Hamtramck vote a victory for those in favor of allowing mosques to broadcast Islamic call to prayer

AP via Mlive.com ^ | 7/20/2004 | SARAH KARUSH

[not_apathetic_anymore]

Hamtramck vote a victory for those in favor of allowing mosques to broadcast Islamic call to prayer

By SARAH KARUSH The Associated Press 7/20/2004, 11:33 p.m. ET

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (AP) — Residents agreed Tuesday to include the Islamic call to prayer in the city's noise ordinance, a victory for those in favor of allowing mosques to issue the call to prayer over loudspeakers.

Those in favor of allowing the broadcasts won the vote 1,462 to 1,200, or 55 percent to 45 percent, with all precincts reporting and all absentee ballots counted.

Opponents and backers of the measure acknowledged that the vote was merely symbolic. The ballot measure would not have stopped the amplified call to prayer; it would merely have repealed a noise ordinance that regulates the volume and timing of the call. City officials have said there would be nothing to prohibit the broadcasting of the call to prayer itself.

[not_apathetic_anymore]

Do I get this right....more people voted in favor of allowing this than against it????

[Principled]

ehhh? It must be late - I don't understand this...

[Sareln]

What I get from this is that a mosque in I assume, an american city, was running into trouble doing its broadcast for its call for prayer (to remind all muslims when its time to turn to mecca and pray and all that jazz), for it to be effective you have to be able to hear the thing from all over the city, which is probably why it came up. So the people voted and decieded that the mosque can broadcast as loud as it darn well pleases.

[Iam1ru1-2]

Give this about a month.....a week. When they hear the call to prayer at 5AM EVERYDAY OF EVERY WEEK OF EVERY MONTH OF EVERY YEAR AND AGAIN AT NOON EVERY DAY OF EVERY WEEK OF EVERY MONTH OF EVERY YEAR AND AGAIN AT 4 OR 5 PM EVERY DAY OF EVERY WEEK OF EVERY MONTH OF EVERY YEAR, I think they will quickly return to their senses and call this call to prayer "NOISE POLUTION". HEAR! HEAR!

[Azzurri]

Can't the Muslims just set an alarm clock or something to know when they should pray? Talk about noise pollution. Hamtramck, once a proud Polish-American stronghold, has lost its mind. I'm guessing the majority of non-Muslims in the city will rapidly escalate their already-in-progress exodus.

[tessalu]

These people (Muslims) still live in the Dark Ages, and they want to drag everyone else back there with them. They even are told to wipe with an odd number of stones, and do not use 2, use 3. Who knows they may tell us to give up toilet paper next. Nothing would surprise me.

[RightWingAtheist]

The thin wall between separating church and state continues to be chipped away-this time by the left. I'm extremly dissapointed with the way other atheists have not only failed to be alarmed by this decision, but have even been supporting it (while at the same time, sneering at its opponents as being "Christian bigots").

[RightWingAtheist]

I found this on someone's blog. I thought it was pretty damn funny:


Hamtramck
Where the faithful dwell
Where the mullahs live and they do live well


Hamtramck
Where a man is a man
And the dhimmis dance to our city council demands


Hamtramck
Tis a magic land
Where the sword and crescent rise over Michigan


Hamtramck
Where burqa'd virgins lie
And the prayers to Allah fill the midnight sky

[Congressman Billybob]

This is incompetent reporting. A "yes" vote on the ordinance would have repealed the noise ordinance -- essentially creating an allee-allee-in-free situation. The actual vote left the ordinance in place with the calls to pray subject to its restrictions.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "John Kerry & John Edwards: You've GOT to be Kidding"

[sweneop]

ive learned from experience that paper is actually the poor option. having spent some time over that part of the world, i love the hose. they use a little metal hose next to the toilet to clean up and as long as you get a real sit down bowl (and not a squat) that method is far superior... and... erm... pleasant... than ours.

[not_apathetic_anymore]

Thanks for the clarification.

So this was one of those yes means no and no means yes ballot issues.

I hate when they write 'em like that, I end up feeling like a Little old lady in Fla who meant to vote for Gore but punched the Buchanan chad instead.

[Sir Gawain]

The ballot measure would not have stopped the amplified call to prayer; it would merely have repealed a noise ordinance that regulates the volume and timing of the call.

What a horribly constructed sentence.

[nutmeg]

ping

[Principled]

thanks- what a maroon of a writer.

[texastoo]

This is incompetent reporting.

Thanks for the explanation as I had to read the article again. Quite possibly it was incompetent reading on my part.

Do you think there is any chance for lawsuits from people who will be disturbed by this noise?

[Fast1]

LOL I agree those morning calls to prayer on Sunday morning at sunrise are not going to sit well with some...

[Diddle E. Squat]

There will now be calls to prayer on these?

[BohDaThone]

At least as I understand it, under the ordinance, the call to prayer can be as loud as, but no louder than, other amplification into public areas (NASCAR announcers, church bingo callers, political sound trucks, carny barkers, etc.)

Since I don't have a copy of the ordinance, I could be wrong, but that's what would make sense.

[Dan from Michigan]

Must be a high Albanian turnout along with a low Polish turnout. Not sure how the blacks would have voted here.

[Kuksool]

Is this township in Oakland or Wayne County?

[texastoo]

It looks like the muslims haven't really won anything. However, I'll bet the muslims eventually turn the speakers up.

[Dan from Michigan]

Wayne County. Hamtramck (and Highland Park) is completely surrounded by the city of Detroit.

Hamtramck was at one time mostly Polish. The Polish population is declining, and there are a lot of Albanians, Arabs, East Indians, and blacks there as well.

[Robert Drobot]

.....never to late for a correction of the record.....

A "yes" vote on the ordinance would have repealed the noise ordinance -- essentially creating an allee-allee-in-free situation. The actual vote left the ordinance in place with the calls to pray subject to its restrictions.

A yes vote would have repealed the amended noise ordinance, which granted the use of loudspeakers to blast their heathen prayer five times a day, 365 days a year!!!

[Luigi Vasellini]

(((((PING)))))

[Piquaboy]

They will get fed up with it in short order. That caterwalling will drive them to drink.

[Cronos]

stupid dhimmis.

[TNoldman]

Hamtramk is a City within the City Limits of Detroit and is in Wayne county. Hamtramk at one time was a Polish community -thus it’s previous nickname “PoleTown”.