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British Muslims’ right to ‘the call to prayer’
THE ARGUMENTS FOR
Britain is a tolerant multicultural democracy. It should therefore allow the 700 Muslims who worship at the Oxford mosque a key part of their religious experience.
There are already loudspeakers put in place to aid the muezzin, the official who chants the call to prayer, in Bradford, Blackburn, Manchester, Bolton and Coventry. Oxford shouldn't forbid the call to prayer simply because of the traditional, intellectual character of the town.
The imam at the Oxford mosque is only asking for permission to sound the adhan for two minutes on three occasions during sociable daytime hours. Failing that, he would like just one weekly amplified call for Friday prayers. This is not an unreasonable demand.
The noise of the call to prayer will not rise above an agreed decibel level. It will cause no more disturbance than the sound of church bells, which, incidentally, Pakistan - a Muslim country - allows.
THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST
The Cowley Road area of East Oxford is largely non-Muslim. The adhan is therefore likely to mean nothing to - or disturb - the majority of people who hear it.
There are more than 2,000 mosques in Britain. If Oxford council permits an amplified call to prayer, many of the others might ask for their own. Britain is not an Islamic country, but might sound like one in the future.
A call to prayer from a loudspeaker is not a necessity of Islam. Mainstream Muslim teaching accepts that the adhan can be performed exclusively inside the mosque in non-Muslim countries.
Britain is a society historically based on Christian principles. To hear repeated praise for Allah and Mohammed across British skies would chip away at national identity.
The call to prayer is a cultural assertion rather than a practical necessity. Like everyone else, modern Muslims have wristwatches. They can use these to help them get to the mosque on time. ·
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Comments
Hearing call of Azan, obligates a Muslim to proceed to the Mosque for prayers, in as much as the sound of Azan, determined if he is in walking distance of the Masjid. The amplified call to prayer should be treated as a legitimate right to practice the faith and invite the faithful to pray as direct invitation. The prophet when asked if a person should prefer to pray at home or at Masjid, asked the question of the one who preferred to pray at home: Can you hear the call of Muezzin from your home; to which he replied: yes. The Prophet then said: in that case you must pray at the Masjid.
Having two minutes of public chanting at any decibel level is quite unacceptable. Noise pollution is quite bad enough as it is. Muslims not only have wrist-watches, they have mobile phones. They can be texted at any chosen interval to be reminded of their religious obligations.