When Dawoodi Bohras gathered across Britain for Ashara Mubaraka, the occasion brought into focus a story shaped by families who made Britain home through hard work and service.
Ashara Mubaraka is a ten-day annual commemoration of the sacrifice and legacy of Imam Husain, whose valorous stand at Karbala continues to inspire millions across the world.
This year, the central congregation was held in London, presided over by His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin. At the same time, satellite centres where the sermons were broadcast live in Birmingham, Bradford, Leicester, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham and Glasgow allowed members across Britain to participate in the event.
The scale of the nationwide effort reflected years of preparation. More importantly, it reflected generations of community-building by Dawoodi Bohras who arrived in Britain through different routes, often in difficult circumstances, and made it their home.
Explore the legacy of the Dawoodi Bohras in previous host cities:
A relationship spanning centuries
The Dawoodi Bohra community’s relationship with Britain predates its presence in the United Kingdom. For more than 150 years, since its initial contact with the British in India, the community’s leadership maintained ties marked by dialogue and mutual respect.
During the time of the 42nd Dai al-Mutlaq Syedna Abdeali Saifuddin in the early nineteenth century, the city of Surat in India served as the centre of the Dawoodi Bohra community, and it was a hub for its social and religious activities. In a missive of 1806, Syedna described the city’s prosperity and noted the cordial relations the community maintained with British officials.
During the tenure of Syedna Mohammad Ezzuddin, Lord Elphinstone, then Governor of Bombay, sought the community's assistance after valuable government records were stolen during a burglary at his residence. The community helped recover four cartloads of the missing documents.
In 1866, Syedna Abdulqadir Najmuddin was conferred the title of First Class Sardar of the Deccan by Bombay Governor Sir Henry Bartle Frere. Subsequent leaders continued corresponding with members of the British Royal Family and senior officials. The 49th Dai, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, sent Queen Victoria a letter in an ornate casket which is currently on display at the Durbar Room in Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. His successor, the 51st Dai, Syedna Taher Saifuddin, also maintained regular contact with successive Governors of Bombay throughout his tenure.
That relationship deepened as Dawoodi Bohras began establishing themselves in Britain.
In 1976, Queen Elizabeth II greeted the 52nd Dai, His Holiness Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, upon his visit to attend the World Islamic Festival in London.
More than three decades later, in 2009, the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, visited Husainy Masjid in Northolt, where he described the community as “a splendid example of the way I believe different cultures can learn to understand one another much better”.
Throughout his numerous visits to Britain, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin encouraged community members to contribute to the society around them while remaining anchored in their faith and values. That guidance helped shape the character of the community across generations: ambitious in education, active in business, attentive to civic life and committed to service.
Families who rebuilt their lives
For many Dawoodi Bohra families in Britain, the story began more than six decades ago, when their forebears arrived in varied circumstances.
Jaffer Kapasi of Milton Keynes remembers how his family rebuilt their life after leaving Uganda. His father had run a successful business there before the government’s expulsion order in 1972 forced tens of thousands of Asian families to leave with little more than what they could carry.
“The first seven years were an uphill climb,” Kapasi recalls. “My father knew little English, but he was determined to get his children educated and do well. I remember the time when we shared one car among nine people.”
Kapasi went on to study at Sheffield University before qualifying as an accountant. He later established his own firm and became active in civic and business life, including through the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce. His work in promoting business and community engagement earned him recognition from Queen Elizabeth II, who conferred upon him an Order of the British Empire.
For Murtaza Hassanali’s family, the foundation was laid by his father, who, like the Kapasi patriarch, arrived in Britain from Uganda at the age of 17.
“My dad worked during the day and attended vocational training at night,” Hassanali says. “After trying a few businesses, he entered the glass industry with a business partner and began manufacturing windows in the shed behind our home.”
That workshop behind the family home grew into a successful manufacturing business in Watford. Today, the next generation has expanded it into large-scale aluminium and glass projects, carrying forward an entrepreneurial tradition shared by many Dawoodi Bohra families.
Did you know?
The word “Bohra” is commonly understood to derive from the Gujarati word “vohrvu,” meaning “to trade,” reflecting the community’s long association with commerce and enterprise.
Enterprise, education and institution-building
Across Britain, similar stories unfolded. Technical education often became the bridge between arrival and stability.
In Bristol, Amirali Kaderbhai pursued Automobile Engineering before starting a garage business that adapted through decades of change in the automotive industry.
Others helped build institutions alongside livelihoods.
