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| Tens of thousands of Muslims throng the grounds of Bishwa Ijtema at Tongi, Gazipur district, near Dhaka, to join Friday prayers on Jan. 17. (Photo: Stephan Uttom/UCA News) |
Muhammad Alimuddin and his friends
took a 12-hour bus journey and traveled more than 400 kilometers from Tetulia
in Panchagarh district to Tongi in Gazipur district.
They braved the chilly winter weather with one purpose — to join tens of thousands of fellow devotees at Bishwa Ijtema (World Gathering) on the banks of the River Turag, about 22km from Dhaka.
This annual congregation is the second largest Islamic gathering in the world after the hajj in Mecca.
Like fellow Muslims, Alimuddin and his friends defied all the odds — little food and water, sleeping in makeshift, overcrowded tents and the cold bite of winter — yet they looked refreshed and happy last Friday as they walked in the seemingly endless line of Muslims in skullcaps headed for the special prayer service.
They braved the chilly winter weather with one purpose — to join tens of thousands of fellow devotees at Bishwa Ijtema (World Gathering) on the banks of the River Turag, about 22km from Dhaka.
This annual congregation is the second largest Islamic gathering in the world after the hajj in Mecca.
Like fellow Muslims, Alimuddin and his friends defied all the odds — little food and water, sleeping in makeshift, overcrowded tents and the cold bite of winter — yet they looked refreshed and happy last Friday as they walked in the seemingly endless line of Muslims in skullcaps headed for the special prayer service.
It was the second pilgrimage of Alimuddin, 37, a fertilizer
vendor and father of three after his visit in 2001. He says he was extremely
happy to attend the gathering this year.
"We have only one purpose, no matter what we learn, that we
can be united with the Muslims of Bangladesh and from abroad in the same place,
and that's the greatest benefit we can have," Alimuddin told UCA News.
"I hope that more people like me can come and we can return home
with iman [faith]."
Spreading Islam's message of peace to the world is the duty of
every Muslim, he believes. "We pray so that every Muslim can live in peace
and happiness, and that people of other religions also find goodness in Muslims
and Islam."
Alimuddin attended the second phase of Ijtema from Jan. 17-19.
The first phase of the gathering was held from Jan. 10-12. More than one
million Muslims from Bangladesh and 19 other countries participated in this
year's gathering.
The local chapter of Tablighi
Jamaat (Society for Spreading Faith), an international Sunni organization, has
held the event since 1949.
Shahadat Hossain, 40, is a highway construction contractor from
Kabirhat in Noakhali district. He has been a regular participant in the
gathering over the past 12 years.
"Through Ijtema I have started my journey in the path of
Allah at home and abroad. I visited India three years ago on a pilgrimage. In
Bangladesh, I have made several pilgrimages to the northern part of the country
and also here in Gazipur," Hossain told UCA News.
"As Muslims, we have to attend such gatherings in order to
pray and get blessings from Allah. This Tablighi exists in every country and
those are for prayers and fraternity, so all Muslims and people of the world
can live in peace."
Spontaneous gathering of
the faithful
Bishwa Ijtema is not just
a gathering for prayer, it also offers lessons to devotees on the proper way of
praying, preaching, rituals and personal behavior, says Mufti Ainul Islam.
Islam, a preacher from
Hizbul Bahar Central Mosque in Uttara, Dhaka, attended the first phase of
Bishwa Ijtema this year.
"On the banks of the
Turag, millions gather on the occasion of Ijtema. Poor and rural Muslims often
don't know the correct way of praying and they come here to learn as well as to
hear prominent preachers from home and abroad teach the tenets of our
faith," Islam told UCA News.
"Ijtema is a
spontaneous gathering of the faithful. People of all ages and classes throng to
the gathering. It spreads the message to the people of the whole world that
Islam is religion of peace and fraternity."
In recent years, radical
Islamist terrorist outfits including the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have
unleashed a reign of violence globally, and Bangladesh is no exception.
Since 2013, homegrown
Islamic militants have killed about 50 people including atheist bloggers,
writers, publishers, academics, foreigners and those from minority groups.
Islam does not endorse
violence and those who commit violence in the name of Islam are the "real
and biggest enemies" of the faith, the mufti said.
"Islam never
endorses force or violence. Extremism is haram [banned]. Islam
acknowledges the right of every person to practice their faith freely."
Besides religious
purposes, Bishwa Ijtema also makes economic sense for poor and rural Muslims
who cannot afford to go to Mecca to perform hajj, one of the five pillars of
Islam, said Father Ajit Victor Costa, former secretary of the Catholic bishops'
Commission for Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue.
"Many people cannot
afford to make the pilgrimage. But they yearn to be close to the Supreme Being
with tens of thousands of the faithful and this spiritual thirst has made
Bishwa Ijtema very popular," Father Costa told UCA News.
Factionalism and
extremism in the name of religion in today's world are not the true essence of
religion, the priest said. "True religion beholds and purifies everything.
On the other hand, a huge gathering like this has great significance. It means
the extreme form of religion is not the real path. This fraternity and harmony
flow like a shining river."
Followers of other
religions have lessons to learn from Bishwa Ijtema, the priest said. "I
think the biggest lesson for us is Islamic solidarity and brotherhood.
Religiosity is on the decline in many places, but here people defy all the
challenges to be together with all in prayer. This is inspiring and encouraging
for people of all faiths."
Discord and discontent
Until 2017, Bishwa Ijtema
was just a single-time gathering each year.
In recent years, the
attempt of followers of Indian preacher Maulana Saad Kandhalvi to influence
Tablighi Jamaat activities in Bangladesh led to conflict with followers of
Maulana Jubayer.
In 2018, the dispute
worsened over control of Kakrail Central Markaz Mosque in central Dhaka. The
followers of the two clerics got embroiled in clashes which left one dead and
more than 200 injured in the Kakrail area.
The government intervened
and as a temporary solution introduced the two-phase Ijtema. The dispute over
control and influence remains unresolved.
Devotee Shahadat Hossain
said he is sad to see a two-phase Ijtema. "Most Muslims want this division
to be resolved and hopefully we will be able to have one Ijtema as in the
past."
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