About the Jalsa Salana
The Jalsa Salana is the annual three-day general assembly of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Germany. With over 40,000 attendees, it is the largest regularly held gathering of Muslims in Europe.
The history of the Jalsa Salana dates back to 1891, when the founder of the reform movement, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (as), proclaimed the Jalsa Salana for the first time in Qadian, India. At that time, 75 members of the community participated. Since then, the Jalsa Salana has become firmly established in many countries around the world. For example, the last Jalsa Salana in Pakistan in 1983 was attended by over 200,000 attendees.
Meaning and purpose of Jalsa Salana
“The key purpose of this convention, is to enable every sincere individual, to personally experience religious benefit, to broaden their knowledge and to deepen their understanding of Allah Almighty, by the grace and opportunity given by Him.”
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (as), Source: Ishtihar 07.12.1982, Majmoo’ah Ishtiharat Volume I, page 340
The Jalsa Salana in Germany
The first Jalsa Salana in Germany took place in 1975 on the grounds of the Fazl-e-Omar Mosque in Hamburg. After the German headquarters was relocated to Frankfurt, the Jalsa Salana was also relocated there.
With the ever-growing number of members, the congregation purchased a larger property (“Nasir Bagh”) in Groß-Gerau and began holding the Jalsa Salana there in 1985.
However, this location soon became too small, so from 1995 onward, the Jalsa Salana was held on the Maimarkt grounds in Mannheim. However, increasing organizational and logistical demands necessitated the abandonment of the Maimarkt grounds as a venue after a few years. Since 2011, the Jalsa Salana Germany has therefore been held at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Center. It is attended annually by approximately 40,000 members and friends of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat.
Since the Corona pandemic, the first Jalsa Salana took place in 2021 on the Maimarkt grounds in Mannheim.
