Question:
> Many Hamtramck Muslims said the call to prayer is equivalent to church > bells, noting that Hamtramck has several churches that ring their > bells. > However, Mary Urbanski, a lifelong resident, said the U.S. was founded > on Judeo-Christian principles and that church "bells are music."
I think they’re noise, but the Muslims are correct in their assertion that if xian church bells are permitted then muslim prayer shrieks are permitted as well. The only solution is an unbiased noise ordinance that forbids all public displays of sound over a certain decibal level. I’m not in the Michigan town in question, but if I were I would protest by standing outside the mosque with a boombox playing death metal music at exactly the same decibal level as its prayer shrieks. Then I would challenge authorities to do something about it without violating my right to equal protection under the constitution. Do you think the ACLU would take my case?
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Many Hamtramck Muslims said the call to prayer is equivalent to church > bells, noting that Hamtramck has several churches that ring their > bells. > However, Mary Urbanski, a lifelong resident, said the U.S. was founded > on Judeo-Christian principles and that church "bells are music." > I think they’re noise, but the Muslims are correct in their assertion > that if xian church bells are permitted then muslim prayer shrieks > are permitted as well. The only solution is an unbiased noise > ordinance that forbids all public displays of sound over a certain > decibal level. I’m not in the Michigan town in question, but if I > were I would protest by standing outside the mosque with a boombox > playing death metal music at exactly the same decibal level as its > prayer shrieks. Then I would challenge authorities to do something > about it without violating my right to equal protection under the > constitution. Do you think the ACLU would take my case?
I believe the best solution would have been to not allow the sounding of church bells. Yes, it probably is unfair to allow one religious group an activity and to deny the same to another. I’m sure some Christians would have been upset but by approving the call to prayer they’ve opened a potential hornets nest. Perhaps make all things equal. If church bells sound once a week then the call to worship should be restricted to once a week. To allow the weekly amount of times allowed for a call to worship to exceed the amount of times alloted to the church bells is just as discriminatory as to not allow the call to worship. Now what do we do if Satanist, buddhist, Hindus, Hara Khrishnas, etc all request the same authority for a call to worship. It sure would be interesting if the Satanist choose a banshee shriek as their notification for prayer. >
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Michigan Town To Hear Muslim Call To Prayer > DETROIT, April 23 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Muslims in the > Michigan town of Hamtramck could hear the five daily calls to prayer > over loudspeakers now that the City Council has unanimously given a > preliminary approval. > The council will hold a final hearing on the matter next week, > reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). > "There’s nothing preventing (the mosque) from doing it now," Council > president Karen Majewski said. > "What this does is allow us to regulate it in 30 days." > If it gets a final green light, the al-Ishah mosque will be authorized > to broadcast the prayer calls between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 > p.m. — something many mosques in neighboring Detroit already do. > Masud Khan, secretary of the al-Islah mosque, said the purpose of the > call, which lasts less than two minutes, is not to proselytize. > "We are not inviting (non-Muslims)," he said. "We are calling our > Muslim people, reminding them they are obligated to come to pray." > Hamtramck, a once Polish enclave in the Midwestern state of Michigan, > has recently welcomed waves of immigrants from Bosnia, Pakistan, Yemen > and Bangladesh. > Muslims account for about one third of the city’s population, while > Polish-Americans make up about a quarter of the city’s strength. > They have been a huge boost to the city’s economy, opening businesses > and driving up property prices by buying homes. > Opposition > But the decision drew opposition among some local residents and the > social and cultural tensions of this multi-ethnic city of 23,000 began > to show at the council meeting. > "A U.S. citizen should not be subjected to the tenets of someone > else’s religion," said Bob Golen, a Hamtramck native. > Abdul Alguzali, a Hamtramck businessman, countered that he and other > Muslims "are citizens of this country, too." > Many Hamtramck Muslims said the call to prayer is equivalent to church > bells, noting that Hamtramck has several churches that ring their > bells. > However, Mary Urbanski, a lifelong resident, said the U.S. was founded > on Judeo-Christian principles and that church "bells are music." > Council member Shahab Ahmed, a Bangladeshi, and the first Muslim > elected to the body, said the council has strived to deal with it as a > strictly civic matter. > "It’s not a religious issue." > "The al-Islah mosque wasn’t even required by law to approach us for > permission. The mosque leaders were just trying to be good neighbors," > he maintained. > A Muslim physician walked out of the hearing shaking his head and > said, "I never knew they hated us so much." > Another Muslim, Gabriel Alaziz, said he was "blown away by the level > of intolerance I see here." >