One of the first changes decreed by the Islamists of Hamas after their victory over the secularists of Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian elections was that policemen were allowed to grow beards.

ECONOMIST: Hair, beards and power

In June Somalia's Islamic militants ordered men in Mogadishu to grow their beards and trim their moustaches.

ECONOMIST: Hair, beards and power

However Salafists - the ultraconservative fundamentalist Muslims - like to let their beards grow long and wild , often leaving their upper lip clean-shaven as a nod to how the Prophet Mohammed wore his own beard 1, 400 years ago.

BBC: Decoding facial hair in the Arab world