By Libya Herald reporter.
Benghazi, 10 December 2016:
There is to be a public holiday on Sunday to mark the Mawlid Al-Nabi, the Prophet’s Birthday.
This has been announced by the Beida-based interim government.
So far there has been no similar announcement from the Presidency Council in Tripoli. There, the radicalised militias influenced by Salafism have become opposed to the event whether they be supporters of grand mufti Sadek Al-Ghariani, who has railed against it in the past, or those opposed to him.
There have been threats in past years to break up any celebrations, but they have come to nothing.
Tripoli, however, has been deeply attached over the years to the festival, with young people letting off fireworks in abundance, and the city’s various Sufi brotherhoods holding processions to mark it.
