Biswa Ijtema extended to Tuesday after rain disruptions

Biswa Ijtema has been extended by another day after rain disrupted the congregation at Dhaka’s Tongi.

Gazipur Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 17 Feb 2019, 03:02 PM
Updated : 17 Feb 2019, 03:30 PM

The first day of the second phase of Ijtema began at 6am Sunday, but sermons had to be delivered during thundery showers.

The second phase is being joined by thousands of followers Moulana Saad Kandhalvi, who heads one faction of the Tabligh Jamaat organisation. They have braved the bad weather.

But they complained about not getting enough time to organise their activities ahead of the Akheri Munajat or final prayer, scheduled for Monday, and demanded to have the phase of Ijtema extended by another day.

The decisions to extend the Ijtema by another day and to move Akheri Munjat to Tuesday were taken after talks with authorities.

A four-day Ijtema, to be held in two phases, was earlier agreed upon after settlement of disputes between the leadership of two factions of Tabligh Jamaat. The followers of Zuhayrul Hasan, son of Moulana Zubayer of Deoband Madrasa in India, conducted their Ijtema in the first two days and concluded it on Saturday.

The second phase Ijtema began on Sunday morning for the followers of Moulana Mohammed Saad Kandhalvi, grandson of the Tabligh founder Moulana Iliyas.

Though they were scheduled to begin on Friday, the followers of Zubayer began their Ijtema activities on Thursday afternoon, said Md Harun-Or-Rashid, a senior leader among the Saad followers.

The Zubayer followers left the Ijtema premises after Akheri Munajat on Saturday, littering it with food waste and trash, said Harun-Or-Rashid.

The local administration fell short because it did not allocate enough time to clean the area and only started at night, he added.   

The Saad followers began their Ijtema under these circumstances on Sunday morning and also endured the thunderstorm and rain.

“We tried to clean up the Ijtema premise by ourselves as much as we could. People coming from different districts have taken up positions at the Khitta or designated places braving the bad weather; they are still streaming in,” said Harun-Or-Rashid.

There have been other problems, such as microphone issues, disconnected utility supply line and, said the senior Saad follower.

“We’ve done as much as we could and then requested to the concerned authorities to do the rest,” he said.

Police, RAB and Ansar members are working to secure the Ijtema premises. Special traffic rules have been adopted on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway to allow easy access to the Biswa Ijtema.

THE FACTIONAL DISPUTE

Every year the Biswa Ijtema takes place in January in Tongi but this year it was deferred as the leadership of organisers Tabligh Jamaat were at loggerheads.

The dissension was over who would lead the organisation - Moulana Mohammed Saad Kandhalvi, grandson of the Tabligh founder Moulana Iliyas or Zuhayrul Hasan, son of Deoband leader Moulana Zubayer.

Saad was confronted by his opponents when he came to conduct the Akheri Munajat or final prayer at the Biswa Ijtema last year. The Bangladesh government had to mediate the dispute and Saad eventually had to leave Dhaka without participating in the Ijtema.

The two factions announced two different schedules for Bisaw Ijtema in January this year escalating the tension. Violent clashes between the factions over the Ijtema left a 70-year-old man dead and more than 200 others injured.