Islamic call to prayer over loudspeaker OK, almost

The Detroit Free Press AP wire ^ | April 20, 2004, 11:48 PM | AP

[quantim]

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (AP) -- A mosque took another step Tuesday night toward being allowed to send out a call to prayer to Muslims on a loudspeaker.

In a 5-0 vote, the City Council gave its preliminary approval to the Bangladeshi al-Islah mosque to carry the Arabic call to prayer five times a day. The mosque compromised by agreeing not to air the call before 6 a.m. or after 10 p.m.

[FITZ]

Church bulletins are not what the islamics have in mind ---- they are also not intending to assimilate into American ways, this is about us conforming to islamic country standards. Soon American women showing their faces in public will offend them and all women will be expected to wear islamic burkas. Iran is a good example --- the women don't choose to wear the hideous brown rags but it's not a choice.

[Hank Rearden]

How about getting a few thousand people to surround the Moo palaces and reply with a big, rousing "STFU!" when they yammer their gibberish?

[Mr. Mojo]

How about blasting the Israeli national anthem 5 times a day seconds after the Mooselimb call? The Koraniacs would then have to listen to it while they pray. The nonsense would stop in less than a week, guaranteed.

[quantim]

I was thinking a bunch of teenagers with their mega sound systems blasting Eminem just as the prayers started. You know, those cars you hear coming from behind...

[Hank Rearden]

I like that idea! A lot.

[AnnaZ]

Some Muslims say the call is the equivalent of church bells. Opponents argued that church bells have no religious significance and that allowing the Arabic call, which lasts less than two minutes, unfairly elevates Islam above other religions.

 

...

 

Masud Khan, secretary of the al-Islah mosque, said the purpose of the call, which lasts less than two minutes, is not to proselytize.

Why is that mentioned twice? In an article? It has a real "it's only two minutes, get over it" attitude to it, to me.

 

"It's gotten a lot of attention. It'll take people a while to get used to it. But I think in the end they'll get used to it, and it'll become one of the lovely things about Hamtramck that we're proud of."

Why does this line give me the shivers?

[yankeedame]

Opponents argued that church bells have no religious significance and that allowing the Arabic call, which lasts less than nearly two minutes, unfairly elevates Islam above other religions....

(You see, it's all how you write it.)

[NewRomeTacitus]

I read the earlier post on this and thought there was no way Americans would put up with this lunacy. One fellow said the call to dusk prayer by the moment an imam can no longer distinguish the difference between a white thread and a black one, process reversed for dawn prayer. They expect the rest of the world to surrender to this kind of thinking?

Actually it's "non-thinking". Keep the devotee in perpetual consternation over ridiculous minituae while tying up useful time in mandatory drone sessions, forcing the person's blood to pool in his brain frequently throughout the day.

As far as the offending loudspeakers go...

This is not a country for practicing servility, religious or otherwise.

[expatguy]

Why don't they just issue pagers to all the mosque patrons? Oh yeah, I forgot, Islam is still stuck in the 11th century.

Pagers like this are very popular in Malaysia and Singapore.

[capydick]

This is nuts. I'd be curious to know if this town Hamtrack allows Creche's and Menorah's at Christmas time. Probably not, yet, it's OK to allow a whole town to be awakened by some screeching at sun up? Hell in a hand basket comes to mind.

[GeronL]

OK. Does this mean that A CHRISTIAN church can use loudspeakers 5 times a day to sing "Come on down and worship Jesus, praise the lord!, Come on down right now and pray with us, sing with us and study with us. Jesus is Lord!"

does it??

[watchin]

"I think there was some element of fear"

Typical political correctness. This is the same argument behind the ridiculous and nonsensical term "homophobe".

I suppose we're all "islamophobes" now. Traditional values are never the issue, just fear of "progressive" values.

[nutmeg]

ping

[watchin]

I saw that on TV the other day. I can't remember where, but the church turned down the volume to below street noise, and the opponents still weren't satisfied.

[RightWingAtheist]

Female employees at the library I worked at had to stop wearing shorts because it offended the Muslim patrons. We also had to completely reshuffle our religion section so that a copy of the Koran always was at the top shelf, to appease their demands.

[watchin]

That would be nice. Instead, we'll lead the way of tolerance while they'll wait and walk over us.

[watchin]

Absolutely brilliant!! I can guarantee I'll be promoting the idea if this happens anywhere near my hometown.

[Ready4Freddy]

All the prior reports I read indicated the 6AM - 10PM times. Doesn't sound like much of a compromise.

[Sunnyvale CA Eng.]

OK. Does this mean that A CHRISTIAN church can use loudspeakers 5 times a day to sing "Come on down and worship Jesus, praise the lord!, Come on down right now and pray with us, sing with us and study with us. Jesus is Lord!" does it??

That is specifically what they should do. That way this will end up in court. To me, listening to the wailing from the mosque would be like having my smoke alarm go off 5X per day for "less than two minutes" a shot. This is nothing about calling people to prayer - it's the equivalent of sticking a middle finger in the face of the infidels.

[watchin]

I would like to suggest an alternate compromise.

1. Screech about allah whenever you want, as loud as you want, without regulation.

2. Go live in the sands of Arabia first. We don't put up with that nonsense here.