Mosque Loudspeaker Noise
Feb 14th, 2007, in News, Opinion, by Guest WriterParvita writes on the topic: Loudspeaker Abuse in the Mosques: should mosques be disciplined?
If you live in Jakarta and look around some of the housing pockets in the area, how many mosques do you find in 5 kilometer radius? Have you ever seen a mosque without a loudspeaker? Have you ever had trouble sleeping because the mosque(s) was/were so loud, not only during adzan?
I stayed for couple of days in my sister’s place at Pancoran area. I can hear at least two different adzans, so at least there are two mosques around there. The first night I stayed there, I was awakened by the Adzan Subuh. Which is alright. Then it stopped. But the last couple of days staying there, I was awakened around 3:30am by the sound of somebody reading the Qur’an with very high pitched voice.
It is not only there. At Kuningan, there are also at least 3 mosques using loudspeakers and they don’t only use it during adzan, but also for calling each other, announcing who donated money or food, who died, sometimes kids singing, and all other kinds of information that are not really important (maybe for the neighbourhood, but not for all the people living in the apartment, I believe!).
Honestly, I feel bothered. First of all, the loudspeaker in the mosques has been abused. When you call for prayers, that is a reminder. Reading the qur’an loudly, or saying prayers or preachings loudly, that is already bothering other people’s privacy. Especially when it is used for other things like calling your friends, that is extremely rude and insensitive; we have no choice to listen or not to listen. Some people still need to sleep, they need to work early and leave work late, and they want to have a decent sleep to be ready for work the next day, and here they are with their loudspeakers. I often wonder, when I need concentration in the office, those people are back in bed, taking a nap. Especially during Ramadhan. Experienced very loud sounds that keep you awake from 2am?
Second of all, is there any rules on how loud a loudspeaker can be, and how far from one mosque can you build another mosque? Check the Tegal Parang area, Warung Buncit. Just walk along the small street and look at how many mosques you see in that small area. A lot. And can you imagine if all of them abuse the use of the loudspeakers? Noise pollution.
Moslem people here believe that when you build a mosque, your merit “points” (pahala) will continue even when you are dead. Some people build mosque so that they are socially uplifted. Even though the Qur’an clearly says that your merit score ends when you are dead. Moslems also believe that to spread the preaching is a must for moslems. The Qur’an clearly says not to ‘sell cheap’ the teachings (for one example, using the verses when you know people don’t want to listen to them). Qur’an also tells that prayers that will be answered are those which are said with humble heart and low/soft voice. So where did they get this idea?
I’m not a believer in hadits, but I remember someone told me that one of the hadits mentioned that the distance between building one mosque and another is when the adzan cannot be heard from the previous mosque. That makes sense. I wonder if there is any regulation in Jakarta for building mosques. Seems like there isn’t.
Call me what you want, I am a moslem myself, I say my prayers, but me, my parents, my siblings living around Jakarta, and my other friends who are moslems, they feel bothered. But nobody goes to the mosque and complains. Of course nobody dares. What is the use of pointing out what is written in the Qur’an to them?
100 Comments on “Mosque Loudspeaker Noise”
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Ali says:
Wait wait wait why compare religious call with music. 😀
Dude, music for one’s ear may be irritating noise for others.
The same is true for what you call “religious call”. -
1ndra says:
It might be, but here, no one irritated by religious call.
But we should criticize muazin/takmir who set the speaker too loud. -
Jay says:
Unwanted – unintended – undesired – forced – odd hour sound whether from social, political, religious, educational etc etc are noise pollution. I persume no normal person would love pollution. So for a person like me who is disturbed in sleep or work due to amplified adzan sound would never like it. It is the noice that I hate. Amplified adzan does not remain a prayer as soon as it disturbs others. It is for the authorities to understand the problem and fomulate laws and implement them for general benefit of the society.
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Hassan says:
Jay: Amplified adzan is not part of a prayer, it is a call for prayer. If it was not amplified, than people would not be able to hear the call.
Unfortunately for some people, adzan is an allowed practice throughout the Islamic world (places where Islam is the dominant religion), banning adzan in Indonesia does not seem fair. Tyranny by the minority?
What can be done was perhaps that the loudspeaker volumes should be regulated and if some people justifiably complained that the volume was too loud, the mosque should lower it.
BTW, what about loudspeakers on open-air musical concerts? Should we ban those too?
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Mohammed Khafi says:
Adzan is not a religious ritual, it was not revealed by God to The Prophet, it is not in Al Quran, it was just a means of waking people for prayers when nobody had alarm clocks!
Is it really necessary in this day and age? Or is it another example of the backwardness of Traditional Islam, a religion stuck in the middle ages because it’s adherents are not strong enough in their faith to realise that it can survive critical appraisal, re-evaluation, and modernisation.
Hassan, if the open-air concerts are playing songs by people who are tone deaf or children who are forgetting the words of the songs, all at volumes so loud that the sound is distorted, and it is in the middle of residential areas at 4 a.m. then YES, too right we should!
Peace
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Adzan is not a religious ritual
Who said that? I only said it’s a religious call, panggilan ibadah.
