Dhaka, Jan. 31 -- The first phase of 58th Biswa Ijtema has officially begun on the banks of the Turag River in Tongi, Gazipur, drawing tens of thousands of devotees from both home and abroad.

The formal opening of the religious gathering, seen as the second largest religious gathering after the Hajj, marked a start after Maghrib prayer on Thursday through delivering sermons by Indian scholar Maulana Ibrahim Deolar.

After Fajr prayer on Friday, Pakistani Islamic scholar Maunla Ziaul Haque delivered ordinary sermons before the devotees while Bangladesh Tablig Jamaat's leader Maulana Jubair will conduct the Jummah prayer, said Habibullah Raihan, media coordinator of Tabligh Jamaat Bangladesh Shurari Nezam, reports UNB.

Besides, Islamic scho...