The succession battle between the brother and the second son of the 52nd Syedna of the Dawoodi Bohra community, Mohammed Burhanuddin, continues with the uncle accusing the nephew of cruelty to the spiritual leader, who died in 2014, and preaching against his teachings.
In a suit filed before the Bombay High Court in March, Khuzema Qutbuddin accused Mufaddal Saifuddin of using false information to become the head of the community.
Mr. Qutbuddin pleaded that the court uphold him as Burhanuddin’s successor, as his brother had declared him so in 1965, which their family and community were aware of. He accused Mr. Saifuddin of enforcing retrograde decisions in the community such as keeping women and girls out of formal education.
The court gave time to Mr. Saifuddin to respond to the suit. “Unfortunately, with the desire to grab the position, for some years the defendant [Mr. Saifuddin] and his coterie tried to assert themselves, as Syedna Burhanuddin Saheb RA became older. On June 4, 2011, a few members of the family claimed that the Syedna had pronounced nass [transfer of authority] on the defendant in London. This was impossible as is evident from the medical records of Bupa Cromwell Hospital, London, where the Syedna was admitted on June 1, 2011, and suffered a severe stroke… ” the suit said. Mr. Qutbuddin attached the opinion of three doctors from the U.S. to claim that the Syedna was unable to speak on the date claimed by Mr. Saifuddin.
This article has been corrected for an editing error.