Modern technology helps reinvigorate traditional values

The University of Chicago Press

An interview with anthropologist Jonah Blank, author of Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam and Modernity among the Daudi Bohras. The Daudi Bohras are a unique denomination of Indian Muslims, with a worldwide population numbering up to one million.

"Perhaps the most important lesson the Bohras can teach outsiders is that Muslims can indeed embrace modernity while remaining true to their traditions and core beliefs."

"Perhaps the most important way in which technology has bolstered traditional values has been by permitting Bohras around the world to have immediate and constant contact with the dai-ul-mutlaq (the spirtual leader of the community). Due to the dai's crucial importance, Bohras have eagerly pounced on each new generation of communications technology—from fax to email to digital cellphones—to maintain close contact with the dawat (the Bohra clergy)". >> continue

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Excerpt from Jonah Blank's book