Maulid ya Mfungo 6 (Lamu)

Tourism boom expected as pilgrims arrive from Saudi , UK and Europe
By ABDULRAHMAN SHERIFF (email the author)
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Posted Friday, March 13 2009 at 20:27

The historical island of Lamu is expected to experience a tourism boom next week when more than 50,000 Muslim worshippers converge there for the annual Maulidi celebrations.

Lamu’s Maulidi, the most revered event in the Islamic calender in East and Central Africa, will this year mark 120 years, as will Riyadha Mosque, which hosts the annual event.

Maulidi Organising Committee co-ordinator Muhdhar Khitamy says the rising number of celebrants each year is giving true meaning to the celebrations and boosting the image of Lamu.

The celebrations will honour Habib Swaleh Jamalillayl, who staged the first Maulidi 120 years ago at Riyadha.

As a young Muslim scholar, he pursued the Islamic religion to the level of Habib, a title used as an alternative to Sayyid or Shariff, used to refer to descendants of the Prophet Mohammad.

Sayyid means master while shariffs are believed to be held in special favour by the prophet.

In founding Maulidi, Habib Swaleh, born of an Arab father and a Comorian mother, created an event that annually changes the usually laidback, conservative lifestyle of Lamu into a week of frantic activity.

The celebrations end the day after a visit by the celebrants to the tomb of Habib Swaleh at Langoni Muslim cemetry.

This year’s Lamu Maulidi celebrations will start on March 24 and are expected to attract pilgrims from as far away as Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, East Africa and other African, Europe and Middle East countries.

The event is organised by Riyadha Mosque and Islamic Centre, whose co-ordinator, Muhdhar Khitamy, announced the festival opens with Quran recitation and memorisation on March 24 at Islamic Centre.

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