Second phase of Biswa Ijtema begins

The second phase of the Biswa Ijtema, the world’s second largest Muslim congregation, began on the banks of the Turag River in Gazipur’s Tongi after Fajr prayers on Friday.

Gazipur Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 19 Jan 2018, 03:53 AM
Updated : 19 Jan 2018, 04:04 AM

The first phase of the Ijtema started on Jan 12 and ended on Jan 14 with the Akheri Ankheri Munajat. Saad Kandhalvi, a Delhi-based member of the Tabligh Jamaat Supreme Council was barred from the event after protests from a faction of the Sunni organisation.

The list of speakers and prayer leaders has been changed, said Ijtema organiser Murubbi Md Mahfuz. The Ijtema began after a Bad Maghrib sermon from India’s Maulana Abdul Rahman Raviana and a Bad Fajr sermon by Bangladesh’s Maulana Omor Farooq. Both services were conducted in Bangla.

Maulana Zubayer Hasan, imam of Dhaka’s Kakrail Mosque and Tabligh Jamaat council member, will conduct the Ankheri Munajat in Arabic and Bangla, as he did during the first phase.

In addition to Maulana Abdul Rahman Raviana, Maulana Ahmed Hossein Godra, Maulana Yunus Palanpuri, Maulana Akbar Sharif, Bhai Sanowar, Maulana Farhin and Maulana Shamim will conduct services.

Devotees of all professions and stations in life began gathering at the Biswa Ijtema premises early on Thursday morning for the event.

Accommodations had been constructed on the north-west side of the grounds for foreign visitors, said Murubbi Gias Uddin. They have access to clean water, gas, ambulance and telephone services and other modern conveniences.

Strict security measures have also been undertaken for the foreign visitors, he said.

The Bishwa Ijtema has been held on the banks of the Turag’s since 1966. The Muslim congregation has been held in two phases since 2011 in an effort to control the massive crowds.

Saad Kandhalvi, who had been leading the sermons for Ijtema for the last few years, stayed away from the event following protests by a faction of the Tabligh Jamaat.

Kandhalvi arrived in Dhaka from New Delhi on Jan 10 amid protests just outside the Dhaka airport by over 500 people loyal to the opposing faction.

A meeting between the Tabligh Jamaat factions on the following day, mediated by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, decided that Kandhalvi would stay away from the Tabligh Jamaat’s annual event.

The Talibagh Jamaat reformist movement was started by Indian Islamist scholar Mohammad Illias Kandhalvi in 1920. The movement aims to propagate the values of Islam and therefore refrains from discussing politics. 

It is now the largest organisation of Sunni Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. Its headquarters, called the Markaz, is based in New Delhi. Its operations are conducted through a 13-member central council, called the Nezamuddin.

Kandhalvi recently announced himself as the chief of the body, which created a rift among the senior members of the Tabligh Jamaat’s Bangladesh chapter.

In November 2017, a scuffle broke out between two groups on the premises of Dhaka’s Kakrail Mosque.