Shabbir Abidali (L) speaks with community members at the construction site of the community's first masjid in the UK.
Shabbir Abidali arrived from Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, with little more than five pounds in his pocket. He took whatever work he could find, lived frugally and saved diligently. Years later, he played a pivotal role in the building of Husainy Masjid in Northolt, creating a permanent home for worship, gathering and community life.
Some members left a national imprint. Lord Gulam Kaderbhoy Noon, widely known as the “Curry King,” transformed Britain’s ready-meal industry and helped bring Indian cuisine into the mainstream. His success reflected the business instincts and work ethic that shaped many first-generation migrant journeys, while showing how immigrant enterprise could influence national habits.
Forays into medicine and research
Enterprise was one path. Medicine became another.
When consultant oncologist Dr Shabbir Susnerwala arrived in Manchester in the early 1990s, the local Dawoodi Bohra community consisted of a small group of families.
“When I arrived here, there weren’t many consultants in our community and some businesses were only starting out,” he recalls.
Today, Manchester is home to around 800 community members working across a wide range of fields, including healthcare, pharmacy, real estate, law, accountancy, teaching, engineering, IT, wholesale trade, and heating and plumbing services.
Alongside his clinical practice, Dr Susnerwala has contributed to cancer research, authoring or co-authoring more than 40 peer-reviewed publications. He believes the community’s progress in Manchester reflects strong relationships, both within the Dawoodi Bohra community and with wider society.
“We organise annual iftar events inviting close to 200 guests from across the board, a fair reflection of the standing Manchester’s Dawoodi Bohras have built for themselves over the years,” he says. “Our members are also regulars at charity kitchens, serving food to the needy and homeless.”
Glimpses from the first Dawoodi Bohra-led Saifee Burhani Medical Conference held in London in 2025.
For consultant radiologist Dr Abbas Chittalia, the path into medicine required persistence. Living with the effects of childhood polio, he faced more than 100 rejected job applications before securing his first consultant post. He went on to build a distinguished career in radiology, contributing to research and mentoring future generations of doctors.
Manchester-based consultant transplant surgeon Dr Hussein Khambalia and consultant anaesthetist Dr Insiya Susnerwala have also taken their expertise beyond clinical practice. Together, they founded Kidney Care for All, an organisation focused on specialist care and training healthcare professionals in underserved communities.
“This cause has given me a sense of purpose and satisfaction,” says Dr Insiya Khambalia, “where I can share my time and skills on a global scale, especially in the places where we have our roots.”
Service beyond the community
That spirit of service is further reflected through Project Rise, the Dawoodi Bohra community’s global philanthropic initiative. Across Britain, volunteers organise food drives, partner with local charities involved in cancer support, take part in environmental initiatives and promote preventative healthcare.
Healthcare professionals have led awareness campaigns on cancer, diabetes and healthy living, while volunteers continue to support neighbours experiencing hardship.
For Insiyah Dungarwalla of London, volunteering became a second vocation after she left her career in marketing to raise her three sons.
The turning point came during a family visit to India in 2005, when her father took them to an orphanage in Burhanpur.
“That visit opened my eyes,” she says.
After she returned home, she began taking time out to volunteer in her local community. Today, she commits two to three days each month to organisations and initiatives including the Slough to London Run, the Salvation Army, NFMF, Slough Homeless Centre, and various such programmes across Slough and London.
A British legacy shaped by faith
Today, more than 2,000 Dawoodi Bohra families live across the United Kingdom, with community members spread across cities including London, Birmingham, Bradford, Leicester, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham and Glasgow. Their presence is visible in businesses, hospitals, universities, classrooms, charities and public institutions. Their story is best understood through the steady work of families who built trust one generation at a time.
Ashara Mubaraka brought that story into focus.
The gathering was not the achievement of a single year, nor of a single city. It rested on the sacrifice of parents who started again after displacement, students who turned technical training into livelihoods, professionals who served patients and communities, volunteers who gave time quietly, and institutions that gave future generations a place to belong.
The Dawoodi Bohra legacy in Britain is therefore not only a story of immigration to a foreign land. It is a story of active and continuing contribution. It shows how a small faith community built homes, businesses, public relationships and places of worship while remaining deeply connected to the values that first guided its journey.
The occasion honoured Imam Husain’s enduring message of faith, sacrifice and humanity, and in doing so, it reflected the lives of those who worked and strived to enable the ones who followed to have every opportunity to serve, contribute and thrive.
