Abdul Quyyom Pasha, Amir Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Ivory Coast
Shahid Ahmad Sahib, regional missionary of Bondoukou reports that the first Jalsa Salana of Bondoukou region, Ivory Coast, was successfully held on 18 and 19 December 2021 at the mission house in Bondoukou city.
The markazi delegation of Abidjan also attended the Jalsa which consisted of 18 members including Amir Sahib Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Ivory Coast and members of the national amila. The inauguration of the Bait-ul-Ahad mosque in Bondoukou – called the “City of a thousand mosques” in Ivory Coast – took place during the Jalsa and Bait-ul-Ahad is the very first Ahmadiyya mosque in this region. The land for the mosque was gifted by the king of Bondoukou to Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. The area of the mosque is 7800 square meters in which an Ahmadiyya school has been built on one side and a mosque on the other side. The foundation stone of this mosque was laid on 22 March 2015. The total area of the mosque is 224 square meters and about 200 members can offer prayer in the mosque.
On the first day, the inauguration of the Jalsa took place through the flag hoisting ceremony, followed by the formal proceedings.
The first session commenced with the recitation from the Holy Quran and a poem followed by a question and answer session.
The second day started with Tahajud prayer in congregation, as did the first day. After the Fajr prayer and dars, breakfast was presented to the participants of the Jalsa.
The second day’s programme also included a blood donation programme and the team from the National Blood Bank had been present since 7 am and a total of 19 people donated blood.
A team from the government hospital was also present to vaccinate people and gave guidance on Covid-19 and how to prevent the spread of this disease.
The closing session of the Jalsa Salana and inauguration ceremony of Bait-ul-Ahad Mosque was held under the chairmanship of Amir Sahib Jamaat Ivory Coast. The session was attended by the First General Secretary of Governor, Deputy Governor Koutouba, representative of commissioner police, a delegation from the Director of Government Hospital and a representative of the director of the fire brigade.
The session commenced with the recitation from the Holy Quran followed by a poem and two speeches in the French language and were translated into the local language, Koulango as well. After, the national presidents of the auxiliary organisations expressed their views.
In the end, Amir Sahib Jamaat Ivory Coast delivered the concluding speech.
Then, the First General Secretary of Governor congratulated the Jamaat on the building of the Bait-ul-Ahad Mosque in the Bondoukou city. After the session, Amir Sahib inaugurated the newly built mosque and led the silent prayer.
The total number of participants in this Jalsa was 350. The event was also live-streamed via Facebook, which was viewed by 1,200 people.