Saad followers brave rains for second phase of Bishwa Ijtema

The followers of the Tabligh Jamaat Delhi Markaz are participating in the Bishwa Ijtema service next to the Turag River in Tongi, braving the bad weather.

Gazipur Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 17 Feb 2019, 08:12 AM
Updated : 17 Feb 2019, 08:12 AM

The Ijtema began with the Aam Boyan or general sermon after the Fazr or morning prayers on Sunday. They were conducted by Moulana Iqbal Hafiz from India.

Moulana Hafiz delivered his sermon in Urdu, which was translated by Moulana Abdullah Mansur of Kakrail Mosque.

It began to rain right as the sermon began. Thousands of people listened to the sermon amidst the wind, rain and thunder.

The four-day Ijtema is being held in two phases in accordance with the settlement of a leadership dispute between 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 and will end on Monday with the Akheri Munajat.

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 thunder storm 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.

Every year the Bishwa 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 Bishwa 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 Bishaw 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.

State Minister for Religious Affairs Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah announced a fresh date for Ijtema following a meeting with leaders from both Tabligh factions on Jan 24. Changes were made in arrangements since the leaders could not come to an agreement.

Police, RAB and Ansar members are working to secure the Ijtema premises.

Police and RAB have installed watch towers and control rooms. Law enforcement agents in plainclothes are positioned throughout the premises.

Special traffic rules have been adopted on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway to allow easy access to the Bishwa Ijtema.

Traffic is closed on streets between Abdullahpur and Bhogra By-pass and from Mirer Bazar to Station Road from 10:00 pm on Feb 15 to 8:00 pm of Feb 16 and from 10:00 pm on Feb 17 to 8.00 pm on Feb 18, police said.

All trains will make a stop at Tongi from Feb 16 to Feb 18 and some trains will do the same on Feb 19, said Tongi Railway Junction Master Halim Uzzaman. A total of 120 trains, including 11 pairs of special trains will make stops at Tongi, he added.