[theDentist]

"When you call to prayer, you are proselytizing, and as a citizen of the United States I don't want to hear it."

Their reply will be: "How about church bells? Those too are rung before masses, and can be heard throughout a city." I wouldn't want to hear that wailing either, but be ready for the ACLU to call for a halt to bells pealing as it would offend atheists.

[auboy]

I wouldn't want to hear that wailing either, but be ready for the ACLU to call for a halt to bells pealing as it would offend atheists.

With the courts interpretation of "freedom of religion" meaning "freedom from religion", I would not be surprised.

[bondjamesbond]

I used to live a block and a half from a five-story minaret on the fifth floor of an apartment building. My window faced the minaret, and I got to hear the call every day, five times a day.

There is a huge difference between a human voice and a tolling bell. The bell is easily ignored. A human voice at high decibles is not. The bell/loudspeaker analogy misses this crucial distinction.

Also, in terms of content, a bell is just a bell. Yes they are on churches and churches use them for a specific purpose. But all they say is "BONG!". The Islamic call to prayer is a verbal statement, saying a certain thing ("Yo! Dude! Get thee to the Mosque!", I would imagine). So the bell/loudspeaker analogy misses another crucial distiction.

[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.