Next month, Hamtramck will become one of the few cities in the United States where the Islamic call to prayer is broadcast onto public streets. The impact of that decision is reverberating across the nation. Loudspeakers on an old brick building in Hamtramck have become a symbol of the struggle between tolerance and tradition, and raise questions about what it means to be American. Bisera Vlahovljak, a Muslim who moved to Hamtramck 10 years ago from Bosnia said the call to prayer is about religious freedom. “This is why I came to America,” she said. “I think more people should be respectful of others’ traditions.”

Council members have received hundreds of e-mails and telephone calls from across the United States, complaining about the ruling. Council member Ahmed said people don’t realize that less than half of the Muslims in Hamtramck are from the Middle East. Most are from Bangladesh, with other large Muslim contingents from Bosnia and Somalia. “When there’s something new, people are afraid to change,” Ahmed said. “But as a government official, I don’t see we could do anything differently.” The Rev. Stanley Ulman lives in a home and is the pastor of the Catholic church, St. Ladislaus, across the street from al-Islah Islamic Center. He thinks the discussion about the prayer calls moved from noise to religion because some community members don’t want to see their neighborhood change.

Residents are opposed to plans to sound the two-minute long call three times a day in the minaret of the Central Mosque. But elders from the Central Mosque, where up to 700 people gather to worship every Friday, have pledged to plough ahead with the proposal despite opposition. Last month, dozens of people packed into a council meeting to signal their outrage, claiming they feared the prayer call would be an "un-neighbourly intrusion" that could turn the area into a "Muslim ghetto". Then last week the Bishop of Oxford spoke in support of the daily broadcast. The Rt Rev John Pritchard said those opposed to the plan should "relax" and "enjoy community diversity".

Originally posted by KSPigpen


Knowing the words, I would have to shield my ears and go 'lalalalalalala' real loud because it says my God is not worthy of being worshiped.

I don't like it one bit. Bad juju.