Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Report-
On the banks of the River Turag in Tongi, the second day of the three-day Biswa Ijtema, which is regarded as the second-largest gathering of Muslims after the Hajj, began today.
Following Fajr prayers, the “a’m bayan” (general discourses) of the 56th edition of the Biswa Ijtema began. A sizable congregation, including devotees of Indian preacher Maulana Muhammad Saad Al Kandhalvi, attended.
Maulana Saad won’t be at this year’s Ijtema, though. Maulana Mohammad Osman, a Pakistani Islamic scholar, delivered the sermons, while Maulana Zia bin Qasim translated them into Bangla. Thousands of followers from home and abroad flocked to the banks of the Turag to renew their allegiance to Islamic principles while listening to academics recite and explain verses from the Quran.
Yusuf bin Saad Kandhalvi, the son of Maulana Saad, will lead the Juma prayers at the Ijtema ground in the afternoon.
“To protect the worshippers, more police officers have been stationed inside and outside the Ijtema venue. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras are monitoring the location “Commissioner of the Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP), Molla Nazrul Islam.
To offer the devotees the same care as in previous years, health camps were established. Mofizul Islam, a 75-year-old follower from Barguna, passed away early on Friday owing to the problems of aging at the Ijtema location.
With Akheri Munajat, the three-day Biswa Ijtema will come to an end on January 22. The metro rail service will operate from 8:00am to 5:00pm on January 22 to allow devotees attending the second phase of the assembly to move about with ease.
Ijtema’s initial three-day period came to a close with Akheri Munajat on January 15. Since 1967, Tabligh Jamaat has organized the congregation in Tongi. To accommodate a high number of guests, it split Ijtema into two phases in 2011.
