World Religions in Greater Boston: Home

History

The Anjuman-e-Ezzi Masjid (mosque) serves a Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community in North Billerica, Massachusetts. Dawoodi Bohra Muslims are a worldwide community of approximately one million worshippers, who follow the 21st Imam of the Ismaili sect of Shi’ite Islam. Since the seclusion of the 21st Imam Tayyeb, Dawoodi Bohras follow the leadership of the Da’i Mutlaq, who serves as the representative of the hidden Imam. The 52nd and current Da’i is Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, who succeeded his father, upon his death, in 1968. Dr. Burhanuddin lives in India with his family and, at 96, continues to teach and visit Dawoodi Bohras all over the world, attesting to the close-knit nature of this minority Shi’ite community. Before the acquisition of the North Billerica property, Dawoodi Bohras of Massachusetts met in the worship spaces of Congregation Shalom and First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, both in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. These early community members had planned to raise funds for their own worship space when a resident American Dawoodi Bohra approached the Da’i with an interest to build and completely fund masjids in Massachusetts and New Jersey. The donor’s request was accepted and the Dawoodi Bohra Muslims of Massachusetts were given a unique opportunity to build not just the worship space they had envisioned, but an entire Islamic complex. In late 2000 the community found a plot of rural land to purchase in North Billerica and held a groundbreaking ceremony in July of 2001. On September 12, 2001, the application to buy the property was addressed in a town hall meeting and, despite requests by other religious communities for the plot, the Masjid received strong support from the council, local residents, and soon to be neighbors of the Islamic center. The building went up extremely quickly but construction was slowed by customs procedures for the importation of architectural and decorative pieces from India and Egypt, extending the project into 2004. A dedication ceremony was held in August 2004 where dignitaries and local residents were invited to celebrate the opening of the Masjid. Over five thousand people attended the event, not only to celebrate the completion of the Masjid, but also to see the Da’i, Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, who had flown from India to open the 7th Dawoodi Bohra Masjid in the United States.

Demographics

The Dawoodi Bohra community of Anjuman-e-Ezzi consists of mostly Pakistani and Indian professionals and students from the surrounding Boston universities. Weekend attendance is approximately 150 worshippers, but over 250 members come for larger celebrations at the Masjid such as Eid al-Fitr, the celebration of the end of Ramadan, or Milad an-Nabi, the birthday celebration of the prophet Muhammad. While members speak English informally at the Masjid, services are held in Lisanu ul-Dawat, a language developed specifically for the Dawoodi Bohra community, written in Arabic script and derived from Arabic, Gujarati, and Urdu.

Description

Located off of a quiet road in North Billerica, Anjuman-e-Ezzi is an impressive Islamic complex consisting of a masjid, religious school, and two-story house for the religious minister. Due to the generous donation for the project, the community was able to design a masjid that is faithful to the Fatimid architecture of Cairo, harking back to the power of the Shi’ite Ismaili Fatimid dynasty of the 10th to 12th centuries. Two architects were hired to design the building: one from Cairo who had expertise in traditional Islamic architecture, and another from New England who was familiar with local building laws and contributed ideas to create a medieval-inspired masjid with modern materials. One important decorative decision of the architects was to include handmade elements by artisans from Cairo and India, such as carved wood banisters and etched metal door handles, which would otherwise be unavailable in the US. The Masjid is a gleaming white three-story building, flanked by double minarets capped with gold and white domes, mimicking the kufi, or skullcaps, worn by male members of the Dawoodi Bohra community. Over the door is a golden block with the Shi’ite version of the shahada, or testament of faith, written in Arabic. The main foyer of the Masjid is a glittering room of carved marble and stone inlays covering the floor and walls, many of its decorative motifs taken from the Taj Mahal in India. Through a set of glass doors, one enters the enclosed courtyard, a space that in traditional masjids would be open to the sky, but due to the New England weather, is covered by a geometrically patterned glass roof. Beyond another set of glass doors is the prayer space, with men on the first floor and women sitting in open galleries above. The focal point of the room is the qibla, a two-story arched niche, framed by calligraphy of Qur’anic verses and crowned with the names of the prophets and the first Imams of the Dawoodi Bohra community, all written in gold. When the Da’i visits the Masjid he sits inside the qibla, leading prayer and offering lectures to the community. The women’s galleries afford a clear view of the central qibla despite being veiled by white curtains above the banisters. One section of this space is reserved for women who cannot be “ritually pure” for prayer, but would still like to attend services, an option almost never available to women at a masjid. Hanging over this space are beautifully etched glass bowl lanterns that are near replicas of those found in Cairan Fatimid masjids. Also located on the second floor is a lavish sitting room and bedroom for when the Da’i visits the Masjid. In the basement is an industrial sized kitchen and separate men’s and women’s halls used for large dinners and meetings. The Masjid has an elevator in addition to stairs to assist handicapped worshippers to all levels of the building. Surrounding the Masjid are fountains, white wrought iron benches, a large parking lot, and down one pathway, the school building and religious minister’s home. The school consists of seven classrooms, a fully furnished basement for sports and extracurricular activity, and a meeting space that is sometimes used for prayer during school hours. The walls and classrooms are decorated with the students’ work in Lisanu ul-Dawat language and Islamic studies. Tucked away behind the school building is the religious minister’s home, a cheery two-story colonial that houses the minister, his wife, and children.

