Britain's largest Muslim festival to mark 60th anniversary amid heightened security
The annual convention, organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, will be supported by nearly 5,000 volunteers and feature religious addresses, discussions and community events
Britain's largest Muslim gathering, the Jalsa Salana UK, is set to mark its 60th anniversary in Alton, Hampshire, with organisers expecting more than 50,000 attendees from over 100 countries despite heightened security following an alleged extreme right-wing terror threat that forced the early closure of a similar event earlier this month.
The annual convention, organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, will be supported by nearly 5,000 volunteers and feature religious addresses, discussions and community events, says the BBC.
The event comes less than two weeks after the UK Ijtima, a separate Ahmadiyya gathering in Suffolk, ended early on July 12 after police said they became aware of "a potential serious threat towards the Islamic event" in Suffolk.
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Organisers said they have "extensive measures in place" to ensure the safety of attendees at the Alton convention. The security team said volunteers are trained to "remain vigilant" while working with local police.
The convention's keynote speaker will be Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the global leader and caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
"The Jalsa Salana is a magnificent example of unity, in which people from every corner of the world, including many non-Muslims, come together in peace and harmony, not only to worship God, but also to inspire one another to show compassion, love and respect for all people," Ahmad said.
He also said it was a cause of "great grief for all sincere Muslims" that some individuals seek to blame Islam for "conflict and disorder" in the world.
The gathering takes place against a backdrop of concerns over social cohesion in Britain. A YouGov poll published in July found that 77% of Britons believe the country is more divided than it was five years ago, while 56% said the positive contributions of British Muslims "are not widely known or recognised" by wider society.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community spokesperson Khalil Yousuf described the polling findings as "eye opening."
"Dialogue is the antidote to division," Yousuf said.
"Once you meet a Muslim, I'm sure you'll find we have a lot more in common than you may have previously believed."
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community also condemned a recent incident involving the burning of a model of a mosque, saying: "It can never be justified."
