More than 20,000 people registered for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Canada’s three-day event, which celebrates spirituality, knowledge and harmony.
A celebration of spirituality, knowledge and inter-religious harmony is set to draw tens of thousands of people to Bradford this weekend.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at of Canada (AMJ) on Friday officially launched its 46th annual Jalsa Salana conference at the Hadiqa Ahmad Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, 3078 Line 11. Over 20,000 people have registered for the conference, and celebrations are scheduled to continue on both Saturday and Sunday.
In an interview Bradford TodayAMJ national president Lal Khan Malik explained that the annual event aims to enable visitors to learn more about Islam and how to live a good life by practicing their faith.
As this year’s theme is the Quran and the guidance it gives, Malik encouraged anyone who wants to learn more about Islam to attend the conference.
“They’ll be amazed at how much guidance there is in this Bible for our daily lives,” he said.
The conference is usually held indoors at the International Centre in Mississauga, but this year marks the first time a full-scale event will be held in Bradford, following a pilot event in 2022.
“We’re so excited,” Malik said. “It’s a village and it’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot more fun.”
This year’s conference will include a main hall for presentations and prayer, space for oral and multimedia exhibits, a bookstore, a cafeteria, a tea stand, the charity Humanity First, a Peace Fountain and a bazaar with vendors selling clothing, jewelry, food, information and more.
Exact figures will be compiled and released after the three-day conference, but organizers estimate that hundreds of volunteers have spent thousands of hours over several weeks preparing the 100-acre site on the northeast corner of Side Road 10 and Line 11, erecting more than 30 tents of various sizes.
One of the many tents was hosting the Great Blind Taste Test. Religion Review The magazine, “The 55,” questioned whether the five human senses could be trusted to perceive God.
During the test, participants were given a candy and asked to identify one of five flavors after wearing nose clips and blindfolds.
Most failed, according to the magazine’s imam, Sarmad Naveed, which shows that our senses cannot always be trusted, but even if they can be trusted, they may not be the right fit for the job, he said.
“If we’re saying this is a spiritual entity, then we should use the appropriate spiritual senses just as we use the appropriate physical senses,” he said. “Have you seen the actual power of love? No. But we all believe that love exists.”
Earlier in the afternoon, AMJ National Vice President Sohail Mubarak Sharma spoke about the importance of following Allah’s teachings and finding piety, before leading hundreds of people in prayer, and urged visitors to maintain “high morals” while in Bradford.
Later that day, AMJ national communications director Asif Khan and AMJ Palestinian imam and missionary Musleh Shandour participated in a question-and-answer panel discussion with Malik and denounced injustices in Gaza after Israel formally declared war on Hamas on Oct. 8 and launched attacks on Gaza following an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas fighters on Israel.
“We need to pray for the plight of our Palestinian brothers and sisters,” Khan said. “They’ve lost their country, they’ve lost their infrastructure, they’ve lost their homes.”
Shandour explained that AMJ was also lobbying politicians to urge a permanent ceasefire.
Representatives of the international media also asked questions in various languages, including Urdu.
At 5 p.m., as the sky darkened and raindrops began to fall, Malik and other AMJ officials raised the Canadian and Liwa-e-Ahmadiyya flags near the Peace Fountain.
Chandry Usman Ahmed, 22, of Vaughan, said he has attended the event every year since he was a child and has volunteered in various capacities.
“It’s a great experience meeting new people and helping them,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun, and the best part is that it’s fulfilling.”
Ahmed stressed the sense of community that comes from working together to make the event happen and reuniting with people he hasn’t seen since last year.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Canada is a non-profit charitable organization and the Canadian branch of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, an international Islamic organization founded in 1889. It operates in over 200 countries and has a membership of over tens of millions of people.
Due to increased traffic volumes this weekend, the South Simcoe Police Department urges people to avoid the area of Side Road 10 and Line 11 if possible.
