TRADERS near el-Hussein Mosque in Islamic Cairo complain that business was very slack during the recent moulid (birthday) of el-Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohamed. Although many people joined in the celebrations in el-Hussein district, few bought the food, sweets, soft drinks and embroidered clothes that the traders traditionally sell at this moulid. Sales of spices, prayer beads, perfumes and religious books also stagnated. Traders believe that the tight security round el-Hussein Mosque since the terrorist incident in February last year may have been partly to blame. Ali Darweesh, an Islamic writer, who loves this moulid, says that many Egyptians normally turn up for the celebrations at el-Hussein Mosque, while a lot of businessmen are very charitable, organising banquets for poor people. Fatouh el-Arabi, who has a stall selling sweets outside el-Hussein for the moulid every year, comes all the way from Tanta, el-Gharbia Governorate, about 120km north of Cairo. He says that people from Cairo and from the provincial governorates flood to the moulid and love his sweets, adding that his prices are very reasonable. However, a man who sells plastic toys in a shop near el-Hussein complains that the overcrowding during the moulid actually causes his sales to plummet, with people only window shopping. “Many people only want to visit el- Hussein Mosque then have a picnic with their families,” he says. Tamer Zohni, manager of a dairy products shop in el-Hussein, agrees, adding that the number of visitors was down this year because of the tight security. “Because we're desperate to sell our goods, we haven't raised our prices, despite the recession and the increase in the prices of raw materials. This is true of most shop owners around here. “The avian flu and swine flu are also to blame for fewer people coming here from the governorates for the moulid. Because it gets so crowded, they're afraid of getting infected,” he says. Ragab Al-Attar, head of the Spice Section at the Chamber of Commerce, recalls the good old days, when there were marquees everywhere, doing a brisk trade in aniseed, hibiscus and cinnamon drinks. The extended all the way from el-Hussein Mosque to Midan el- Darassa. Around half a million people a day would flock to el-Hussein, including visitors from Arab countries, all coming to seek the blessing of the grandson of the Prophet. But nowadays, many people only pop in briefly on the eve of the moulid, while restaurants and coffee shops also complain that they got very few customers this year. Ahmed Rushdi, who owns a shop that sells leather products, says that sales were so bad during the moulid that many traders are considering shutting up their shops during el-Hussein's birthday celebrations next year.
