Will you wake up to Islamic prayer call?

worldnetdaily.com ^ | April 15, 2004 | worldnetdaily.com

[ovrtaxt]

A holy war of sorts is heating up in a Detroit suburb, where members of the local Muslim community want loudspeakers on mosques to announce the Islamic call to prayer five times each day.

But the idea is running into opposition from other residents of Hamtramck, Mich., many of whom are Christian, who think the prayer calls as early as 6 a.m. and as late as 10 p.m. would be disruptive.

"When you call to prayer, you are proselytizing, and as a citizen of the United States I don't want to hear it," Bob Golen, 68, told the Detroit Free Press.

"It is not my God. My God is Jesus Christ," Caroline Zarski, 81, said. "I don't want this noise invading my home at 10 p.m."

The Al-Islah Islamic Center asked the city three months ago to alter its noise ordinance to allow the calls to prayer. In February, the council reportedly supported the change but sought a public hearing before making any change.

"We don't want to make it a big deal," said businessman Abdul Algazali, according to the Free Press. "It's a low-pitched voice. It's not going to wake up anybody."

City Council President Karen Majewski compared the call to prayer to bells ringing on Christian churches, though other residents were said to disagree at Tuesday's meeting.

Majewski says the loudspeaker measure is likely to pass at next week's meeting, and would subsequently take effect in late May.

"Petitions have circulated among mainly white and Christian members of the community for weeks asking the council not to amend the ordinance," said Councilman Scott Klein. "Both sides have issued threats of federal lawsuits based on the constitutionality of the ban or the removal of the ban."

There are five mosques in Hamtramck, and three others just over the border in Detroit.

On its website, the city says it provides "A Touch of THE WORLD In America," touting itself as "the home of the most varied ethnic mix of people and customs from around the world."

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[Duke of Milan]

...Then why do you need the speakers?

Exactly. This man talks just like the duplicitous muslims in the middle east. Islam is not just a morally bankrupt religion, it insists on adherence to and spreading of that evil behavior.

[auboy]

I just had an idea for a timex that starts wailing 6 times a day.

Contact a patent attorney immediately. Just make sure they're an infidel patent attorney.:-)

[Alouette]

My great-great-grandfather, who is buried in Hamtramck must be spinning in his grave.

[Petronski]

"It's a low-pitched voice. It's not going to wake up anybody."

Joliet Jake: How often does the train go by?

Elwood: So often you won't even notice it.

[kjam22]

The words "flee Babylon" come to mind...

You know... I'm beginning to think that the prophecy about Babylon is about literal babylon. I don't think it's symbolic for the U.S., or a one world religion, or whatever. I think the time is coming pretty soon when we will see "Babylon" literally destroyed in one hour. Made uninhabitable.

[FITZ]

putting their daughters into public schools with their own version of the KKK robe.

And they'll claim it is their religious freedom to shoot those daughters in the face if they try to remove those robes. We'd have to tolerate that too. Also it is a fundamental part of that religion/cult to kill any muslim who tries to leave it.

[johnb838]

Oh, I bet there are downloadable calls to prayer already. And I bet I could find a watch or a cell phone that would play them for me on the schedule I wanted. I'm always a day late and a dollar short.

[BayouCoyote]

"A bum in a dirty nightshirt yelling over a loudspeaker at 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. is proseletyzing."

BAWAWAWAWA!!!!

[mhking]

The Al-Islah Islamic Center asked the city three months ago to alter its noise ordinance to allow the calls to prayer. In February, the council reportedly supported the change but sought a public hearing before making any change.

"We don't want to make it a big deal," said businessman Abdul Algazali, according to the Free Press. "It's a low-pitched voice. It's not going to wake up anybody."

City Council President Karen Majewski compared the call to prayer to bells ringing on Christian churches, though other residents were said to disagree at Tuesday's meeting.

Majewski says the loudspeaker measure is likely to pass at next week's meeting, and would subsequently take effect in late May.

"Petitions have circulated among mainly white and Christian members of the community for weeks asking the council not to amend the ordinance," said Councilman Scott Klein. "Both sides have issued threats of federal lawsuits based on the constitutionality of the ban or the removal of the ban."

Several points - first, it's not a religious issue as some on both sides of this thing want to paint it. It's literally a matter of disturbing the peace.

Local residents didn't sign leases and mortgages to be subjected to undue noise, especially at off the wall hours. This is no different than the opposition that would occur if a new airport or factory were suddenly built in this suburb. The noise is not warranted nor desired, period.

