THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: More than half a million Muslims attended the annual prayer meet held yesterday in Kerala, making it one of the largest Muslim gatherings of India.
“More than 400,000 devotees attended the nightlong prayers last year at Swalat Nagar in Malappuram where they gather on the eve of 27th day of the holy month of Ramadan every year,” said Saifuddheen Haji, chairman, media division of the organizing committee.
“This year more than half a million people mainly from Kerala and the neighboring states arrived for the meet. Like in the previous years, a large number of people came from foreign countries, especially from the Gulf region, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka,” he told reporters here.
The congregation organized by Ma’dinu Ssaquafathil Islamiyya, claimed to be one of the largest Muslim gathering outside Makkah and Madinah, is the culmination of the prayer meetings being held there on the last Friday night of every month of the Hijra calendar.
“We have made arrangements for distributing at least 100,000 food packets for the faithful who reach the venue early to break their fast. More than 5,500 volunteers were given training to assist the guests,” said Syed Ismaeelul Bukhari, the Ma’dinu manager.
Thajul Ulema Syed Abdurrahman Al-Bukhari Ullal, chairman of the Samstha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulema, and the Ma’dinu Chairman Ibrahimul Khaleel Bukhari led the prayers.
The focus of the congregation last year was world peace and religious extremism as Bukhari made a fervent appeal to all to show “mercy to your fellow beings; then, God will be merciful to you” and “an extremism of love and not hatred and terror is what we need.”
Apart from the main venue, the faithful watched the proceedings from a dozen other venues on mega screens. There will be exclusive enclosures for women as well.
The officials said a series of programs, including seminars on the message of Holy Qur’an and the holy month of Ramadan and separate meetings for students, leaders and the overseas Keralites, were held from Sept. 20. Extensive arrangements for offering regular prayers and other facilities were made.
The Ma’dinu runs 20 institutions with a total capacity of 6,000 students. They include an orphanage and special schools for the visually challenged, mentally challenged and hearing impaired besides public schools and professional institutions.
