Muslim Prayer Calls on Loudspeakers

[Aquarian]

(AgapePress) - A Michigan woman says as a Christian, she is offended that the city council in her small community is poised to approve an ordinance that would allow local mosques to broadcast calls for prayer over loudspeakers.

The City Council of Hamtramck, Michigan, has given preliminary approval to a mosque's plans to send out the Muslim call to prayer on loudspeakers. The Bangladeshi al-Islah mosque wants to air the Arabic call to prayer via loudspeakers five times a day, but has agreed not to air them between 10:00 at night and 6:00 in the morning.
...
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/4/222004c.asp

having anything make noise at sunrise everday would last exactly 1 day before someone shot the speakers down I would think... I'm currently trying to evaluate my opinion to make sure I'm just opposed to the noise, religious issues aside. I probably am since church bells annoy me too, at least when they wake me up. If I hear them other times I think they are rather pretty...

 

[nycflasher]

Originally posted by Aquarian
I'm currently trying to evaluate my opinion to make sure I'm just opposed to the noise, religious issues aside. I probably am since church bells annoy me too, at least when they wake me up. If I hear them other times I think they are rather pretty...

Well, if you're opposed to this for other reasons it would be a much different situation. Certainly you don't want to interfere with someone's right to practice their religion?

Sounds like noise pollution to me, though. As I've mentioned before, I use to get waken up all the time by assholes honking outside my window at dawn. I would respond by throwing rotting fruit and flinging spoonfuls of peanut butter on there windshields

Then NY posed $250-500 fines for honking excessively. That helped, a little.

Suffice it to say, if ther was a loudspeaker outside my window playing "humdi-la-allah-blah-blah" at 5AM I'd be the first to rip it down!

But actually, I kinda like the way arabic sounds... the same way church bells can be nice to hear.

Ever listen to Indian music? That's been my latest thing, can't understand it for shit but I think I like it because it is so different.

And the Punjabi MC rules ;-), but I doubt many of you know him...

 

[5stringJeff]

If they are going to allow a Muslim call to prayer, they should also allow church bells to peal... or, for that matter, an atheist radio show to be broadcast out loud for everyone's enjoyment. But I think someone would bring up noise pollution long before it got that far.

 

[Sandy73]

Look you have the right to worship anything you like in America and I a cool with that but when you can't have your child hear about God in our schools but yet they may blast Muslim religion that I can't understand .. That is infridging on my religious beliefs and I agree with this woman !

 

[nycflasher]

Originally posted by JAMES UHLRICH
Look you have the right to worship anything you like in America and I a cool with that but when you can't have your child hear about God in our schools but yet they may blast Muslim religion that I can't understand .. That is infridging on my religious beliefs and I agree with this woman !

I would just add that religion in public vs. religion in school are two different things.

It's not like your kid is going into school and being asked to praise Allah.

I think this is a tough issue. Because clearly in the US we are tolerant of temples, mosques, churches, etc.

I guess the difference here is that abroad anyway this call to prayer 5 times a day is a part of Mosques. We are not used to that. There has to be ca compromise here because different laws are involved.

There is your right to practice your religion and then there are laws against noise pollution to name two.

Any others that you think are relevant here?

 

[NewGuy]

Originally posted by JAMES UHLRICH
Look you have the right to worship anything you like in America and I a cool with that but when you can't have your child hear about God in our schools but yet they may blast Muslim religion that I can't understand .. That is infridging on my religious beliefs and I agree with this woman !

Agreed.

 

[NewGuy]

Originally posted by nycflasher
I would just add that religion in public vs. religion in school are two different things.

It's not like your kid is going into school and being asked to praise Allah.

I think this is a tough issue. Because clearly in the US we are tolerant of temples, mosques, churches, etc.

I guess the difference here is that abroad anyway this call to prayer 5 times a day is a part of Mosques. We are not used to that. There has to be ca compromise here because different laws are involved.

There is your right to practice your religion and then there are laws against noise pollution to name two.

Any others that you think are relevant here?

I think it is clearly a noise polution issue in cobination with the over all problem of people not realizing the govt is not supposed to initiate ANY POILICY FOR OR AGAINST ANY RELIGION.

You lift all laws regarding religion, and then prosecute for noise polution.

