South prepares for Britain's largest Muslim festival

Britain's largest Muslim festival will go ahead after a similar event was forced to end early over an alleged extreme right-wing terror threat.

More than 50,000 Muslims from around the world are expected to attend the Jalsa Salana UK convention in Alton, Hampshire across the weekend.

The event comes as new polling suggests that 77% of Britons believe the country is more divided that five years ago.

Jalsa Salana will begin on Friday, less than two weeks after thousands of people attending the UK Ijtima gathering at Shrubland Hall near Ipswich, were forced to leave early on 12 July.

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.

Jalsa Salana organisers said they have "extensive measures in place" to keep people safe at the Alton convention.

The Jalsa Salana is celebrating its 60th anniversary and this year they are expecting members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from more than 100 countries to attend, along with a staff of nearly 5,000 volunteers.

The keynote speaker at the convention is the global leader and caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad.

Ahead of the weekend, he said: "The Jalsa Salana is a magnificent example of unity, in which people from every corner of the world, including many non-Muslims, come together in peace and harmony, not only to worship God, but also to inspire one another to show compassion, love and respect for all people."

A YouGov poll commissioned by the Ahmadiyya community suggests that more than three quarters of British people believe the country is more divided now, than it was five years ago.

The polling also found that 56% of Britons believe the positive contributions of British Muslims "are not widely known or recognised" by wider British society.

The results were collated by YouGov from more than 2,000 UK adults in July 2026.

A spokesperson for the community, Khalil Yousuf, called the findings "eye opening" and insisted that "dialogue is the antidote to division".

Yousuf 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."

Caliph Ahmed said it was a cause of "great grief for all sincere Muslims" that people seek to blame Islam for "conflict and disorder" in the world.

The Jalsa Salana UK security team said volunteers are trained to "remain vigilant" and have been working closely with the local police.