The municipal authorities of Minneapolis have enacted an ordinance allowing the public dissemination of the Islamic call to prayer five separate times daily, all year round. Formerly, mosques were only permitted to project the call to prayer three to four times each day to adhere to city noise bylaws.
A unanimous decision
The freshly introduced ordinance facilitates the broadcast of the azaan during the early hours of the morning and evening, which were hitherto forbidden. The ruling was passed without dissent among members of the city council.
On the huge achievement, Council Member Aisha Chughtai stated, “It is of paramount importance that we, as a municipal authority, approach all issues through the lens of ensuring equal access for all individuals, and that’s precisely what we have done here. This measure is beneficial to adherents of all religious traditions.”
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Previous regulations restricted the azaan’s volume to no higher than 70 decibels and specific time limits. However, the new ordinance extends the time span during which the call can be projected to as early as 3:30 am and as late as 11 pm. Also, the azaan was formerly only allowed to be played three to four times daily. Still, with the newly established regulations, it can now be played five times per day.
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