First Nordic Jalsa Salana

Tahir Mahmood Khan

Norway Correspondent

The first Nordic Jalsa was held in Oslo, Norway at the Baitul-Nasr mosque, starting on 21 September and concluding on 23 September. 

The significance of the Nordic Jalsa is that it is made up of the participation of five Nordic countries: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. 

By the sheer grace of Allah, the first Nordic Jalsa was a great success with an attendance of over 1,600. The proceedings of the Jalsa were streamed live on MTA International Norway’s weblink service with live interviews of missionaries and presidents of countries, as well as distinguished guests.  

Day 1

Friday, 21 September was the first day of the Nordic Jalsa. The Jalsa started with the flag hoisting ceremony at 12:50pm with all national presidents of each country hoisting their respective flags. The Liwa-e-Ahmadiyyat (flag of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya) was hoisted by Azhar Hanif Sahib, Vice President and Missionary In-charge USA. The flag hoisting ceremony and Friday prayer marked the official start of the first Nordic Jalsa of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. 

In his Friday Sermon, Azhar Hanif Sahib shed light on the purpose of Jalsa and highlighted what the Promised Messiah^as intended for these Jalsas, and that is to bring about a spiritual progress in all attendees. Thereafter, all attendees listened to the live Friday sermon of Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa on MTA.

Later, lunch was served, and the day was brought to an end.

Day 2

The first formal session started on Saturday, 22 September at 11pm local time. The first speech of this session, after the recitation of the Holy Quran and poetic writings of the Promised Messiah^as, was delivered by Zahoor Ahmad Chaudhry Sahib, Amir Jamaat Norway. His speech covered various aspects of the purpose of Jalsa. 

The next speech was by Shahid Mahmood Kahlon Sahib on God is a Beautiful Treasure. This session ended with a speech by Mamoon-ur-Rasheed, Amir Jamaat Sweden on Enlightening Examples of Financial Sacrifice.

The second session started at 3pm local time, with the recitation of the Holy Quran. The first speech of this session was delivered by Mohammad Zakaria Khan Sahib, Amir & Missionary In-charge Denmark. The topic of his speech was The Importance of Abiding by the System and its Blessings. The second speech was delivered by Musawer Ahmad Shahid Sahib, Missionary In-charge Finland. The last speech of this day was on The Life of the Promised Messiah^as by Agha Yahya Khan Sahib, Missionary In-charge Sweden. 

Day 3

Sunday, 23 September was the last day of the Nordic Jalsa. The first session started with tilawat and a poem. The first speech of the session was on The Family Life and Beauty of the Holy Prophet’s^sa Character by myself (Tahir Mahmood Khan), missionary Jamaat Norway. The next speech was delivered by Mansoor Malik Sahib, missionary Jamaat Iceland on the topic of The Fifth Khalifa’s Divine Guidance and Support. The following speech was presented on The Life of Maulana Abdul Raheem Nayyar Sahib by Naimatullah Basharat Sahib, missionary Jamaat Denmark. The final speech of this session was delivered by Noor Ahmad Truls Bølstad on The Progress of the Ahmadiyya Community in the Nordic Countries.

A guest speaker, mayor of Oslo, was also invited during this session to address the attendees. Marianne Borgen, Mayor of Oslo, congratulated the Nordic Ahmadiyya Jamaat on their first Nordic Jalsa and of the pleasure on being invited to such a convention where the message of peace was being spread.

There was then a break for prayers and lunch after which the final session commenced. 

The final session started 2:15pm with the recitation of the Holy Quran followed by a short poem. An Amin ceremony started at 2:30pm with the missionary in-charge of Norway distributing prizes to those children who had completed the reading of the Holy Quran in the previous year. After this, a speech was delivered by the Amir of Norway, Zahoor Ahmad Chaudhry Sahib, thanking attendees of the Jalsa for their support in making the first Nordic Jalsa successful. 

The concluding speech was delivered by Ahzar Hanif Sahib, Vice President and Missionary In-charge USA, who spoke on the topic of tabligh and its importance in the Nordic countries.