مسجد Dawoodi Bohra Al Al Saifee Anjuman E Burhani

Serving the Dawoodi Bohra community of the Greater Toronto Area, Al Masjid Al Saifee in Richmond Hill is the spiritual centre for a close knit group of Canadian Muslims with deep roots in Gujarat and East Africa. The name Saifee honours Syedna Taher Saifuddin, the fifty first spiritual leader of the community, whose long tenure in the twentieth century shepherded Bohra congregations through migration, modernisation and the building of new mosques across every continent. Anjuman e Burhani, the administrative body connected to this mosque, oversees community welfare, education and religious life under the guidance of the current Dai al Mutlaq.

Bohras are noted for their distinctive white and gold ridaa worn by women and the saaya and topi worn by men, and a visit on any Friday or holy occasion reveals the community's pride in that traditional dress. The building in Richmond Hill follows the characteristic Bohra style of white painted walls, pointed arches, green trim and a simple courtyard garden planted with Canadian evergreens hardy enough to withstand Ontario winters. Inside, the prayer hall is carpeted in deep red with repeating medallions, and a carved minbar of teak imported from Mumbai stands beside a mihrab finished in pale marble and inlaid with mother of pearl calligraphy.

The community life of the mosque is exceptionally dense. Daily prayers are preceded by collective dua, and after isha members gather in the hall for thaali meals shared from communal platters, a deeply loved Bohra custom that emphasises brotherhood and economy of food waste. Children attend madrasa classes on weekends to study Arabic, Quran and the specific Lisaan al Dawat language of the community, while youth volunteer on committees that organise charitable work in Toronto food banks, interfaith dialogue events and environmental initiatives.

The annual Ashura commemoration brings the entire membership together for ten nights of majlis, and during Ramadan the kitchen produces elaborate iftar menus of Indian and Yemeni influenced dishes. Weddings, aqeeqahs and milad programmes fill the social calendar with colour and music. Visitors from neighbouring Ontario towns and from Bohra communities in Detroit, Boston and New York are warmly welcomed, offered chai and nashta and invited to witness the orderly, joyful religious life of a community that has flourished in Canada while preserving a thousand year old inheritance.