Is it really necessary in this day and age? Or is it another example of the backwardness of Traditional Islam
Not backward, because in the old days they’re adzan-ing from tower, now we had loudspeaker.
Anyone have adzan collections? I set the alarm with Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam’s voice only. It’s cool having 5 different muazins.
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Allah,
Thank you for leading me to your true path, if only for the fact that I don’t have to have Cat Stevens waking me in the mornings. Now waking up to DEWA in the morning may be cool though. 🙂
Peace
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Mmmm, Sedang Ingin Bercinta maybe? 😀
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“Aku milikmu” reminds me of my wife when I am away from home. 😉
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You two should get into a karaoke lounge. 😀
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Parvita says:
Hi Guys,
There are lots and lots of things that are not in the Qur’an but for some reason it is done. It is mind boggling for me thinking about this. I can be pretty radical about this and make enemies if I speak out my mind!
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Cukurungan says:
Parvita,
I don’t think there is any mind blocking to address this issue but rather than most of people here want to play mud but don’t get dirty and play water but don’t get wet.
As I said to erradicate those problem we have to pay the price that anyone here don’t want to pay it.
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What are “those problems”, Cuk?
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Brother,
The hearing problem from the anyone who do not happy live with “”Mosque Loudspeaker Noise”. For myself I don’t have any problem with anything happen around my live but don’t get me wrong …hi hi hi .. I am not consumer “a happy menu” I suggested to Bas. -
PerempuanRantau says:
Well actually when you live in the foreign country especially in Western Europe, you will notice that similar problem on the sort of “religious call” not only the problem of Mosque but also church bell or city bell. Imagine you at 23:00 you heard the complete jolly song from the city’s bell. Or if you happen to live in the city where there are 4-5 churches, then at sunday around 09:00 you will start hear the long kleneng2 (hemm better than only kleneng2 voice though but still).
Thanks God that at least in here, we can adress this kind of issues to the city hall. So usually there will be a discussion on how to solve the problem in the best win-win situation for the church organizer and the needs of peace of people that lives near the church. So from the whole song for half an hour become only a 5 minutes ocassion and only on sunday for example.
The very same thing also happens when moslem society in one of the city in the netherlands wanted to build a mosque (big mosque for dutch standard). I believe there were a couple of hearings at the city hall. These hearings are really a good way to answer all the worries that people that lived near the mosque had about the noise level for instance. I believe the mosques in that place instead of having 5 adzan will just do once or twice which not the one in the morning and in the evening. These arrangements then perceived as win-win solution for the people that live near the mosque and the moslem community.
Hemm in Indonesia, the question I think more to whether we dare to complain on this basis to the related mosque without being perceived as big sinner.
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Tomaculum says:
Come on, guys, don’t beat around the bush!
The real problem is not the sound of the mosque loudspeakers or the bell ring of the church nor the adzan call or the gospel singing.
The problem is our intolerance which caused the feeling to be disturbed if we hear the “sounds” of the “others”. -
I believe the mosques in that place instead of having 5 adzan will just do once or twice which not the one in the morning and in the evening.
This can’t be done, but we could turn the sound down.
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Teng says:
I love the sound of the mosques when I stand on the balcony of a hotel in Jakarta. Very “fairytale-like”
However… I slept over at a friends house for a week… and it seemed the loudspeaker was actually IN the room.
What was more bothering (for my friend) is that they were sometimes shouting: “The Christians are a minority here, why don’t we just kill them all”
Ah yes… Sentiong is a weird area…. Christians living next to Muslims who have a poster of Osama Bin Laden on their door
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Roger says:
The sound of azhan is beautiful when one can hear it as an extremely soft or as a faint background sound (supposedly when one is sitting at atop of a hill and hear the sound from a distant). However some like to blast the sound for what ever reason. My house in kemang did not have a mousque. Suddenly someone decided to built a mosque despite of a promise that there are going to be no loud speakers (I even donated some money despite my opposition). Initially one loud speaker, no sooner a tower is built and four loud speakers. I voiced my objection but the care taker said it is a tradition, what tradition?. A few of my neighbours also objected with no avail despite the help of Pak RT. How can one object or reason when the argument is for the sake of God. I am a firm believer in God. Worse is 4 o”clock in the morning, take a look, the mousque is empty but the blast is unbeArable. The Indonesia government of religious affair is doing nothing and most likely will do nothing. Is there any logical reason to tell these care takers that blasting will not achieve anything. The proper education is the only way we can make people undestand about religion. Some one day the sound will come only as faint beautiful sound when the consequences of education come into effect. But it may is a hopeless case.
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sonnie says:
Sometimes they got good recording with good voices, but most of the times they let some stupid over confident people to do it – with very annoying terrible voices! They really give Islam a bad name.
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Abu Sulaiman says:
Part 1 Intro
I am an American Muslim, born to American Muslim parents. I have never lived outside of the country however I am dedicated to my religion and I believe that Islam transcends all national boundaries.This response to what my brother said is for the benefit of the Muslims. Muslim – Those who have submitted themselves to Allah and who believe in Allah and his angles and his messenger and his books, and the last day. If you do not believe in ALL of the above mentioned things than I am not addressing you.
