THE UK's largest Muslim event has gone ahead with heightened security following a recent rise in hate crime.
Running from July 24-26 in Hampshire, Jalsa Salana brings over 50,000 participants from more than 90 countries to "increase religious knowledge and promote a sense of peace in society".
But security has been increased by several hundred additional staff following a rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes, according to The Guardian.
The event comes less than two weeks after thousands of people attending the UK Ijtima gathering at Shrubland Hall near Ipswich were forced to leave early on Sunday, July 12.
Police have made 13 arrests and are continuing to investigate after they became aware of “a potential serious threat towards the Islamic event” in Suffolk.
Three were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.
Organisers, who are from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, say they have now had to put in place "extensive measures" to keep attendees safe over the weekend.
A recent YouGov poll suggests that more than three-quarters of British people believe the country is more divided in 2026 than it was five years ago.
Of the 2,000 adults polled, 56% said that the positive contributions of British Muslims "are not widely known or recognised" by wider British society.
A spokesperson for the community, Khalil Yousuf, called the findings “eye-opening”, saying that “dialogue is the antidote to division”.
He said: “Once you meet a Muslim, I’m sure you’ll find we have a lot more in common than you may have previously believed.”
Organisers of Jalsa Salana say their community stands for "education, integration and interfaith peace" and welcomes all to visit their mosques, seminars and events that bring people together "to understand more about each other".
Rafiq Hayat, National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, added: “The world has not felt this dangerous in a generation.
"When nations speak the language of force, someone must keep speaking the language of peace.
"That is why we gather, fifty thousand of us, from every corner of the earth, to say with one voice that humanity’s future lies in justice and unity, and not in war.”
