Voice of British Muslim Women

Sameea Jonnud, Aldershot

Every summer, generally at the start of the school holidays, Jalsa Salana UK arrives, certain and exciting. Many weeks, if not months of preparation followed by three days of speeches by scholars, exhibitions, meeting friends, and four addresses and a sermon by His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, (may Allah be his Helper) worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. I find it greatly inspirational thinking of the work put into holding such an event and how we learn to manage change.

The first Jalsa UK, attended by only a handful of people, was held in a back garden near the Fazl Mosque in Wandsworth; over the years the size has increased, and recent Jalsas in Hadeeqatul Mahdi, Hampshire, have had an attendance of over 30,000 men, women and children and several thousand volunteers.

In addition to the changes brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, we have notoriously changeable British summers to contend with; in the month of July this year, Hampshire swung between the record breaking high of almost 40°C to more than twenty degrees lower in a matter of days. Jalsa UK has seen its fair share of different weather conditions, and at last year’s rainy, Covid-safe Jalsa, I especially thought about how we keep going no matter what is thrown our way.

The 2007 Jalsa UK fell during a very wet summer; three months of regular rain saturated the farmland and heavy equipment left swathes of soft mud over the site. That year, many vehicles became stuck on the evening of the first day and teams of volunteers spent hours pushing cars out; all was apparent chaos but help and assistance was on offer everywhere. Jalsa continued, of course, and a bus service was put on from a nearby car park to get people to the site. In following years, this has become a regular park and ride service with a fleet of double decker buses making multiple journeys to and from Hadeeqatul Mahdi. On the site now, there are metal tracks as pathways, land drainage systems ready for wet weather, and many of us have bought wellies which are kept ready just in case.

In contrast, several Jalsas have been extremely hot, including the one in 2018 which saw temperatures over 30°C and little breeze; it felt like we were melting. But we carried on with lots of water, sunscreen and fans; now the large marquees have ventilation systems blowing cool air as well as electric fans available. And who doesn’t keep a bottle of water with them?

In 2021, Jalsa Salana returned after a year’s break due to the pandemic; a large scale event after over a year of virtual ones was a daunting prospect, but following strict safety guidelines and with attendees complying, it went smoothly, despite the rain for which we all brought out those wellies previous wet Jalsas had taught us to keep handy!

Everything happens for a purpose, and adversity does make us stronger; I have often thought it is God’s way of keeping us on our toes. Workers and attendees of Jalsa UK have found this to be very much the case, while they continue to organise and attend increasingly larger scale events, with many prayers and the guidance of His Holiness (may Allah be his Helper). Thinking of all those workers and guests, I feel inspired by their expanding skills, commitment and faith which keep Jalsa UK going every year.

Now we are preparing for this year’s Jalsa Salana, and with Covid-19 restrictions greatly eased, little rain recently and the heatwave over, it looks like conditions will be perfect for a return to a large gathering. If we do face some adverse condition, we have gained experience through the years and I am confident we will handle it and have a blessed weekend.