People of Sierra Leon, Mali, Nigeria, Liberia and Guinea will not be given visa
People of Ebola-affected five West African countries will not be given visa to attend Bishwa Ijtema, the second largest gathering of the Muslims after Hajj, this year.
The government has asked all Bangladesh missions abroad not to issue visas to the people of five Ebola-virus affected countries – Sierra Leon, Mali, Nigeria, Liberia and Guinea, State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said this at a press brief after a meeting over Ijtema preparations at the secretariat.
Mentioning the example of the last Hajj, he said: “Saudi Arabia during Hajj had also taken this sort of preventive measures and we are following the same to protect our people from this dangerous virus.”
The minister said Bangladesh would issue two categories of visas for foreigners who will join the Ijtema, of which one month’s visa for general category and 45-day visa for Ijtema and Tabligh devotees.
Around 15-20 lakh devotees from home and abroad take part in the three-day congregation every year. Tablighi Jamaat has been organising the gathering since 1976.
Over 15,000 foreign devotees from different Muslim countries are likely to join the three-day congregation to be held on the bank of the Turag River at Tongi, some 20 km north of the capital.
Last year, around 20 lakh devotees, including 10,500 foreign devotees from 105 Muslim countries, had joined the gathering.
The first phase of the congregation will begin on December 9 and the second phase will be held from January 16 to 18. The minister said all preparations regarding the congregation was going in full pace.
The first Ijtema was held at Kakrial Mosque in Dhaka in 1946. This was followed by a congregation at Chittagong Hajji camp in 1958, then at Siddirganj in Narayanganj. Si znce 1965, the Bishwa Ijtema has been held at Tongi.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
