Bishwa Ijtema (World Muslim Congress)

The Bishwa Ijtema (Global Congregation) is an annual gathering of Muslims in Tongi, by the banks of the River Turag, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the second largest congregation of the Muslim community after the pilgrimage to Mecca for the Hajj. The Ijtema is a prayer meeting spread over three days, during which attending devotees perform daily prayers while listening to scholars reciting and explaining verses from the Quran. Because it is non-political, it draws people of all persuasions and is attended by devotees from 150 countries. Pilgrims stay in tents on a huge open field of 160 acres for three days and three nights to pray. They use tents to protect themselves from the cold at night and the heat of the sun during the day. For the Jummah Prayer (Friday Prayer), other Muslim devotees also come to the Ijtema ground to pray. The crowd increases so largely that they have to offer the Friday Prayer in the middle of a busy road junction, causing traffic to come to a standstill. Dedicated prayer grounds are not enough to handle this huge number of people, so large numbers of people come to the main street. All ground transportation and pedestrian crossings are suspended during that time. The Bishwa Ijtema culminates in Akheri Munajat (Concluding Supplication), in which millions of devotees raise their hands in front of Allah and pray for world peace. After that, Muslims travel by overcrowded, risky trains to go back to their homes. Locals tackle the journey by climbing on, clinging to, and clambering along the roofs of locomotives. With no seats available inside, many commuters decide to take the risk and choose a rooftop view for their journey out of Dhaka City. The Ijtema is considered a demonstration of Muslim unity, solidarity, mutual love, and respect and an opportunity to reiterate their commitment to Islamic values.