Second phase of Ijtema begins

The second phase of this year’s Biswa Ijtema has begun with hundreds of thousands of devotees thronging the banks of Turag in Tongi. The second phase began with "a'm bayan" (general sermons) by Bangladesh Omor Faruk early Friday. Hafez Mohammad Jubayer will give sermons after Juma prayers. [caption id="attachment_241212" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Thousands of devotees reaching the Ijtema field | Raihanul Islam Akand/Dhaka Tribune[/caption] Gazipur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr Mohammad Humayun Kabir said: “At least 75 agencies are working together to make the second phase a success.” On January 14, the first phase of Ijtema ended with the Akheri Munajat, or final prayer, seeking world peace, stability and divine blessings for mankind and the Muslim Ummah. This is the first time that the Ijtema prayer is being conducted in Bangla. Ijtema was conducted by India preachers the previous years. Indian preacher Maulana Muhammad Saad Khandhalvi had come to Bangladesh to join the 53rd round of Bishwa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslims across the world. However, Maulana Saad returned to his country after he was barred from joining Biswa Ijtema. Tablig Jamaat has been organizing the Biswa Ijtema on the bank of Turag river since 1967. Now, Ijtema is being held in two phases since 2011 to ease the accommodation problem.