IN PICTURES: Mawlid al-Nabi celebrations

Morocco: Men hold up the colourful decorations traditionally used during Mawlid celebrations (AA)

Morocco: Children hold up boards painted with verses from the Qur'an (AA)

Iraq: Residents of Baqubah, the eastern Iraqi town threatened by the Islamic State advance, celebrate with colourful flags (AA)

Iraq: Baqubah residents process through the town centre (AA)

Egypt: Worshippers gather outside the Imam Hussein Mosque in Cairo (AA)

Egypt: Qur'anic recitations are a common feature of Mawlid celebrations (AA)

Egypt: Worshippers bedecked in yellow process through the streets of the capital, Cairo (AA)

Egypt: Men worship at the Zarih, the silver monument to Imam Hussein, a key figure in the Shi'ite tradition (AA)

Egypt: Volunteers visit the houses of poor families, bringing donations of food and bedding (AA)

Egypt: Volunteers prepare balloons to be distributed to poor children in Cairo (AA)

Egypt: A child plays with a balloon she was given as part of the Mawlid charity campaign (AA)

Tunisia: Newly-elected President Essebsi attends a ceremony at a Carthage mosque (AA)

Tunisia: Rachid Ghannoushi, head of Essebsi's rival Ennahda party, attends the same celebration (AA)

Tunisia: [Left to right] Tunisia's Justice Minister, Interior Minister, Foreign Minister, Prime Minister and Defence Minister pose ahead of the ceremony (AA)

Turkey: Worshippers gather at Ankara's Kocatepe Mosque (AA)

Turkey: Women pray at the Kocatepe Mosque (AA)

Iraqi Kurdistan: A taxi is bedecked with tinsel in celebration of the festival (AA)

Iraqi Kurdistan: A man distributes traditional sweets during a celebration in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan (AA)

West Bank: Crowds gather in Nablus, banging drums and cymbals as they process through the streets (AA)

South Sudan: People throng the streets of Juba, capital of South Sudan (AA)

South Sudan: Women shout and dance along with a marching band (AA)

South Sudan: Participants wave flags as the procession takes a rest (AA)

South Sudan: A man sells the sticky sweets traditionally eaten during Mawlid in both Sudan and South Sudan (AA)

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