Kairouan prepares for the Prophet's birthday

30/03/2007

The Tunisian city of Kairouan comes to life in the weeks leading up to the Mouled. Local artisans and leaders prepare for the thousands of pilgrims who will arrive to pay their respects at the city's holy sites.

Text and photos by Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 30/03/07

The Uqba mosque

On March 31st, residents of the Tunisian city of Kairouan will celebrate the 1437th anniversary of the birth of Mohammed (PBH), the holiday known as the Mouled. Kairouan was founded in the year 670 under the leadership of Uqba ibn Nafi, a Companion of the Prophet (PBH), as a capital and base for their conquest of the Maghreb region. Today the city is host to a large celebration of the Prophet's (PBH) birthday.

Kairouan is situated at a crossroads, which was one reason Uqba ibn Nafi chose the location for his capital and headquarters. The city's distance from both the mountains and the sea protected it from both the Byzantines and Berbers. Even the city's name suggests its original military history, since the word "Kairouan" in French means "barracks".

Upon setting foot inside Kairouan, one feels immediately as if time stands still. The city's narrow streets and alleys bear names rooted in the past, such as Acre Street, Karmathian Street and Karbala Street. The city hosts dozens of monuments from the early Islamic period. A mosque named after Uqba ibn Nafi is also located in the city, and is considered a holy place by many Muslims.

Nearly 350,000 tourists visit Kairouan annually. The height of activity in the city occurs with the approach of the Prophet’s (PBH) birthday. Pilgrims travel there on the eve of the Mouled in thousands to spend the night and be blessed inside the Uqba ibn Nafi Mosque. Also known as the Great Mosque, the building has been transformed into a religious centre of culture and learning. The mosque was built under the Aghlabid dynasty and continues to spread knowledge and call for religious moderation and tolerance.

As the sun rises, the city busies itself with visitors from various Tunisian and Libyan cities. In preparation for the big day, the mosque is being repainted and pastry vendors are stocking their shops with semolina, pressed dates, butter and dried fruit, the principal ingredients for the pastries Tunisians consume voraciously on such occasions. While kneading dough on an oblong table, Murad al-Abbasi told Magharebia: "As the time of the Prophet's (PHB) birthday draws near…we work…around the clock, especially the eve of the Mouled, since orders come in at an indescribable pace." According to Murad, his customers come from Tunis, Libya, Algeria and Iran and the towns surrounding Kairouan.

The day before the Mouled celebration, travellers visit the Uqba Mosque, the Mausoleum of Abi Zama al-Balaoui, the Prophet’s (PBH) barber, the Mosque of the Three Gates and the Mausoleum of Sidi Abid al-Ghariani, renowned for the beauty of its Arab-style ceiling and portico supported by Byzantine columns.

Walking around the old town, one might notice a paper on the wall which says "Every city has its Zamzam." Zamzam refers to the well in Mecca, and Kairouan’s equivalent is the Barouta well. The city's inhabitants say that he who drinks from the Barouta well shall certainly return to Kairouan. Sheikh Ibrahim al-Nawali says that historians have been unable to verify the story of this well. “All you hear is nothing but fantasy," he said.

Kairouan's famous fountain was built by the Aghlabids to collect the rain which falls in abundance only during the winter months. This fountain has a diameter of 120 meters and consists of a basin with 48 panels. Even today, it is a focus of attraction for visitors because of its unusual appearance, which inspires many painters and photographers.

On the morning of the Mouled, women wake up early to prepare 'asida (similar to porridge) which is made with water and semolina, honey, butter, olive oil and sugar. Some families have introduced variations of this recipe, and substitute semolina with zaqouqou, black seeds from the east. In the evening, families gather around plates of couscous prepared with lamb or chicken.

During the evening, well-to-do men dress in jubbahs made of silk and women wear haiks, ladies' garments made from high-quality yellow wool.

A vendor sells Kairouan's unique bread

Kairouan is famous for its unique production of a special kind of large round leavened bread with an exceptional aroma, but it is also well-known for making carpets. This industry employs 23,000 men and women who take pride in the trade. A single rug can cost up to two or three thousand dinars. Each year the city holds a fair which is popular among those wishing to marry, because carpets can be had at more affordable prices.

The city's carpet-makers complain of the intrusion of industrially produced carpets into their market. Glancing towards the Al-Kadama market with its imported Asian goods on display, Bashir ben Abdullah said: "People have started to prefer imported carpets due to their low prices. They don’t place any value on the traditional carpets, nor their significance within the home." To emphasise the value of Kairouan carpets, Bashir said, "I know families who have had Kairouan carpets as furnishings for decades, and their colour has not changed nor have they lost their smoothness. As for the imitation carpets, they cause allergies to small children."

For more than thirty years, Kairouan has welcomed scholars from around the world to the Kairouan Mouled Conference, a forum held in the days preceding the Prophet’s (PBH) birthday to discuss religious issues. Last year’s theme was Tunisia's Personal Status Code and Islam, and this year the Ministry of Religious Affairs has organised a conference focused on "Tunisian tradition in religious observance".

During the conference's opening ceremony on Sunday, Bubakr al-Akhazouri, the Minister of Religious Affairs, said that this subject fits within the context of "Tunisia’s endeavour to inculcate in its people a sense of their national identity and personality," emphasising that identity in religious observance is inseparable from national identity.

The Minister pointed out that "the major purpose of such conferences is to promote enlightened religious thought."

Mohammed al-Maslah, a university teacher in Islamic jurisprudence at the College of Literature at Oujda in Morocco, delivered a lecture in which he described the distinctive features of the Maliki school, a Sunni doctrine which extended its influence from Kairouan to Morocco and Al-Andalus.

Saif al-Din Majidi, a teacher at Zaitouna University, began his speech with a definition of religious extremism before speaking on the role of the Kalam school in Africa in opposing excess and extremism.

Celebrating the Prophet’s (PHB) birthday in Kairouan does not only involve visits to historical and religious sites, or preparing appetising foods. It is also a time to circumcise children and to get engaged, so that people can seek blessings on the holy day of the Mouled.