Local Volunteers Head to Britain’s Largest Muslim Convention

Two volunteers from Putney and Southfields will play key roles in managing traffic at Jalsa Salana UK this weekend, as thousands of Londoners set aside their professional careers to take on demanding practical duties at Britain’s largest and oldest-running Muslim convention.

Jazib Cheema, who works for HMRC, and civil architect and local youth leader Shafeef Ahmad, will help run traffic control operations at the 200-acre site near Alton in Hampshire. Their team is responsible for keeping vehicles moving safely and efficiently as tens of thousands of attendees arrive over the three-day event.

They will work alongside Battersea volunteers Abdul Bari Mughal, a Visa employee, and consultant Wajahat Ahmad, who will help manage car parks used by thousands of vehicles.

The local volunteers are part of a wider London contingent of professionals who will spend the weekend doing physically demanding work far removed from their day jobs. Across the site, doctors, consultants, optometrists and architects will collect rubbish, direct traffic, support security and help run essential services for the 50,000 people expected to attend.

One volunteer said the spirit of the event lies in its equality of service: “At Jalsa, nobody is defined by their job title. A doctor can help lead security scanning, an optometrist can collect bins, and a consultant can direct cars. What matters is being useful and serving the people who come through the gates.”

Jalsa Salana UK, organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, runs from 24 to 26 July and is supported by more than 5,000 volunteers. Last year, the waste-management team alone disposed of more than 75 tonnes of rubbish, with similar volumes expected this weekend.

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