It was standing room only as about 100 people — many members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at (AMJ) Canada community — packed Bradford council chambers and spilled out into the library lobby Tuesday evening.
Many of those in attendance were disappointed when council approved the Sept. 17 committee of the whole recommendation to deny AMJ’s application to host the annual Jalsa Salana conference from July 4-6, 2025 at the Hadiqa Ahmad Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, 3078 Line 11 in Bradford.
That followed a failed motion to refer the matter back to staff from Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu, and in a recorded vote only Ward 1 Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney, Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott, Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu and Mayor James Leduc voted in favour.
Last night, those same four voted in opposition of approving the recommendation from committee of the whole — mirroring the vote on the original decision two weeks ago.
“I think that naturally, some members are very surprised at the way things unfolded,” Safwan Choudhry, director of media relations for AMJ, said after the meeting.
The event was anticipated to draw 18,000-25,000 people over three days, similar to the more than 20,000 people who had registered by opening day of AMJ’s first full-scale outdoor conference in Bradford almost three months ago.
However, the organization isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
“As a faith community, we have to believe. We have to turn to our faith and believe that goodness and good shall win,” Choudhry said.
Addressing accusations
He noted the importance of mutual trust and said the organization wants to believe council are coming “from an honest and truthful place,” but also highlighted accusations from councillors that AMJ had done work to the property without the proper approvals or that spending amounts were misreported.
During the meeting, Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano claimed a business reached out to him in response to comments from the previous meeting to say AMJ had not actually spent money at their business.
Following the meeting, Giordano added it was actually multiple business making the claim, but he wasn’t comfortable naming them without their consent.
“Fortunately, everything that we do is extremely organized, so the nice thing is that we have receipts — both figuratively speaking and literally speaking,” Choudhry said.
To that end, he said AMJ will “absolutely” follow Sandhu’s advice to make a deputation to council addressing concerns, in addition to providing all documentation to city staff for review.
Pending the decision of AMJ’s governance, Choudhry said they may even release the receipts, approvals and other documents to the public.
Also following the meeting, Asif Khan, national director of public relations for AMJ, took particular issue with comments from Giordano suggesting AMJ should instead consider Burl's Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte or Downsview Park in Toronto.
“It’s an unfair comment for the councillor to throw out a bunch of venues that are potential places, as if we’re stupid and we haven’t looked at these in the last 10 or 15 years,” he said, adding AMJ have performed “extreme due diligence” on every facility in the province that could host the event, but “there’s things that are unique to our convention.”
Khan also addressed comments from Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine, who recalled Choudhry mention in an interview with other media that AMJ had installed electrical and sewer lines under the farm property.
“There were no sewage lines or electrical lines. If there were, the town would know about it,” he said, adding the only lines they installed underground were some fibre-optic cables, which can be pulled out.
Khan is also hoping a deputation from the organization can help address “many little tidbits” that are “incorrect,” and “misleading,” but he’s uncertain if that will sway the five members of council who have “dug in their heels.”
Council conversation
During the meeting Leduc agreed “there’s misinformation out there,” and he “100 per cent” wants answers, with Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott emphasizing the importance of council taking the time to perform their “due diligence,” and Ward 1 Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney asking why councillors wouldn’t want AMJ to provide more information.
“No matter what questions you have, it won’t change anything,” Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper said. Ward 3 Coun. Ben Verkaik added that councillors already had enough information.
At the last meeting Giordano noted the importance of a staff report reviewing the outcomes of this year’s event, but this week still voted against asking for just such a report.
“Further investigation has led me to discover some new pieces of information that I didn’t share today out of respect for everybody involved, but it needs to be looked into further,” he said after the meeting.
During the meeting, Giordano did request a separate staff report on how the town can host a “mega event,” what resources are required and how staff and council can ensure all criteria are met.
Many take to open forum
The council decision about the AMJ convention followed about 1.5 hours of open forum comments on the issue, and while some residents supported the Sept. 17 decision and echoed comments made during that meeting, two residents who claimed to live nearby came out to voice their support for the conference, praising the preparations and organization as well as the ability to bring people to town for more diverse events.
Their voices added to about 10 AMJ members — some of whom are also residents — who stressed the event’s importance to their culture, that the entire community was invited, the Canadian values of peace and respect, as well as the need to work together to find solutions.
In response to traffic complaints, one member reminded everyone that one of the first things young people are taught when learning to drive is to share the road — something he asked of the town and residents for just three days each year during the conference.
Salman Mangla said he helped work on the conference's traffic management plan, which involved more than a year of work including a “huge analysis” and the selection of different routes for members to travel to the conference “just to avoid this congestion issue.”
He noted that even last weekend it took him 40 minutes to go from County Road 89 to County Road 88 along Sideroad 10 due to traffic diverted from a collision on Highway 400, which he said was also the case on the third day of the conference this year.
Khan noted that some of the “negative language” used by some speakers doesn’t help find a solution for an event that “carries not only deep significance for thousands of individuals but also represents an opportunity for our region to embrace the values of diversity, unity and inclusivity.”
Khan was also hoping the matter could be deferred and studied further, as he was “confident” that AMJ could “provide comprehensive solutions.”
Mian Rizwan, chief executive of Jalsa Salana annual convention, noted this year’s event was only the first of its kind in Bradford, for which he was open to making changes.
“I’m hear to seek your guidance,” he said. “You help me. How should I improve it next year?”
Rizwan said his goal is to “win the hearts of the people,” committed to addressing all the community’s concerns and stressed that the group had not created any new roads on the property.
The annual convention “is a beacon of hope in a world that too often thrives on division, conflict and hate,” according to Choudhry, who added AMJ admires and cherishes Bradford, “where diversity is not just tolerated but celebrated,” compared to some countries where Ahmadis are persecuted and forbidden from practising their faith.
While AMJ’s governance will need some time to make a decision, Khan said after the meeting he expects making a second updated application based on council and community feedback would be their first option before trying to relocate the conference.
The full meeting can be viewed on the town's YouTube page.