And the rocket scientist who is trying to make this a racial issue ("Petitions have circulated among mainly white and Christian members of the community for weeks asking the council not to amend the ordinance," said Councilman Scott Klein.) sounds like he's more concerned with not "hurting feelings" and "being tolerant."

Well, there is a line to tolerance, and that ends at the homes of citizens. Nitwit politicians, would-be do-gooders and religious fundamentalists (of all stripes) have no right to invade the homes of people uninvited. This "call to prayer" measure would do exactly that -- invade peoples' homes.

I would be opposed to it even it were a Christian church desiring to ring bells at all hours of the day or night.

 

Double-barrelled Mega-PING! to both lists! If you want on, FReepmail me!

[Thinkin' Gal]

Why not both? After all, literal Babylon is ruled by [insert name of world superpower here]. Ditto for Nineveh.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Here is a little background information on Hamtramck, Michigan.

Since the 1920's it was a Polish community. Not just a couple of Poles, but almost 100%. All the businesses were Polish, the signs are written in Polish, every church was Catholic, and in the 80s the POPE visited the town.

The homes were immaculate. Poles are known for their cleanliness around here and if you are lucky you can hire a Polish maid.

Living in Hamtramck was like living in old Poland.

Then General Motors came in and built the Poletown Cadillac Plant and displaced 100s of families. Then a huge prison was built next to it.

Then came the Albanians. The Albanians came in the 80s and keep on coming. They are your Muslims. There were constant clashes between the old Catholic Poles and the Albanian gangs. The Poles started moving out of the town and it is now a hell hole on the same level as surrounding Detroit.

Rarely do you see the old Polish women sweeping their streets or walking downtown to buy their new church hats and prayer candles. All you see are old run down flats, garbage everywhere, and crime.

[bondjamesbond]

I've lived next door to a minaret and next door to a tight-radius elevated turn on the NY Subway, where it sounds like they are trying to pull a subway car through a sewer pipe, 54 times a day. The screeching and banging were enough to rattle your fillings.

But all in all, I would prefer the mechanical noise to the amplified voice. The human mind can "program out" almost any mechanical noise. The Islamic call to prayer is specifically designed to be impossible to ignore.

[FITZ]

There has to be limits on religious freedom ---- there have been religions which required human sacrifice, usually of a captured victim -- not a volunteer --- we'd have to limit their freedom of religion. Cannabalism is usually done for religious reasons --- can we limit that? Any group can just call itself a religion and then demand it be given rights to do whatever it likes.

[tiamat]

You're right!

I would not mind if the Call to Prayer or the church bells rang at a sane time...

I live in the country, and the little church down the road does it's bells, but usually only on Sunday or a holiday.

Pretty pleasant, actually, the sound coming over the fields of corn and amidst the cows.

When I lived in Ann Arbor, there wa a mosque nearby, and THAT sounded off several times a day. Had a military friend staying with us during his leave one morning, and he's sitting out back with his coffee one morning when the Call came..."Where the H3LL are we!"

[FITZ]

How soon before we will have suicide bombers in our own midst?

I'm sure they didn't all leave after the suicide bombers of 9-11 did their slaughter on us ---- I'm sure more have come and are making preparations.

[mtbopfuyn]

What a great idea! The more annoying the loud speakers are the less they'll be able to recruit. The townsfolk will soon enough rectify the city council seating.

[Alouette]

100 years ago it was also a Jewish neighborhood (Polish Jews, of course). There's an old, old Jewish cemetery smack in the middle of the GM facility grounds.

[NTegraT]

"to alter its noise ordinance "

The fact that the ordinance must be altered tells ya right there that it's loud, so much for the low voice. I hear it in the background of live newsmen broadcasting from Baghdad. It's obnoxious 5 times a day and long. Just let a little pin shoot out from your watch and prick you when it's time to drop to your knees. Where's the can-do spirit.

[bk1000]

" Their reply will be: "How about church bells?"

I am not concerned with 'offending' anyone. Shreiking over a loudspeaker at six a.m. or ten p.m. is disturbing the peace.
Church bells are typically rung at 11:00 a.m., a tolerable hour for noise. Now, those idiot multiculturalists who allowed
muslims to become a voting majority in their area may be up the creek. Let this be a warning to the rest of us.

[MarMema]

See post 71. A replay of Kosovo.