Gatherings of Love

Moulid! Moulid! Is there more ecstasy to be found anywhere than on an Egyptian moulid? - The natural kind, I mean. Read this unlikely piece in WP. Although millions enjoy Egypt’s moulid’s every year, not everybody share the fun:

Conservative Islamic groups have denounced the moulids as un-Muslim. They find fault because people attend hoping to win favors from saints, because women and men dance on the same platforms, and because the songs, while full of pious sentiments, sound pretty much like Egyptian pop music.