The Muslim call to prayer will ring out more freely in New York City under guidelines announced Tuesday by Mayor Eric Adams, which he said should foster a spirit of inclusivity.
Under the new rules, Adams said, mosques will not need a special permit to publicly broadcast the Islamic call to prayer, or adhan, on Fridays and at sundown during the month of Ramadan. Friday is the traditional Islamic holy day, and Muslims break their fast at sunset during Ramadan.
The police department’s community affairs bureau will work with mosques to communicate the new guidelines and ensure that devices used to broadcast the adhan are set to appropriate decibel levels, Adams said. Houses of worship can broadcast up to 10 decibels over the ambient sound level, the mayor’s office said.
“For too long, there has been a feeling that our communities were not allowed to amplify their calls to prayer,” Adams said. “Today, we are cutting red tape and saying clearly that mosques and houses of worship are free to amplify their call to prayer on Fridays and during Ramadan without a permit necessary.”
Flanked by Muslim leaders at a City Hall news conference, Adams said Muslim New Yorkers “will not live in the shadows of the American dream while I am the mayor of the city of New York.”
The adhan is a familiar sound in majority-Muslim countries but is heard less frequently in the United States.
Officials in Minneapolis made news last year when they moved to allow mosques to broadcast the adhan publicly.
“The sound of the adhan is not just a call to prayer; it is a call to unity, reflection, and community,” Afaf Nasher, the executive director of the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement. “We believe that this action will contribute to greater understanding and appreciation of the Muslim community’s values and traditions.”
(AP)
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21 Responses
I like the Anglican call to prayer:
Heeeyyy Aaaabbaaat.
If churches can ring their bells (many of which are amplified), why forbid the amplified calls to prayer? I live in a town the size of Lkwd with a small mosque. Our local call to prayers is amplified with no complaints from neighbors.
@Amil but if frum people do kapporos that you do have an issue with. Interesting
I guess the American sheeple have forgotten what 9/11 was all about. This is setting a terrible precedent. What happened to separation between Church and State?! Are Muslims above the law?
@huju: I hate that guy.
“If you’re a Mosque or a House of Worship of ANY KIND you do not have to apply for a permit to amplify the call to FRIDAY Prayer and during RAMADAN”!!
In Flatbush the siren used to call out Shabbos , till the goyim complained … I know everyone got scared . 9/11 , nothing was learned except the loss of so many people , & the funds , & research for the effects caused by it …I know ,I’m too prejudice
So will we be hearing sirens an hour before licht benchen time in BP and Willy??
What’s the issue? What is tye big deal ? Let them do whatever they need ro ? Shabbos sirens? Church bells? Why should they be different?
The Muslim “Call To Prayer” is actually a Muslim religious sermon.
Jews and non-Muslims are being subjected to forced Islamic indoctrination.
NYC Jews should go to court to stop this violation of their 1st Amendment rights.
Actually, it has been authorized since the late 18th century when the United States and New York adopted constitutional provisions that legalized non-Christian religions. Any existing New York law banning Islamic worship would have failed if fully litigated.
We have a shabbos siren when it’s 30 minutes to candlelight and at candlelight
Great political move! Is it a coincidence that he does this a week after Israel? No! He did this precisely for that reason to solidify Muslim voters support despite him going to Israel. I may personally not appreciate the call to prayer (I am sensitive to sound) but whoever mentions separation between Church and State is ignorant. In Teaneck (Bergen County), there’s still BLUE LAWS! Those have been around in this country for centuries. The STATE said that it was forbidden to open stores on Sundays. This isn’t the state at all. It’s private religious institutions broadcasting their message. Of there are laws against loud noise then those have nothing to do with religious freedom. I hate loud noise from my neighbor’s Sukkah or their Purim party. Is it illegal? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. People can disagree with what is fun and what if annoying.
Now the true faces show of yidden whose politics is more important to them than yiddishkeit.
DemocRATS are trying to bring down religion in the country.
How could any guy claiming to be a frum Jew be against a call for prayer? Goyim have a chiyuv of birkas Hashem…
Yanky1998:
How could any guy claiming to be a frum Jew support a call for prayer to “allah”, a false god who claims the Jewish Torah is false, and who demands that the Jews must be exterminated for not accepting the false prophet Mohammed Y”S and his false god?
The average Muslim accepts that the Torah is for the Jews. The Quran is very ckear about that.
(Some, ok a lot, of radicals are just confused by historic politics).
Islam is for the Nations, fulfilling ancient Jewish prophecies that All Nations will serve G-d alongside Israel.
They are fulfilling Noahide Law for all Humans.
True Chasidei Umos Haolam.
[A Christian who saved jews in the war, is NOT “chasid umos”, it refers to Monotheists]
As opposed to the other goyim who are chayav misah.
Kol hakavod!
Just in time for sliches
To RightJew re 1st comment: You sound like you want your picture in a dictionary under “putz”.
commonsaychel where did you get the idea that I’m opposed to kapporos?
We live in an Israeli settlement, surrounded by Arab cities. The call to prayer is 4 or 5 am daily and it’s great cuz it wakes us up for Vasikin. We are, after all, all cousins!
oh how nostalgic for all those who learned in E.Y.
So can we broadcast seliches etc??