Fri, Dec. 03, 2004
TONGI, Bangladesh - Muslims filled buses, trains and boats to travel to Bangladesh's capital area for a three-day Islamic congregation that began Friday.
Organizers expect up to 4 million devotees, including nearly 40,000 foreigners, to attend the Biswa Ijtema, or the World Congregation of Muslims, on the banks of the Turag River at Tongi, an industrial town 12 miles north of capital, Dhaka.
Considered the largest Muslim congregation after the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, the Ijtema has been organized annually since 1966 by the Tablig Jamaat, an organization of Islamic preachers based in the Indian capital, New Delhi.
The assembly shuns politics and is dedicated to reviving the tenets of Islam and promoting peace and harmony. Participants will discuss the Quran, pray and listen to sermons by Islamic scholars from across the world.
Nearly 7,000 policemen were deployed at the venue to ensure security.