-Edited because my ergonomic keyboard is making me type like a dork.-

 

[Reilly]

Lifat? This is a word I don't understand. I am being serious. If it is a typo, I haven't been able to figure out what the typo is. Enlighten?

 

[Reilly]

Lift. Never mind. I got it.

 

[MadMax]

Originally posted by Aquarian
(AgapePress) - A Michigan woman says as a Christian, she is offended that the city council in her small community is poised to approve an ordinance that would allow local mosques to broadcast calls for prayer over loudspeakers.

The City Council of Hamtramck, Michigan, has given preliminary approval to a mosque's plans to send out the Muslim call to prayer on loudspeakers. The Bangladeshi al-Islah mosque wants to air the Arabic call to prayer via loudspeakers five times a day, but has agreed not to air them between 10:00 at night and 6:00 in the morning.
...
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/4/222004c.asp

having anything make noise at sunrise everday would last exactly 1 day before someone shot the speakers down I would think... I'm currently trying to evaluate my opinion to make sure I'm just opposed to the noise, religious issues aside. I probably am since church bells annoy me too, at least when they wake me up. If I hear them other times I think they are rather pretty...

If they do that I will officialy issue a Fatwah and declare Jihad on ALL mooslums in the US.

 

[Isaac Brock]

If they allow church bells than they should allow the call to prayer.
If they do not allow church bells than they should not allow the call to prayer.

Personally, I don't think either are a big deal. What was really annoying when I was growing up was this, essentially air raid siren, going off in the morning and in the evenning signifying the beginning and end of the business day. I just wanted to clobber that thing. At least both of those displays are melodic.

 

[nycflasher]

Originally posted by MadMax
If they do that I will officialy issue a Fatwah and declare Jihad on ALL mooslums in the US.

wow-insightful

 

[nycflasher]

Originally posted by Isaac Brock
If they allow church bells than they should allow the call to prayer.
If they do not allow church bells than they should not allow the call to prayer.

Personally, I don't think either are a big deal...

Agreed.

What I find annoying is the systems test on TV. It'll be just after midnight , and I'm enjoying some program. Suddenly, right at a cruicial point in the program--"This is a mandatory test of the emergency broadcast system--bzzzzzz bzzzzzzz bzzzzzz..."

Guess it's...um...kind of important, though.

Air raids to mark the begining and end of the day?
Geez... I thought that's what the sun was for

 

[Isaac Brock]

Originally posted by nycflasher
Agreed.

What I find annoying is the systems test on TV. It'll be just after midnight , and I'm enjoying some program. Suddenly, right at a cruicial point in the program--"This is a mandatory test of the emergency broadcast system--bzzzzzz bzzzzzzz bzzzzzz..."

Might I suggest sleeping in one's bed rather than on the couch with the TV on?

Guess it's...um...kind of important, though.

Air raids to mark the begining and end of the day?
Geez... I thought that's what the sun was for

Well there was a I guesss i reason for it. I lived in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories where in the Winter the sun came up for only a few hours and in the summer it was never dark! I'd have thought alarm clock, but hey air raid siren I guess works too.

 

[nycflasher]

Originally posted by Isaac Brock
Might I suggest sleeping in one's bed rather than on the couch with the TV on?

lol
no one said I sleep in front of the TV or on the couch
I'm just a night owl...
hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo

 

[proud_savagette]

How can you even compare church bells to this call to prayer? first off, do you not remember when the ten commandments were taken down from the courthouses? That was silent, yet they were still taken down for no good reason. Of course, this doesnt stop this city from blasting a call to prayer that completely preaches the religion. Yes, it does. These are the words:
Allah is the greatest (4X)
I testify that there is no deity but Allah (2X)
I testify that Muhammad is his Messenger (2x)
Come to prayer (2x)
Come to salvation (2x)
Allah is the greatest
There is no deity but Allah.
Now, church bells do not preach anything, for they are used in MANY other places than churches; therefore, they really don't have much symbolic meaning as of now. How long do you think a recording of something like "jesus is Lord" would be tolerated? This is unbelievable.

 

[jimnyc]

savagette, welcome to the board.

 

[proud_savagette]

thanks. cute picture

 

[jimnyc]

Love your profile. I think you and I will get along just fine.

 

[Merlin1047]

If mosques can blast calls to prayer over loudspeakers, what's to stop your obnoxious neighbor from putting his 10,000 watt stereo speakers in the window and serenading you with Snoop Dog?