UK’s annual Ahmadiyya meet starts

Britain’s largest annual Islamic gathering organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community began on 12 August and will continue for three days. Ahmadi Muslims, one of the oldest Muslim groups in Britain, accept Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a 19 th century spiritual reformer from India as the messiah awaited by all major religions. More than 35,000 Ahmadi Muslims are hearing daily addresses from their world leader, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor. The first UK Annual Convention was held in 1964 in the grounds of London’s first mosque, the historic Fazl Mosque in Southfields and was attended by only a few. The event has grown dramatically and in 2015, more than 30,000 people attended the jalsa. This year, the location is the 200-acre tented village on Oakland Farm in Hampshire, where 35,000 delegates from over 90 countries have converged. The event is being broadcast live globally, including to India, via satellite TV with simultaneous translation in up to 13 languages. The theme of the convention is spirituality and unity, and to increase religious knowledge and promote peace and tranquillity. On Sunday, all 35,000 will pledge to follow the peaceful meaning of Islam, keeping away from all expressions of extremism and reaffirming their loyalty to their country of residence.