Mich. city council OKs calls to prayer

By: Mohamed Ali

HAMTRAMCK, Michigan: Mosques in the US city of Hamtramck, Mich., will be allowed to broadcast Azan, or the daily calls to prayer over loudspeakers, according to reports Wednesday.

Hamtramck City Council approved the issue which has divided many of the city's 23,000 Muslim and Christian residents.

Hamtramck, a once Polish enclave in the Midwestern state of Michigan, has recently welcomed waves of immigrants from Bosnia, Pakistan, Yemen and Bangladesh.

The controversy focused on noise pollution and religious freedom and tolerance. Opponents to the measure said they didn't want Islamic beliefs imposed upon them. The prayer, which is in Arabic, occurs five times a day between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

“I object to the content of the Arabic call to prayer ... It says Allah is the only God,” said Hamtramck native Bob Golen. “A US citizen should not be subjected to the tenets of someone else's religion.”

Supporters said the issue is an Islamic tradition. They cited the city's church bells, which ring at least every hour, as comparable.

Abdul Alguzali, a Hamtramck businessman, said he and other Muslims “are citizens of this country, too.”

Opponents vow they will defeat the ordinance, possibly taking the issue into federal court.

Masud Khan of the Al-Islah Islamic Center said it took courage to approve the plan. He said: “Hamtramck is going to be a pioneer city for the whole United States.”

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