Future Plans

While Anjuman-e-Ezzi does not have any plans for expansion at this time, the architects included outdoor patios on the sides of the Masjid that could later be used to extend the prayer space for a larger community. The back of the Masjid sits close to land designated as a wildlife reserve, so the Masjid will have no choice but to expand widthwise. One feature that the community wishes to add to the Anjuman-e-Ezzi property is a cemetery, so that members may be prepared and buried according to their religious specifications.

Activities and Schedule

In addition to Islamic holidays celebrated by all sects of Islam, Dawoodi Bohras celebrate the birth and death of the more recent Da’is, or religious leaders of the Dawoodi Bohra community, as well as those of the important figures in the Shi’ite Imam lineage: the prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, her husband Ali, and their two sons, Hussain and Hassan. Outside of time spent on religious ritual and holidays, Anjuman-e-Ezzi puts heavy emphasis on religious education. The school next to the Masjid offers weekend classes for children in Islamic studies and the Lisanu ul-Dawat language. On regular school days families will host the religious teacher in their home so that local Dawoodi Bohra children can have additional classes closer to home and to provide educational opportunities for those who could not come on weekends. In the future the community hopes to host an Islamic summer camp for Dawoodi Bohra Muslims children from all over to participate. The religious minister also offers classes for adults, divided into levels of ‘ilm, or religious knowledge. Anjuman-e-Ezzi has a system of seventeen committees responsible for all activities, financial matters, and decisions for the community. These committees are not only designed to provide efficient and timely responses to the needs of the community but provide a means for all members to become involved in the welfare of the Masjid. In order to keep up-to-date with news and activities at Anjuman-e-Ezzi, as well as those of the worldwide Dawoodi community, members make active use of email and message boards set up on Dawoodi Bohra websites. Also, all members are encouraged to sign up for an “e-jamaat card,” an identification card that connects its possessor to other Dawoodi Bohras to make business or travel connections using online directories. The internet has proved especially valuable to the global community for processing arzi, or requests, that Dawoodi Muslims from all over the world sent to the Da’i for advice and counsel on important decisions such as cancer treatment, college choice, or baby names.

Outreach and Interfaith Activity

Anjuman-e-Ezzi does not maintain any formal ties with other religious centers in the area but has historical connections to Congregation Shalom and First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, both in Chelmsford, for housing the early Dawoodi Bohra community in Massachusetts. Members have also run open houses at the Masjid and invited 250 prominent religious leaders and politicians to a large dinner in 2004 to celebrate the completion of the Masjid and the formal introduction of the Dawoodi Bohras to the Greater Boston area. The use of Lisanu ul-Dawat in religious services presents a particular challenge for intrafaith activity. Though other Muslims have asked to come worship at Anjuman-e-Ezzi, and community members have been welcoming, the language barrier curtails opportunities for the visiting Muslim to fully appreciate the religious ideas of the Dawoodi Bohra community.

Date center founded:

2004

Ethnic composition:

Predominantly Pakistani and Indian