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| Coming to a city near you???? |
| 2004-04-22 |
| A holy war of sorts is heating up in a Detroit suburb, where members of the local Muslim community want loudspeakers on mosques to announce the Islamic call to prayer five times each day. But the idea is running into opposition from other residents of Hamtramck, Mich., many of whom are Christian, who think the prayer calls as early as 6 a.m. and as late as 10 p.m. would be disruptive. "When you call to prayer, you are proselytizing, and as a citizen of the United States I don't want to hear it," Bob Golen, 68, told the Detroit Free Press. "It is not my God. My God is Jesus Christ," Caroline Zarski, 81, said. "I don't want this noise invading my home at 10 p.m." The Al-Islah Islamic Center asked the city three months ago to alter its noise ordinance to allow the calls to prayer. In February, the council reportedly supported the change but sought a public hearing before making any change. "We don't want to make it a big deal," said businessman Abdul Algazali, according to the Free Press. "It's a low-pitched voice. It's not going to wake up anybody." City Council President Karen Majewski compared the call to prayer to bells ringing on Christian churches, though other residents were said to disagree at Tuesday's meeting. Majewski says the loudspeaker measure is likely to pass at next week's meeting, and would subsequently take effect in late May. "Petitions have circulated among mainly white and Christian members of the community for weeks asking the council not to amend the ordinance," said Councilman Scott Klein. "Both sides have issued threats of federal lawsuits based on the constitutionality of the ban or the removal of the ban." There are five mosques in Hamtramck, and three others just over the border in Detroit. On its website, the city says it provides "A Touch of THE WORLD In America," touting itself as "the home of the most varied ethnic mix of people and customs from around the world." |
| Posted by:John Long Hair |
| #10 Anybody want to bet some $ that the first week finds the loudspeakers suffering from lead inhalation? |
| Posted by: mac 2004-04-22 10:43:54 PM |
| #9 Church bells are NOT usually rung to call the faithful, there are rung AFTER the service. Don't the speakers sound a bit Orwellian? I would make sure the ones near my house 'malfunctioned' after the first 'screech to prayer' that I heard over my TV. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-04-22 1:40:46 PM |
| #8 Cthulhu Akbar : Why shouldn't it have the Black Tongue of Mordor piped o'er the land? I thought Frodo and Sam destroyed the Sauronian sect at Mt. Doom? Does the black tongue live on? YIKES! |
| Posted by: Anonymous4052 2004-04-22 1:17:46 PM |
| #7 C'mon, everybody knows that Hamtramck is like the 3,047th most holiest site in Islam! Why shouldn't it have the Black Tongue of Mordor piped o'er the land? |
| Posted by: Cthulhu Akbar 2004-04-22 10:55:40 AM |
| #6 End result - outlaw chirch bells. I'm sure that the ACLU is on it. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-22 4:07:41 AM |
| #5 PS... I really like Onward Christian Soldiers. I guess they can play more than just the tune now. |
| Posted by: B 2004-04-22 3:03:44 AM |
| #4 Well, it's ok with me. I'm sure they won't mind when the Jews, Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Mormons, Christian Scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, 7th Day Adventists, Buddhists Wicca’s, Druids, Satanists, atheists and all the other religions get to do the same . Going to get a little noisy though. |
| Posted by: B 2004-04-22 3:01:46 AM |
| #3 Free speech is not unlimited in practice. You are not legally permitted to yell "fire!" in a crowded theater nor are you allowed to make death threats to people. Municipal codes have well established restrictions on amplified audio broadcasts made during off hours. While church bells can be defined as a call to prayer, there is no intrinsically theistic message carried by their ringing. In addition, the overwhelming majority of their operation during off hours is to provide a timekeeping function which is bereft of any religious significance. Ergo, their comparison with the Adhan has insufficient merit for co-consideration. Communities with a Muslim majority might conceivably be able to pass exceptions to local noise ordinances but they would have to be carried by a larger voting share than 51% and most definitely should not be subject to a city council vote. I would venture that, like some property tax measures, a two-thirds majority would be required. I see this issue as being more of an attorney's billing opportunity than anything else. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-04-22 2:44:45 AM |
| #2 SH - nope, nope, no headphones. It's in the Koran somewhere. You could look it up... |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2004-04-22 2:16:51 AM |
| #1 A holy war of sorts is heating up in a Detroit suburb, where members of the local Muslim community want loudspeakers on mosques to announce the Islamic call to prayer five times each day. Couldn't they all just wear headphones so that the rest of us don't feel like we're in Somalia. Come to think of it some sections of Detroit have that open dumpster in the hot sun smell that means Ummah to me. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-22 2:05:29 AM |