The Cairo Magazine provides an interesting article on the displacement of the traditional moulids held in egypt. These festivals constitute annual worshippings of the local saints. The article concerns with the role of the Egyptian State who suppresses the feast as an articulation of folk culture. The government justifies his acting with security reasons while the more likely cause for the ban may be found among the intellectuals in the mosques who regard moulids and parades as nonconformist to the "official" Islam.

Mohammad Al Mokhtar Al Mahdy, Al Azhar University professor of Islamic and Arab Studies states:

“Moulids use up energy in a way that neither serves people in this life nor the next,” Al Mahdy worries. “Islam does not encourage holding such events except by reform propagandists,” he adds. “If moulids were cleansed of their spiritually polluting elements, they could be used to raise Muslims’ awareness of religious matters.” Link to the article.

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