Millions of Muslims Attend Gathering in Bangladesh

TONGI, Bangladesh — An estimated 3 million Muslims gathered Saturday on a riverbank near Bangladesh’s capital in one of the world’s largest Islamic assemblies to promote peace and harmony.

The Biswa Ijtema, or “World Congregation” of Muslims, is dedicated to the tenets of Islam and shuns politics. Organizers say the assembly attracts devotees from 75 countries and is the biggest annual Islamic gathering after the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The three-day event culminates today with a massive prayer meeting that organizers expect will be attended by 4 million people. The event is held on the banks of the Turag River in Tongi, an industrial town about 12 miles north of Dhaka.

The gathering started in 1966 with a small number of scholars and preachers meeting at a mosque in Dhaka. But as its popularity grew, it was moved to the riverbank.

Devotees meet under a huge bamboo-and-canvas marquee to pray and listen to Islamic scholars from around the world give sermons and discuss the Koran, Islam’s holy book.

The faithful also attempt to relive the simplicity of Islam in its early days. Women are not allowed inside the main venue, but camp separately in nearby villages.

The pilgrims carry supplies and cook their own food. They sleep on the ground -- on mats or sleeping bags -- under hundreds of tents that have been erected on nearly 160 acres of land on the riverbank.

“I am here to seek peace for my soul, and once again to feel that in the eyes of Islam, all people are equal,” said Serajul Alam Siddiqui, a physician.