The idea of the Islamic call to prayer (adhan) being broadcast over loudspeakers during Ramadan in Canada this year, due to the lockdown of mosques, started out being a controversy in the city of Mississauga, which decided to change its noise bylaw to accommodate the adhan. Then came the news that Calgary’s Muslim mayor had taken it upon himself to give mosques “permission” in the city to break that city’s noise bylaws.
It wasn’t enough that there are already apps that announce the Islamic call to prayer for Muslims who do not live within earshot of mosques. Respect for real diversity, equality of rights for all, the freedom of expression, the rule of law and Canada’s constitution in general have all been in decline over issues related to Islam. Divisions among communities are now commonplace, often created or exacerbated by Muslim lobby groups that have conditioned leaders and the general public that to disagree with them, or to criticize Islam in any way, means you are “racist,” “Islamophobic,” “intolerant” and the like. Jihad Watch provided an overview of the adhan issue in Canada HERE.
Now the adhan can be heard over loudspeakers all across Canada. In the space of less than two weeks, cities across the country adopted measures to broadcast it, ignoring the voices and rights of dissenters.
The Canadian officials responsible for this have acted in disregard of the multitudes of persecuted Christians and other religious minorities who are forced to listen to the adhan in Muslim countries. Those who have escaped unspeakable atrocities and come to Canada must now be forced to hear it over loudspeakers in their new, “diverse” country.
A Canadian Press article states:
Usually, the musical chant that ushers Muslims into their house of worship for prayer is prohibited under city noise bylaws. But across Canada, cities are allowing the call, or adhan, during the COVID-19 crisis, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, London, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and other major cities have all made exemptions to the usual rules.
It isn’t simply a musical chant. It is a sermon with profound implications:
Allah is greater (Allahu akbar); intoned four times.
I testify that there is no God but Allah (Ashhadu anna la ila ill Allah); intoned twice.
I testify that Mohammed is Allah’s Prophet (Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah); intoned twice.
Come to prayer (Hayya alas salah); intoned twice.
Come to security/salvation (Hayya alal falah); intoned twice.
Allah is greater (Allahu akbar); intoned twice.
There is no God but Allah (La ilah ill Allah); intoned once.
The mainstream media has been celebrating all this as a big win for multiculturalism and reporting only on those who support the broadcasting of the the adhan over loudspeakers. Dissenting voices, which include many Muslims, are simply being ignored. The suppression of dissenting voices is tyranny. In Sharia states, no dissenting voices are allowed to be heard. In Canada, under “Islamophobia” Motion M-103, dissenting voices, including politicians who have a spine, are increasingly either bullied or marginalized.
“Islamic call to prayer being heard for the first time across Canada,” by Laura Osman, Canadian Press, May 15, 2020:
OTTAWA – The Al Rashid Mosque has stood in Edmonton since 1938, but no one there today can remember ever hearing the daily call to prayer ring out through the loudspeakers.
Usually, the musical chant that ushers Muslims into their house of worship for prayer is prohibited under city noise bylaws.
But across Canada, cities are allowing the call, or adhan, during the COVID-19 crisis, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, London, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and other major cities have all made exemptions to the usual rules.
The Al Rashid, Canada’s oldest mosque, livestreams the call online every evening for thousands of people who cannot be there in person.
Some parents have been bringing their children to stand outside the mosque at sundown to hear the call and share the experience they never expected to pass on in Canada.
Some who worship there grew up in countries where Islam is the dominant religion. For them, the sound transports them back to their own childhood, where the adhan was heard ringing through local neighbourhoods five times each day.
For some who grew up in Canada never hearing the adhan in their communities, the experience has been transformative.
“Being able to break their fast on the sound of the prayer, it was a big moment they will not forget, I’m sure,” said Noor Al-Henedy, who works for the mosque.
Ramadan is a month-long period dedicated to prayer, reflection and charity, underscored by the practice of abstaining from food and water during the day.
While Muslim Canadians have endured the same hardships as the rest of the country during the COVID-19 crisis, including job losses and isolation, the pandemic has provided an even greater opportunity to reflect on life’s priorities and put others first.
“This Ramadan in particular took everybody to the root of what Ramadan really is,” Al-Henedy said.
“To really be able to reflect well on yourself while fasting, to look around you and appreciate the blessings that you have, to understand the struggle that many people are going through … is really important.”
Hearing the call to prayer outside the mosque has emphasized that, she said.
“It’s really comforting,” said Sahar Zimmo, who has heard the adhan before while travelling in other countries, but has now heard it in her hometown of London, Ont., for the first time.
The London Muslim Mosque was built in 1964, making it Ontario’s oldest Muslim house of worship.
“To actually hear the call to prayer, it gave me a sense of hope, a sense of relief at a time when things are up in the air and not normal,” she said…..