Bohras
Sunni Vahoras or Sunni Bohras ( ar, سنی بوہرہ; also Jafari Bohras or Patani Bohras), are a community from the state of Gujarat in India. Sharing many cultural similarities with the Dawoodi Bohras, they are often confused with that com ...
or
Patani Bohras
Sunni Vahoras or Sunni Bohras ( ar, سنی بوہرہ; also Jafari Bohras or Patani Bohras), are a community from the state of Gujarat in India. Sharing many cultural similarities with the Dawoodi Bohras, they are often confused with that com ...
), are a community from the state of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. Sharing many cultural similarities with the
Dawoodi Bohras
The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. Their largest numbers reside in India, Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, and the Middle East, with a growing presence across Europe, North America, ...
, they are often confused with that community. The community in Pakistan uses the surname "Vohra" and not Bohra and are commonly known as Sunni Vohras. A few families use the slightly different spelling of "Vora" or "Vohra" as their surname. Another common surname is
Patel.
Charotar Vohra is also a different caste they all live in the charotar region Gujarat and Nadiyadi Vohra is a sub cast of charotar Vohra and they live in
Nadiad.
An overwhelming majority of the Gujarati-speaking Vohra community of Pakistan lives in the port city of
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
in Sindh province. They are well organized and carry out their activities through their own Karachi-based association named ''Charotar Muslim Anjuman'',
Charotar being the name of the region in the Indian state of Gujarat where their ancestors are originally from.
History and distribution
In the 15th century, there was a
schism in the Bohra community of
Patan, Gujarat
Patan () is the administrative seat of Patan District in the Indian state of Gujarat and is an administered municipality. It was the capital of Gujarat's Chavda and Chaulukya dynasties in medieval times, and is also known as Anhilpur-P ...
as many converted from
Mustaali Ismaili to
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...
. The leader of this conversion movement to
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...
was Jafar Patani, himself a Bohra convert to
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...
. Thus this new group is known as
Jafari Bohras
Sunni Vahoras or Sunni Bohras ( ar, سنی بوہرہ; also Jafari Bohras or Patani Bohras), are a community from the state of Gujarat in India. Sharing many cultural similarities with the Dawoodi Bohras, they are often confused with that com ...
and
Patani Bohras
Sunni Vahoras or Sunni Bohras ( ar, سنی بوہرہ; also Jafari Bohras or Patani Bohras), are a community from the state of Gujarat in India. Sharing many cultural similarities with the Dawoodi Bohras, they are often confused with that com ...
. In 1538,
Syed Jafar Ahmad Shirazi
Sunni Vahoras or Sunni Bohras ( ar, سنی بوہرہ; also Jafari Bohras or Patani Bohras), are a community from the state of Gujarat in India. Sharing many cultural similarities with the Dawoodi Bohras, they are often confused with that com ...
, a missionary from Sindh, convinced Patani Bohras to cease social relations with Ismaili Bohras. This resulted in a conversion of around 80%,
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
Ismaili faith to
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...
. This however was changed by
Maulaya Raj, who went on to explain how highly misguided people are and explained Islam to them and invited them, hence leading to the return of most of these people back to their faith.
Sunni Vohras
/ref>
See also
* Gujarati Muslims
* Vora Patel
References
{{Indian Muslim
Bohra
Social groups of Pakistan
Muhajir communities
Muslim communities of Gujarat
Sunni Islam in India