The Blswa Ijtema, the second biggest Muslim congregation after Hajj, ended in Tongi with a renewed call for peace, prosperity and universal brotherhood of mankind. Attended by lakhs of Muslim devotees, the last rite of the three-day congregation was the Akheri Munajat which sought the well-being of all in the faith and a harmonious relationship with peoples of other faiths. In fact, the community spirit and the farewell address by Prophet Muhammad (SM) have been rolled together into a religious philosophy that is uniquely eastern culture's own.

The essential message is tolerance for other religions and a big 'no' to all kinds of religious bigotry and oppression. Starting in 1910, the Ijtema introduced by the Tablig Jamaat in Delhi wanted to promote this overwhelmingly predominant message of peace in Islam. Gradually, the venue has shifted to our soil and to the credit of people of this part of the sub-continent, the Ijtema has been drawing more and more devotees every year. Admittedly. however, the message of peace and harmony has not often been matched by practices in society due largely to politics that has exploited and abused religion.

The proponents of this congregation, however, foresaw a time when there would be a great divide between politics and religion. We can feel encouraged by the fact that the influence of the detractors now seems to be on the wane. The devotees are increasingly growing in number, let them be imbued with the true spirit of Islam so that we all can materialise the maxim, "love to all, malice to none" in practice. Let us also not mix religion with politics. The spiritual domain must have its distance from mundane affairs like politics. Humanity must be bolstered by the original broad visions of religions — all religions.