Young MC

OK, that’s a pretty tasteless title for this post and I apologize, but I couldn’t resist. Actually what’s happening in this picture is the Muslim holiday of Maloudie (I don’t think I’m anywhere close to spelling that correctly) which marks the birth of the prophet Mohamed. For the week following his birthday the different Koranic schools in town marked the holiday by having all night recitations of the Koran (starting at around 8pm and going until 3 in the morning and sometimes right up until the 5:30am morning prayer). Kids of all ages gather at the Koranic schools and take turns reciting the passages they have spent the last few months memorizing. However, reciting a passage of the Koran isn’t like reciting a passage from the Bible. Passages are recited in a style somewhere between chanting and singing either individually or in small groups but definitely with a bit of singing and a bit of yelling in the mix. I really want to make another inappropriate hip hop reference but with the title I already feel like one was more than enough. The girl in this picture was one of the young ones who did it and was adorable.