# Mawlid in Somalia: celebrating the Prophet's birthday > Mawlid in Somalia: the Prophet's birthday, Sufi processions in Mogadishu, camels for communal meals, the al-Shabaab ban, the 2015 national holiday and the debate, with dates and sources. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/society/mawlid-in-somalia/ Last checked: 2026-11-13 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## What Mawlid is Mawlid (Arabic *mawlid al-nabi*, Somali *Mawliid* or *Mowliid*) celebrates the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. It falls on 12 Rabi' al-Awwal (Somali *Rabiicul Awal*), the third month of the Islamic calendar. In 2026 that day was Tuesday 25 August ([AlAdhan calendar conversion](https://api.aladhan.com/v1/hToG/12-03-1448)). By calculation, Mawlid 1449 falls on Saturday 14 August 2027 ([AlAdhan](https://api.aladhan.com/v1/hToG/12-03-1449)). The exact day depends on the moon sighting. See [the Islamic calendar in Somalia](/en/society/islamic-calendar-in-somalia/). The word *mawlid* is also used for the poems read in praise of the Prophet and of saints. Among the Isaaq, for example, the *mawlid* of [Sheikh](/en/regions/sheikh/) Isaaq is read every Thursday ([Ishaaq bin Ahmed, Wikipedia, citing Lewis and Reese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishaaq_bin_Ahmed)). ## How it is celebrated The Associated Press described Mawlid in Mogadishu in September 2025. Thousands of worshippers filled the streets, many of them young people in white clothes waving green flags. Crowds spilled from mosques into open spaces, clerics recited the Qur'an over loudspeakers, and people chanted, clapped and ululated. Young people filmed the processions and streamed them to relatives abroad. Armed security forces stood at the edges of the crowds ([AP via The Week, 4 September 2025](https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/international/2025/09/04/fes41-somalia-mawlid.html)). On 25 August 2026, [Dawan](/en/society/somaliland-newspapers/) Africa reported thousands marching through Mogadishu, gathering at mosques, public squares and Daljirka Dahsoon, carrying flags with the Prophet's name, reciting the Qur'an and singing religious poetry. It named the [Qadiriyya](/en/society/islam-in-somalia/), Ahmadiyya and Salihiyya orders among those holding large gatherings ([Dawan Africa, 25 August 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/thousands-mark-prophet-mohameds-birthday-in-mogadishu)). See [the Sufi orders](/en/society/sufi-orders-in-somalia/). ## Camels for the poor A feature of Somali Mawlid is the slaughter of camels for communal meals. In August 2026, followers of the Sufi leader Sheikh Mohamed Nur Bukhari drove hundreds of camels to the group's centre; more than 1,500 had been set aside that year, shared between the main centre and other Sufi centres. The group marks the Prophet's birthday throughout the month of Rabi' al-Awwal with chanting, praise gatherings, prayers and shared meals. Followers described giving camels, among the most valued Somali possessions, as "an expression of love for the Prophet Muhammad" ([Dawan Africa, 22 August 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/hundreds-of-camels-driven-to-sufi-center-for-mawlid-celebrations-in-somalia)). ## Ban and return [Al-Shabaab](/en/history/al-shabaab/) banned Mawlid celebrations as a religious "innovation" (*bid'a*) and treats Sufis as heretics. Sufi communities stopped public processions until the group was pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011. Since then the gatherings have returned and grown each year ([AP, 2025](https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/international/2025/09/04/fes41-somalia-mawlid.html)). See [saints, shrines and siyaaro](/en/society/saints-shrines-and-siyaaro/), which describes the destruction of Sufi tombs from 2008. ## A national holiday In December 2015 the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, [Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari](/en/people/mohamed-osman-jawari/), announced at a Mawlid celebration that the federal government had declared Mawlid al-Nabi a national holiday. [Garowe Online](/en/economy/somali-media-companies/) reported that the crowds were larger than in earlier years ([Garowe Online, 26 December 2015](https://garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-declares-mawlid-alnabi-natl-holiday)). In 2025 the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs declared a public holiday for government and private-sector workers ([AP, 2025](https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/international/2025/09/04/fes41-somalia-mawlid.html)). ## The debate Not all Somali scholars accept Mawlid ([Dawan Africa, 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/thousands-mark-prophet-mohameds-birthday-in-mogadishu)). The AP quoted both sides in 2025 ([AP, 2025](https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/international/2025/09/04/fes41-somalia-mawlid.html)): - 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." - Sheikh Abdurahman Diriye, described by the AP as a Wahhabi scholar, said the birthday was not celebrated in the Prophet's lifetime. The same disagreement runs through the history of the Sufi orders and the Salafi movements since the 1970s. See [Islamic movements since 1950](/en/society/islamic-movements-in-somalia-since-1950/). ## Read further - [Ramadan and Eid in Somalia](/en/society/ramadan-and-eid-in-somalia/) - [Somali scholars and saints](/en/society/somali-sufi-scholars-and-saints/) --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.