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🇩🇪 Germany /Culture & Society

Jalsa Salana draws thousands as Ahmadiyya community marks 50 years of solidarity

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Ongoing story
  • The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat began its annual Jalsa Salana gathering at an airfield in Mendig, with about 45,000 attendees expected.
  • Organizers are using the event’s 50th edition to highlight Muslim volunteerism, social responsibility, peace and support for Germany’s democratic order.
  • The three-day gathering includes worship, exhibitions, a bazaar, medical services and a panel discussion on international law and Germany’s strategic interests.

Around 45,000 Muslims are expected at Mendig airfield by Sunday for the 50th Jalsa Salana, the annual gathering of Germany’s Ahmadiyya Muslim community. For three days, more than 200 tents will form a temporary town with prayer areas, food facilities, exhibitions, a bazaar and medical services.

The gathering opened with the German flag being raised and a prayer for peace. Abdullah Uwe Wagishauser, national chairman of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, used the occasion to challenge a theme he said often disappears from state election campaigns. “Muslim life is not a burden for our democracy,” he said, according to a statement.

Muslim life is not a burden for our democracy.

· Abdullah Uwe WagishauserThe Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat chairman addressed the gathering’s place in German democratic society.

The event is taking place on the same weekend as a state election in Saxony-Anhalt. Organizers said they want to show the parts of Muslim life that are often overlooked in election campaigning: volunteer work, social responsibility, solidarity and a clear commitment to Germany’s free democratic order.

We make visible what is a lived reality for the majority of Muslims in Germany, but hardly appears in many of the current state election campaigns.

· Abdullah Uwe WagishauserHe described the community’s emphasis on responsibility, volunteer work, solidarity, peace and democracy.

“We make visible what is a lived reality for the majority of Muslims in Germany, but hardly appears in many of the current state election campaigns,” Wagishauser said. He referred to the practice of responsibility, volunteerism, community solidarity and a commitment to peace and democracy. The community’s motto is “Love for all, hatred for none.”

The gathering is being held at Mendig airfield for the third time. This year’s program also reflects on how Jalsa Salana has developed from an event with about 70 participants in 1975 into a nationwide gathering of tens of thousands. A Saturday panel will ask whether international law has become a law of the strongest and examine the tension between Germany’s values and strategic interests. Participants are expected to include former Thuringia premier Bodo Ramelow and Green Party lawmaker Lamya Kaddor.

Love for all, hatred for none.

· Ahmadiyya Muslim communityThe community’s stated motto.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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