Over 30,000 Muslims from 100 countries are expected to converge in the UK this weekend to hear the Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community speak at the UK’s largest Islamic conference.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Caliph to tens of millions of Muslims, will address the crowds in attendance at a three-day international gathering, known as the Jalsa Salana. The conference will focus on increasing the spirituality of the participants, whilst also tackling issues facing the world’s second largest religion - including the rise of so-called Islamic extremism, the growing threat of the far-right and Islamophobia.
The Caliph will also address 15,000 Muslim women about women’s rights in Islam. The conference will conclude with all participants pledging allegiance at the hand of the Caliph.
Jalsa Salana
Stating the Islamic position on terrorism, the Caliph said: “No matter what terrorists may claim, under no circumstances are indiscriminate attacks or killings ever justified. Islam has enshrined the sanctity of human life in chapter 5, verse 33 of the Holy Quran, which states: ‘Whosoever killed a person – it shall be as if he killed all mankind; and whoso gave life to one, it shall be as if he had given life to all mankind’.”
Against the backdrop of the success of the far-right across Europe, coupled with divisive policies that seek to divide societies on the basis of ethnicity and religion, the Caliph said: “The need of the hour is for us to knock down the barriers of fear that divide us. Rather than erecting walls that keep us apart, we should build bridges that bring us closer together… We must stand up against all forms of oppression, hatred and use all our capabilities to try and foster peace in the world.”
In the UK, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has more than 100 chapters, 35 Mosques, including the largest Mosque in Britain, and the first Mosque in London.
It is a peaceful Islamic movement that has, since its establishment in 1889, denounced all forms of extremism and promoted pluralism. It has been established in the UK for more than a century and has tens of millions of members spread across 209 countries.
Its founder, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, claimed to be the Mahdi and Messiah prophesied in the Christian, Jewish and Islamic scriptures. He stood against all forms of cruelty, reaffirming that true Islam is a religion of peace.
The community is today run under a system of Caliphate, which has been headquartered in London since 1984. The present and fifth caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
The Caliph has addressed world leaders and the general public across the globe, consistently denouncing religious extremism, terrorist groups such as ISIS, the oppression of women, and all forms of cruelty towards humankind, animals and the environment.
Some Key Features of the Jalsa Salana:
- Hoisting of the Ahmadiyya Muslim flag alongside the Union Flag by the Caliph and National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK.
- 300,000 naan: 300,000 naan (slices of Asian bread) - All cooking is done on-site by volunteers. This includes the running of a bread factory that produces 300,000 rotis at a rate of 10,000 an hour; the kitchen cooks 270,000 meals (South Asian and European cuisine) across the three days.
- 200 acres: The site is a Hampshire farm, which is turned into a global village in the two weeks prior to the event and taken down within a week. The facilities include accommodation, a kitchen that produces more than 270,000 meals and an international bookshop.
- 5,000 volunteers: The gathering is organised exclusively by volunteers from across the UK (2,000 women and 3,000 men)
- 80 million people: All proceedings are transmitted to more than 80 million people worldwide and simultaneously translated into more than a dozen languages, via webcast and Muslim Television Ahmadiyya (MTA), the world’s first Islamic satellite channel.
- The Caliph, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad delivers five speeches across the three days.
- Over 30,000 attendees: Largest Muslim Convention in the UK.
- 51 years: Longest standing Muslim convention in the UK.
- 100 countries: Delegates attend from more than 100 countries across the world (North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, South & East Asia, and Australasia).
- Pledge of allegiance to the Caliph: Pledge of allegiance to the Caliph with a participation of over 30,000 and millions via satellite and webstream on Sunday.
- Life-sized replica of the Turin Shroud of Jesus will be on display. World leading expert on the Shroud, Barrie Schwortz, who was part of the team that conducted the first in-depth scientific examination of it in 1978 will be a guest in attendance.