CITY GIVES TENTATIVE OK FOR MUSLIM PRAYER CALLS - HAMTRAMCK, MICHIGAN

Detroit Free Press ^ | 21 April 2004 | CECIL ANGEL, Staff Writer

[Robert Drobot]

The Hamtramck City Council gave initial approval Tuesday night to allowing mosques in the city to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer over loudspeakers.

The issue, which has divided many of the city's Muslim and Christian residents, has attracted national attention and has evolved from a debate about a noise ordinance to one about religious freedom and tolerance.

[ColoradoSlim]

It is a nice tag line, and speaking of pioneers; was it Horace Greeley that said "Go west young Mujahid go west"

Goat sacrifices and circumcision for your daughters coming to a town near you!

[GeekDejure]

My guess is he'll have five different and conflicting responses!!!

WRONG!!! He'll have TEN different and conflicting responses!!! (You forgot to include the Effin' Flip-Flop Factor) ;-))

.

[bigcheese]

Mosques in this country are probably nothing more than future terrorist bases.

...there, it needed just a bit more editing.

[Oatka]

Here's the city council.

Tell 'em how you feel.

kmajewski@hamtramckcity.com
rcedar@hamtramckcity.com,
ccirgenski@hamtramckcity.com,
sahmed@hamtramckcity.com,
sklein@hamtramckcity.com

[lennydetroit]

For those who have heard or read about the Muslim Prayer Call, but are unfamiliar with its content, the following may be helpful. It's the text of a letter I sent to our local newspaper The (Hamtramck) Citizen

Dear Editor:

Noticeably missing from the flurry of media coverage surrounding Hamtramck City Council's resolution to allow the broadcasting of the Muslim Call to Prayer has been the text of the chant itself. Following is a translation of that chant from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community website, (www.alislam.org). Each line contains a transliteration of the Arabic phrase followed by its English translation.

Allahu Akbar - Allah is the greatest (recited four times)
Ash-hadu alla ilaha illallah - I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah (recited twice)
Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar Rasulullah - I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah (recited twice)
Hayya alassalah - Come to prayer (recited twice)
Hayya alal-Falah - Come to success (recited twice)
Allahu Akbar - Allah is the greatest (recited twice)
La ilaha illallah - There is none worthy of worship except Allah

I find it difficult to equate this recitation to the chiming of a church bell, a bell that could be easily moved to a secular location such as a city hall, a town square, or even a factory, to signal the hour without attaching any religious significance to it.

Substitute the name Jesus for that of Allah and imagine the legal firestorm that would descend on Hamtramck if city officials sanctioned it for daily public airing.

I respect every Muslim's right to worship in his or her own way, but I also reserve my own right to worship in mine without being told via a government sanctioned message that my God is not worthy.

Sincerely,
Lenny

[FormerLib]

An excellent point, Lenny! I hope it works.

[NYTexan]

I wonder who will be appointed to translate the messages to see that it's not a call to arms!

Like it was used in Iraq today.

[LisaMalia]

Whats next Muslims are allowed to pray at high school football games!

I'll tell you what's next, because it's already happened. Muslim high school students getting a special room for "prayer" during Ramadan. Wake up people, separation of church and state only applies to Christians.

[Montaignes Cat]

In the moslem countries, when the moslem call to prayer sounds, all the men get on their knees and pray...... right there, in the streets, blocking traffic, in the middle of the day, a not-so-impromptu demonstration. What else are they going to do, they are told to pray, and pray now, this second.

Now imagine this in the United States, the moslem call to prayer sounds, the moslem men get on their knees and pray...... in our streets, blocking our traffic, in the middle of the day, daily demonstrations, every day.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Ping

[Don Joe]

Muslims say that its freedom of religion and is a part or their faith

Oh, yeah?

Try ringing a churchbell in any "Muslim Republic" and see how far you get. (If you're lucky you won't get to the wooden stump, to get your hands -- or head -- chopped off.)

IMO they can start demanding "freedom of religion" when they start ALLOWING it.

[Don Joe]

They try that in MY TOWN, and MY TOWN will be the Pioneer City for showing the rest of the YELLOW-BELLIES how to rid the town of roaches, satanists and muSLIMES.

After seeing a slew of your posts, most of which seem to be attempts at provoking illegal violent actions by others, I'm wondering if I'll see your picture when I flip open the dictionary to "Agent Provocateur".

[Don Joe]

Personally, I think that the Christians in that city should ALL band together, and pick one church to ALSO go to the city council and say that the church members desire their church bells to ring five times a day as a call to faith for today's Believers, etc. Or (if they have no bells) then they should request to be able to play over their speakers, AMAZING GRACE or some other old hymn, five times a day for the same reason. How can that city refuse without facing a lawsuit?

How?

Easy. They'll simply say, "That is not an accepted traditional part of your religion, the way the wailing mullahs is with Islam, and, you're only doing it to harass the poor Muslims who are only trying to practice their Religion of Peace. Request denied!"

I think you're in dreamland if you honestly think it won't go down something like that.

This is the politics of power, plain and simple. And they've got it, and they know it, and the rest of us can go piss up a rope.

[Don Joe]

The thumbprint of Islam has been imposed on Hamtramck, Michigan. Will Detroit next fall?

Detroit? Naw...

Now, Dearborn, on the other hand...

[Don Joe]

I just don't understand how this minority's right to make a racket as they freely practice their religion trumps the larger community's right not to be bothered by it.

It's not about practicing their religion. It's about sticking their thumb in our eye.

[Don Joe]

Sure, its a pioneer city, but I can't imagine that the Muslim residents will allow it to remain named Hamtramck for very much longer. Any guesses on what it will be known as in the future?

Hummustramck.

[Gritty]

"Hamtramck is going to be a pioneer city for the whole United States." (Masud Khan, of the Al-Islah Islamic Center)

OK.

If Lamtramck is going to be a "pioneer city", than it needs to allow all to participate in this process, Mr. Khan...

Allahu Akbar
Allah is the greatest
Allah is the greatest
Allah is the greatest
Allah is the greatest

Ash-hadu alla ilaha illallah
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah

Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar Rasulullah
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah

Hayya alassalah
Come to prayer
Come to prayer

Hayya alal-Falah
Come to success
Come to success

Allahu Akbar
Allah is the greatest
Allah is the greatest

La ilaha illallah
There is none worthy of worship except Allah

Now to make it fair, the Christians need proclaim the following over all their Church loudspeakers 5 times a day, starting at 6AM, ending at 10PM, throughout the city...

Jesus is Lord!
Jesus is Lord!
Jesus is Lord!
Jesus is Lord!

I bear witness that there is no Savior but Jesus!
I bear witness that there is no Savior but Jesus!

I bear witness that Jesus is the Son of God!
I bear witness that Jesus is the Son of God!

Come and worship!
Come and worship!

Come to new life!
Come to new life!

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

There is non worthy of worship but the Savior, Jesus!

Fair is fair, right, Mr. Khan?

What chance does anybody think the above will be approved by this cowardly and feckless multi-cultural and tolerant City Council - and if it did the Muslims would put up with it for a second?

[Don Joe]

Great. So does this mean street corner preachers can start using a broadcasting system too?

Only if they have beards, robes, turbans, and restrict their source material to the Koran.

[Robert Drobot]

IMO they can start demanding "freedom of religion" when they start ALLOWING it.

It's the political sluts; the traitorous scum, that's allowing this despicable insult to Christian America to take place.

[Don Joe]

Call 1-877-why-islam

PLEASE tell me your joking.

So, how does one go about setting up 1-900-not-islam?