The second phase of Biswa Ijtema began on the bank of the Turag river at Tongi on Friday. Thousands of devotees from home and abroad are thronging the Biswa Ijtema, one of the largest religious congregations of the Muslim world. The Ijtema began after Fazre prayer on Friday, with a religious sermon by Indian Islamic scholar Mawlana Zamshed. Moulana Hossain of Bangladesh delivered sermons after the Juma prayer and Moulana Jobaerul Hasan of India delivered sermons after the Asre prayer. The largest Juma prayer of the country was held at the Ijtema ground, where several lakh people joined in from the capital and adjacent areas of Tongi, Savar and Gazipur.
From the morning, people of these areas came to attend the Juma prayer, which was led by Mawlana Jubairul Hasan, Imam of Kakrail Mosque in Dhaka. A large number of devotees performed the Juma prayer outside the main Ijtema ground and on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and Abdullahpur-Savar road. A long traffic snarl was seen after the Juma prayer on the road and the highway.
Devotees from 33 districts, including Dhaka, are attending the second phase of Biswa Ijtema. Devotees from 32 districts attended the first phase of Ijtema, which ended on January 26 with the Akheri Munajat. Gazipur deputy commissioner Mohammed Nurul Islam said, “In order to ensure the congregation is smoothly held, a five-layer security system has been implemented, as in the first phase. Law enforcement personnel, including police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and members of intelligence agencies in uniform and plainclothes, are patrolling the Ijtema venue round-the-clock and maintaining strong vigil to prevent any unsavoury incident.”
Meanwhile, at least five devotees died on the Biswa Ijtema ground at Tongi till the time of filing of this report on Friday afternoon. According to sources, four devotees died of complications caused by old-age ailments on the Biswa Ijtema ground while another was killed in a road accident at Tongi area.
The deceased were identified as Tujam Sardar (80) of Hajrahati village under Shalikha upazila in Magura district, Abdul Talif (75) of Korchabo village under Debidwar upazila in Comilla district, Nure Alam (65) of Durgapur village under Begumgonj upazila in Noakhali district and Abdur Rab Sheikh (70) of Fakirhatkhola village under Moksedpur upazila in Gopalganj district. Another devotee, Moulana Hedayet Ullah (70) of Batia village under Noakhali Sadar upazila, was crushed by a truck at Tongi bus station while he was crossing the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway on Friday morning. He was a teacher of Maizdi Madinatul Ulom Kawmi madrasa in Noakhali.
The second phase of Biswa Ijtema will end with Akheri Munajat on Sunday, seeking spiritual well being and welfare of the Muslim Ummah.
Courtesy of The Independent
