By Ibrahim Negm
Senior Advisor to the Grand Mufti of Egypt
cairo glows in Prophetic birthday season. Families share sweets. Mosques fill with praise. The celebration is tender and joyful, yet it should also be serious. Mawlid is not a folkloric interlude. It is a yearly renewal of our covenant with the message that shaped our community and still speaks to the world. The Qur’an teaches that the Prophet was sent as a mercy to all people. Mercy is not a slogan. It is a public ethic that guides how we speak, serve, and stand with others.
This year the moral stakes feel higher. Across continents, Muslims face louder suspicion and more frequent hostility. The United Nations now marks 15 March as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. In March 2024 the General Assembly went further and adopted Measures to Combat Islamophobia, calling on states to take practical steps. Global institutions do not create reality. They register it. The resolutions are a sign that bias has reached a scale that demands coordinated action and a steady moral voice.
The numbers are sobering. In England and Wales, police recorded religious hate crimes at record levels in the year ending March 2024. Offences targeting Muslims rose to 3,866, about 38 per cent of all religious hate crimes. The bulletin also recorded a sharp rise in offences targeting Jewish people. Hate travels easily. It corrodes more than one community at a time. When we defend the dignity of Muslims, we defend a principle that shields every neighbour.
In the United States, the Council on American‑Islamic Relations reported 8,658 anti‑Muslim and related complaints in 2024, the highest total since CAIR began tracking cases. Reuters’ review underlined the same trend and detailed where bias appeared most often, from employment and immigration to schools and street harassment. We should read such reports carefully, without panic and without denial. They inform responsible action.
Europe shows a similar pattern. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights published “Being Muslim in the EU” in October 2024. Its survey data point to persistent discrimination in work and housing, frequent harassment, and significant under‑reporting. The picture is not uniform across countries, but the direction is clear. The climate has grown harsher, especially around polarizing news events.
How should Mawlid shape our response. The Prophet described his mission in the plainest terms. “I was sent to perfect good character.” The Qur’an instructs us to invite to God’s way with wisdom and good counsel and to argue in the best manner when argument is necessary. These are not soft words. They require discipline, patience, and the habit of listening. They also require institutions that can carry a message beyond a single sermon or a single news cycle.
First, we owe the public clarity. That means accessible content in several languages, produced with scholarly care, that explains the Prophet’s ethic in the everyday categories people understand. Dignity of the person. Justice with the other. Compassion for the vulnerable. Integrity in public dealings. A short, referenced sheet should travel with every article and video to prevent misquotation. Such work belongs in schools and newsrooms as much as it does in mosques. This is part of what it means to present mercy.
Second, we must move from reaction to initiative. Prepare a Mawlid media kit that anticipates common questions. Train spokespersons in cross‑cultural communication. Build standing partnerships with editors, universities, interfaith councils, and community foundations. The goal is not to chase controversy. The goal is to raise the level of conversation and to be present before the next crisis. Wisdom leads. Temperate speech earns trust. The Qur’an’s communication ethic gives the tone and the boundary.
Third, let mercy be visible. People learn what we value by what we do. Organise joint food‑security drives. Offer youth mentorship and mental‑health support in underserved neighbourhoods. Plant trees in districts that lack shade and clean air. Post simple metrics after Mawlid season. How many volunteers mobilised. How many families assisted. How many schools reached. Service is not a substitute for rights work, yet it often speaks more clearly than argument about our Prophet’s legacy.
Policy helps this work travel farther. Egypt can lead a coordinated communication plan each year from Mawlid to Ramadan, with shared messages and a unified visual identity for domestic audiences and the diaspora. An observatory can track Islamophobia and all forms of religious hate in Arabic and English, aligning its outputs with UN frameworks and police statistics. A Cairo forum on “Mercy in Public Life,” held annually in Mawlid season, can gather educators, media leaders, and faith representatives to present data, case studies, and joint projects. The forum’s proceedings should be published online for accountability and replication.
The point of all this is not image management. It is fidelity. Mawlid is our reminder that mercy is a duty in public life, not a private sentiment. When the climate grows harsher, our task is to model what we claim. Speak with wisdom. Stand with the targeted. Work for the common good. If our celebration is seen in steady service and disciplined speech, then the story others tell about the Prophet will not have the last word. Our lived witness will.
