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Controversy Over British Mosque's Proposed Broadcast of Call To Prayer

By Howard Friedman

Reuters reported yesterday that the Church of England has now been drawn into the controversy brewing in Oxford over a proposal by the Central Oxford Mosque to broadcast the call to prayer (Adhan) over loudspeakers in the mosque's minaret. City council approval is needed before any broadcast can begin. Charlie Cleverly, rector of Oxford's St. Aldate's Anglican church, objected, saying the proposal is "un-English" and might create a Muslim ghetto in the neighborhood around the mosque. Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, also objected to a daily call to prayer from the mosque. The mosque's imam, Munir Chisti , now says he will seek permission to broadcast the the call to prayer only once a week on Friday, instead of five times a day. Oxford's Anglican bishop, John Pritchard, supports the mosque's proposal.

Britain's Muslim Council says that increasingly Muslims are receiving the call to prayer by high-tech alternatives-- a special FM frequency or by a text message on their cell phones.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on February 13, 2008 (boomark / email).