Earlier this month, the Minnesota city of Minneapolis became the first major U.S. city to approve five times a day, year-round, outdoor broadcasts of the Islamic call to prayer.
Members of the Minneapolis City Council, all Democrats, voted unanimously to change the city’s noise ordinance, which had prevented some early morning and late evening calls during certain times of the year, Al Jazeera reports. Three of the city council members are Muslims.
Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, signed the measure on April 17 and likened the Muslim call to prayer to the ringing of church bells and the Jewish shofar, Catholic News Agency reports.
The Muslim call to prayer, known as the adhan, generally occurs via a live or prerecorded announcement from a mosque, calling men to prayer five times a day.
“This is a historic victory for religious freedom and pluralism for our entire nation,” Jaylani Hussein, director of the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Minnesota branch, said in a statement. “We thank the members of the Minneapolis City Council for setting this great example, and we urge other cities to follow it.”
“Minneapolis has become a city for all religions,” said Minneapolis Imam Mohammed Dukuly, according to Al Jazeera.
I’ll bet the people of Minneapolis can hardly wait to hear that nonsense 5 times a day every day blasted all over the city. It’s definitely not the same as church bells one day a week and it doesn’t sound like church bells either, just wait and see!