5 festivals from across the world that you really shouldn’t miss

Nothing immerses you in local culture quite the way a festival does. The people, the food, the music—it’s all so exciting when you see a community up close and personal. For 2017, Tharik Hussain avoids the tourist trail and picks out five festivals you either don’t know about or wouldn’t think to attend.

BISHWA IJTEMA - JANUARY - DHAKA, BANGLADESH

For a spiritual high and a photographer’s dream, nothing comes close to this little-known annual Muslim gathering in Bangladesh. Organised to bring pious people together for a prayer meeting spanning three days, the Bishwa Ijtema, which began in 1949, is now second only to the Haj as the largest Sunni Muslim gathering in the world. In 2015, more than five million people from 150 countries came together to pray, listen to lectures and show their solidarity at this non-political and peaceful religious gathering on the Turag River. This year it will be held from January 13 to 15.

FESTIVAL MAWAZINE - MAY - RABAT, MOROCCO

This is the ultimate festival to celebrate Arab music. Held in Rabat, Morocco’s capital, Festival Mawazine almost triples the city’s population during its eight-day run. Held on eight stages spread across the city, the festival has featured funky acts like Morocco’s breakdancing troupe La Halla Kingzoo and Lebanese pop superstar Melhem Barakat. Besides music from the Muslim world, Mawazine also attracts global chart toppers, with the 2016 line-up including Chris Brown, Christina Aguilera and Pitbull.

MWAKA KOGWA - JULY - MAKUNDUCHI, TANZANIA

For the bizarre and the surreal, this festival takes some beating. During the Mwaka Kogwa, as Tanzanians welcome the Shirazi New Year, they recall their pre-Islamic connections to Persia.

They put on a spectacular festival in which men stage mock fights, women dress colourfully to sing and chant, and a thatched hut is built only to be burned down.

It’s all done to air grievances for the year gone by before continuing the party on the golden sands of the nearby beaches, where a huge banquet, music and dancing awaits.

SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL - AUGUST - SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Opened last year by Hollywood legend Robert DeNiro, the Sarajevo Film festival is the biggest celebration of moving images in Eastern Europe. Showcasing the best in Balkan and global cinema, the festival has something for everyone, including family and teen screenings in beautiful indoor and open-air venues across the vibrant Bosnian capital, which really comes to life during the celebrations.

SHARJAH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR - NOVEMBER - AL TAAWUN, UAE

Calling all bibliophiles! This growing literary festival, now in its 35th year, attracts the best writers across the Arab world and provides a platform for their brilliant works in a celebration of the written word. Attendees can expect discussions, lectures, book signings, brilliant workshops and the chance to pick up rare books.

(This article is written by Tharik Hussain. Tharik is a freelance British Muslim travel writer, journalist, broadcaster and photographer specialising in the Muslim stories of Europe. Hussain’s first ever radio documentary, America’s Mosques; A Story of Integration, has been declared one of the world’s best radio documentaries for 2016. All his work can be viewed at www.tharikhussain.co.uk)