AL JAMEA TUS SAIFIYAH NAIROBI - Institute of Dawoodi Bohra.

Multi-billion Arabic academy of Dawoodi Bohra community inaugurated in Nairobi.

On the occasion of the late Syedna Mohammed Burhan-uddin’s 100th birthday in 2011, it was announced that the multi-billion Arabic academy in the world of the Bohra community would be established in Nairobi.

Six years later, the the 14 acres campus of the Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah academy (commonly referred to as Aljamea) was formally inaugurated by the 53rd Dai-al-Mutlaq Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin and the Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta. The institute will admit 1,000 from over 21 countries, including Egypt, the US, England and Germany.

Around 12,000 people attended the inauguration of the institute, the other three branches of which are located in Surat, Mumbai, and Karachi.


The institute will offer young Dawoodi Bohra men and women with an education based upon the principles and pillars of the Fatimi Islamic philosophy. The 11-year-programme covers secondary, undergraduate, as well as graduate education in select disciplines, including Biology, Physics, Mathematics and Sociology, and will admit 500 girls and 500 boys — aged 13 years and above.

In spirit, Aljamea represents the education imparted by the Dai-al-Mutlaq centuries ago and, therefore, assumed greater significance to members of the Dawoodi Bohra community. With the establishment of the Nairobi Aljamea campus, the community celebrates its long-standing history in Kenya.

Prez is impressed In his speech, President Kenyatta said he was extremely impressed by the Dawoodi Bohra’s community’s dedication towards education. “Islam is not a religion of violence, but peace. For many years, the Bohra community has been involved in the education of young men and women. I admire your commitment. I have no doubt that this complex will fulfill the requirement of being a tourist attraction as well as a centre of excellent education. I want to guarantee you my administration’s full support for the same.”

*Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, Nairobi, Kenya* - The campus in Nairobi has been under construction for 5 years and its architecture is intended to be a representation of multiple periods of the community’s history using elements and design motifs from North Africa, Egypt, Yemen and India.




One enters towards the Mahad al-Zahra Quran Institute through a huge portal inspired by Baab al-Nasr, one of the four gates of Old Cairo. It is flanked either side by side entrances that replicate another of those gates; Baab al-Tawfiq.





As one exits the Mahad from its other side one enters the large courtyard at its centre evoking the Fatimi masjids of Cairo. The courtyard is flanked to the east by a 700 seat auditorium and the
students’ eating hall, on its facing side by a masjid and to the west an assembly hall and 4-storey library. A landscaped garden brings a dazzle of colour with Alexandrian palm trees standing ornate and proud among the grassy verges and bordering fountains – just one of the many landscaped areas within the campus. Two minarahs from Al-Anwar masjid stand tall either side of the masjid; all decked out in pristine white.

The Arabic scripts on major facades and walls celebrate the community’s Islamic heritage with Quranic verses, hadith and quotes and couplets from the Du`aat.

The entire concourse has been laid out to enable one to walk ‘shoeless’ from one end of the campus to another using a series of covered walkways, corridors and bridges.


The campus will features science labs, arts and crafts studios and a recording studio. It will have smartboards in all classrooms along with the latest in internet connectivity. There will also be an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, games room, sports pitches for soccer and cricket and courts for racquet sports, volleyball and similar games. Archery and horse-riding are offered as well.

The planners have gone to great lengths to ensure harmonious integration of the campus with the existing Saifee Park neighbourhood in the Langata area of Nairobi to strengthen the feeling of community.

The campus has been designed to meet the environmental and sustainability requirements needed for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accreditation. This includes rain water harvesting, composting, solar heating and photo voltaic panels for energy production.

Passive ventilation has been incorporated in almost every single building. Additionally the buildings maximise the use of natural light by means of large-scale glazing throughout.

The entire campus faces towards Mecca which is all but due north from Nairobi. The sun will rise each day over the girls’ residences and set each day over those for the boys. In between is a search for knowledge, time spent in prayer and the quest to be the best of service to one’s fellow man. 

NOTE :- ALL IMAGES MAY SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT.