Rochdale Muslims celebrate birthday of Prophet Muhammad

Rochdale Muslims celebrate birthday of Prophet Muhammad

Rochdale’s Muslim communities paraded the streets of the Milkstone and Deeplish area marking the birthday of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad.

This annual procession is the culmination a 12-day educational festival where the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad were explored at length in 12 of the town’s mosques.

The birthday celebrations, known as Milad an Nabi, are commemorated all over the Muslim world with festivals, public holidays and mass seas of green and white colours being displayed prominently.

This year, Rochdale is seemingly the only town in the country to be marking this auspicious occasion with a parade on the actual birth date – 12th Rabi al Awwal, which coincides with 12 December.

The annual birthday parade was organised by the Rochdale Milad Committee, a collaborative of the town’s Sunni Sufi Mosques.

Beginning on Crawford Street, the procession made its way through the Milkstone and Deeplish area and will complete its journey outside the Jamia Chashtia Mosque on Milkstone Road.

This year following a request from the community, Rochdale Borough Council has lit up Milkstone Road for the occasion with the traditional Eid illuminations, which are normally only displayed at the end of Ramadhan - the holy month of fasting.

Imam Irfan Chishti MBE, lead organiser of the parade said: “The birthday of the Prophet Muhammad is the most significant event of the Islamic calendar as his arrival brought light to this darkened world through his love, compassion and mercy. This peaceful birthday parade is an embodiment of his prophetic teachings and the Muslims of Rochdale will today show that they are peace-loving, productive members of the community.”