Thousands of supporters of the Tabligh Jamaat faction loyal to Maulana Mohammed Saad Kandhalvi gathered at and around the capital’s Kakrail Mosque today.

As they started swarming the area from early morning, with many coming from outside Dhaka, additional police forces were deployed in the area to avoid any untoward situation. The worshipers attended a brief sermon followed by Friday prayers before ending the gathering around 1:00 p.m.

Several supporters of the faction said that those not involved in Dawah (invitation to Islam) activities left the Kakrail area after the prayers while those involved in such activities remained at the mosque .

From the sermon, some instructions were also given to the followers, they added.

Witnesses said the gathering spread to Kakrail intersection at one end and Matsya Bhaban intersection at the other end.

As a result, vehicle traffic has remained closed on these roads since morning.

After the prayers, an announcement was made via megaphone from inside the mosque that a larger gathering of the faction would take place on December 7.

A devotee who came to Kakrail from Kalyanpur area in a group of 20 people said that no kind of division in the Tabligh Jamaat activities was expected as it is a religious path.

He said that although he is a follower of Maulana Saad, he believes that all schools of thought in the Tabligh Jamaat should work together for a greater good.

Mizanur Rahman, a supporter of Maulana Saad who came from Barishal to attend the rally, said that till now the faction had organized the second phase of Biswa Ijtema but this time they wanted to organize the first phase.

He also said that this time they wanted the presence of Maulana Saad on the Ijtema ground.

Maulana Saad’s Tabligh Jamaat faction on Wednesday demanded the government to allow supporters of Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz (the Tabligh headquarters controlled my Maulana Saad) to hold the first phase of Biswa Ijtema next year.

Speaking at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club, the faction leaders also demanded that the Kakrail Markaz, the main center of the Tabligh Jamaat in Bangladesh, be handed over to the supporters of the Nizammudin Markaz.

“It would be a big mistake if someone tried to deprive us of our rights and our property,” said Muhammad Azimuddin, imam of the Kakrail mosque.