MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalis on Thursday marked the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday with a government-declared public holiday, reviving an old tradition of merriment once banned by extremist militants who reject such public spectacle.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs declared the public holiday for government and private-sector employees, citing Quranic verse on piety.
The prophet’s birthday, known as Mawlid, is marked across Somalia with Quran recitations, religious song, and processions led largely by Sufi communities. Similar celebrations took place in some other parts of the Muslim world.
In the capital, Mogadishu, the streets swelled with thousands of worshippers, many of them young people in white garments and waving bright green flags. Crowds spilled out of mosques and into open areas saturated with rhythmic chants and devotional song. Clerics recited Quranic verse via loudspeakers as people swayed in unison, clapping and ululating in joy.
Some young people filmed the processions on their phones, livestreaming chants to friends abroad, while others hoisted banners adorned with verses of praise. Security forces, rifles slung over their shoulders, stood at the edges of the crowds, scanning for threats but unable to suppress the festive mood.
“To those who oppose this celebration, I say, ‘fear God,’” said Sheikh Abati Abba Nur, a Sufi scholar. “This is the month in which our prophet was born, and celebrating it does not contradict Islamic teachings.”
Not all Somalis welcomed the government’s move to impose a public holiday.
Sheikh Abdur …