Report - 23rd National Annual Ijtema (Gathering) - 2006
Lajna Imaillah, Australia
(Young Girls & Women's Auxiliary, Australia)

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The 23rd National Annual gathering (Ijtema) of the Women's Auxiliary of Australia, Lajna Imaillah Australia was held on 15th, 16th and 17th of September 2006 at the ‘Bait ul Huda' Mosque in Sydney. By the grace of Allah members from all over Australia attended the event with enthusiasm.


Friday 15th September

The program began at 4pm with the recitation of the Holy Quran with English and Urdu translations, the Pledge and a traditional poem. This was followed by an opening speech by the National President of the Auxiliary at that time. She read a message sent by Hazur to the Women's Auxiliary especially for this occasion, in which he placed an emphasis on prayer. He stated that “You should pray for yourself, your family and suffering humanity. You must pray for peace in this world.” The president then spoke about following the theme of this years Ijtema, “One Muslim is mirror for another Muslim”, this was selected in light of His Holinesses recent newsletter reminding all the women to improve themselves morally. The president then went on to remind everyone about the various rules and regulations of the Ijtema and encouraged everyone to respect these rules so that the gathering could be a success.

The Recitation of the Holy Quran was the First competition for girl's 15 years and under. There are 3 groups within the 15 years and under bracket, and all three groups were required to recite a different verse. This was followed by the Young girl's poem competition. The session concluded with Salat and Dinner.

The National Annual Majlis-e-Shura 2006 was also held, in which preaching and the budget were discussed. The election for the National President of the Women's Auxiliary of Australia was also held.


Saturday 16th September 2006

There were two session which were to be undertaken on this day, both of which consisted of a traditional and very meaningful way of starting the day, via recitation of the Holy Quran and the reading of a well sung poem. The National President of the Auxiliary of the time, Mrs Amatul Najm was scheduled to address the women about a variety of issues of importance, such as the importance of filling shortcomings and weaknesses in us all. Mrs Najm emphasized that “ One Muslim is a Mirror to another Muslim ”, therefore we must all eradicate any ills within us so that we can become thorough followers of this great religion. She highlighted the fact that self-analysis and education is the key to improve ourselves. Various competitions were carried out as was the main purpose of this event, and this was followed by a question and answer session. The day ended with Salat and Dinner.


Sunday 17th September

The day began at 10:00am with the recitation of the Holy Quran with Translations in both English and Urdu, followed by a poem. This was then followed by a speech and quiz competitions after which ended the first session with Salat and lunch.

Respected Vice President of Ahmadiyya Community in Australia , Mr Nasir Kahlon then delivered an address on behalf of the President and Missionary in-charge of Australia Mr Mahmood Ahmed due to his absence. He spoke about the blessed scheme of Wassiyat and empahsised the importance of joining this blessed scheme and gave the background of how it began. He pointed out that it was an especially important time to join now because in 2008, we will be celebrating the 100 years since the beginning of this scheme. He reminded all members that we must follow the laws of the country and ensure that all working members declare their true income and refrain from misusing or even resorting to the use of social security benefits provided by the government.

He then drew everyone's attention towards the fact that it was important for all members to be punctual in their five daily prayers and encouraged the opening of Salat centres especially in areas, which are a long distance away from the Mosque at Marsden Park in Sydney.
The National General Secretary of the Women's Auxiliary of Australia, Mrs Farhat Khurram then presented the annual report of the activities and events in each department of the Women's Auxiliary over the past year. This was to provide all of the members with an overall picture of the work, which has been done by the Auxiliary.

The much-awaited prize distribution ceremony took place towards the end of the event in which the contestants were recognized for both Educational and Sporting competitions. The National President of the Women's Auxiliary of Australia (of that time) presented brief concluding remarks to thank everyone for their efforts in making this gathering a success. We then ended the occasion with a fabulous dinner and Salat .

Reported by Khizran Saeeda, Assistant News Editor, Ladies and Families
Ahmadiyya Australia Website