The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community held its 60th annual Jalsa Salana convention this past weekend at a temporary site in Hampshire, with approximately 50,000 attendees expected from more than 100 countries. The event featured increased security staffing numbering in the hundreds, along with coordinated efforts involving police, emergency services, and local authorities. The convention included prayers, speeches from community leadership, and attendance from Members of Parliament, bishops, and other public figures.
The security enhancements responded to a context of rising anti-Muslim incidents in Britain. Recent data indicated that mosques face attacks at a rate of approximately one every five days, while anti-Muslim hate crimes in England and Wales increased by 19% in the 12 months to March 2025. Additionally, an Islamic gathering held earlier in the month was forced to close early following arrests related to a suspected far-right threat.
Rafiq Hayat, head of the UK chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, emphasized that organizers proceeded with the event without hesitation despite the security concerns. He contextualized the current situation within the organization’s longer history, noting that the community has operated in Britain for over a century since 1913 and previously weathered hostility from various movements. He cited experiences during the 1990s construction of a community mosque in Morden, when far-right supporters protested planning meetings.
Hayat described the community’s response strategy as focused on engagement and relationship-building rather than withdrawal. He noted that efforts to establish regular dialogue with neighbors, local authorities, and police had transformed initial tensions into collaborative partnerships. He indicated that the Ahmadiyya teaching emphasizes loyalty to one’s country as integral to faith practice, and that community members actively work to challenge misconceptions about Islam through personal encounters and public participation.
Hayat also acknowledged that hostility toward Ahmadis originates from multiple sources, including both far-right extremists and some Muslims with hardline ideologies. He cited the 2016 killing of Ahmadi businessman Asad Shah in Glasgow as an example of religiously motivated violence from within Muslim communities, while also noting increased instances of mosque attacks and online hatred directed at Muslims generally.
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