Tens of thousands of Muslims attend annual Biswa Ijtema event in Bangladesh

Tens of thousands of people have gathered on a riverbank near Bangladesh’s capital to listen to sermons by Islamic scholars at the Biswa Ijtema or global congregation of Muslim devotees. The three-day annual event will end Sunday when hundreds of thousands of Muslims are expected to join final prayers like every year. Friday was the opening day of the the first phase of Biswa Ijtema. The second phase will be held Feb. 3-5. The third phase will be held Feb. 14-16. Biswa Ijtema is one of the largest gatherings of Muslim devotees. It's held on the sandy banks of the Turag River in Tongi just north of Dhaka. The event dates back to the 1950s when the Tablighi Jamaat movement started hosting the event.