Part II corrections
My brother made some valid points about the need for organization and discipline among the Muslims however I would like to address the original author for some of the errors in his assumptions.Misconception 1. “”¦Even though the Qur’an clearly says that your merit score ends when you are dead.”
I would please request that you bring prove to this claim from Quran that no one has ever found.
In the meantime I will inform you of a concept that our prophet taught us called. Understand the concept that the prophet Muhammad taught us called Sadaqah Jariah.Correction: Sadaqah jariah is ‘continuous charity.’ It includes any charity that continues to bring benefit to people, animals or the environment over time, and for as long as it does so it brings reward to the donor insha’Allah. The prophet said “Whosoever shares in building a masjid for Allah, even if it is as small as a bird’s nest, Allah (S.W.T.) will build for him a house in Paradise. ”
Education, mosque construction, orphans care, safe water and tree plantation are just a few examples of sadaqah jariah projects.
So your “score card” (if I may use my brother’s term) does not end in this world but can continue in the next.Misconception #2 “The Qur’an clearly says not to ‘sell cheap’ the teachings (for one example, using the verses when you know people don’t want to listen to them).
The verse you are referring to is more than likely surah Al Maida v44 (5:44) and all one has to do is read the complete verse to realize that this was directed towards those who claimed to be the followers of Moses.
I have copied the Yusuf Ali English translation so that you can clearly see the context in which this verse was revealed.
005.044
YUSUFALI: It was we who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah’s will, by the rabbis and the doctors of law: for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah’s book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) Unbelievers.“These honorable Ayat were revealed about those who rush into disbelief, deviating from the obedience of Allah, His Messenger, preferring their opinions and lusts to what Allah has legislated.”
Contradiction “I’m not a believer in hadits” “”¦ I am a Moslem myself, I say my prayers”
If you don’t mind me asking how do you perform your prayers without the guidance of the prophet? How many rakah should you pray for Fajr, Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib and ‘Isha?In fact how do you even know that what is being called on the loudspeaker is actually adhan, what is adhan? How should it be called what should be said? These are some of the many things that can be answered only through the revelation of hadith. Among that here are some others.
Knowledge of saying “Subhana Rabbi Al-A’la” 3 times in Sajdah?
â— What events were taking place and where/why certain Surahs were revealed?
â— That Surah Al-Ikhlas is equal to One-Third of the Qur’an?
â— To make certain types of Dua? (Such as before entering the bathroom, entering the Masjid, before sleeping etc.)
â— To eat with the right hand?
â— To say “Bismillah” before you eat?
â— To give 2.5% of your wealth as Zakah to the poor each year?
â— How to say the Adhan and Iqama?
Some people claim to reject hadith but only obey Quran. Allah warns those who only accept some of the Quran and reject the rest.(Surah Al Baqara verse Eighty-five (2:85) If we truly obey Quran than we must obey all of it included the revelations which command us to obey the sayings actions, and commandments of the prophet Muhammad. The verses which command us to do so are numerous for brevity I’ll name three and list others for you to look up at your own leisure.
3:31. Say (O Muhammad SAW): “If you (really) love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
3:32. Say (O Muhammad SAW): “Obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad SAW).”…
3:132. And obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) that you may obtain mercy.
Verses in which we are instructed to obey the messenger. 4:13, 4:59, 4:64, 4:69, 4:80, 5:92, 8:1, 8:20, 8:46, 9:71, 24:52, 24:56, 33:21, 33:33, 33:71, 47:33, 48:17, 59:7, 64:12, 39:41, 26:110, 26:126, 26:144, 26:163, 26:179Part III Blessings.
Only Allah has the power to change hearts, so I cannot help you increase your love for the symbols of Islam on earth such as the call to our success or the houses of Allah. I can only pray that Allah increases you and our families in faith and brotherhood.
Adhan in America.
First of all I would like to say that in the Mosques in America everyone calls the Adhan, not just an assigned person. In some mosques people rush and fight (not physically) over the opportunity to receive such as blessing. I must say that of all the brothers from different countries that call the adhan it is my opinion that brothers from Indonesia have the most beautiful call.
As Muslims born and raised in America we hold precious many things that Muslims of Muslim lands take for granted. Just recently in Michigan USA a Muslim community had to fight the city tooth and nail for the right the broadcast the call to prayer from the mosques loud speaker this victory was celebrated among Muslims nationwide. This is why it baffles many American Muslims as too why so many Muslims want to place restrictions on the call to prayer in the lands of the Muslims.
Part IV Prayer in America vs. Prayer in Muslim countries.
Many colleagues of mine have given up profitable jobs and luxurious lifestyles for the sole purpose of moving to lands in which the mosques are numerous and the call to prayer is frequent and prominent. Here in America I was great full about the fact that I was able to install a software on my computer that calls the adhan five times a day. This call doesn’t go past my room and if it gets too loud my mother (Christian) may complain. After hearing the adhan I must rush to make wudu find my keys and get into my car to drive to the nearest masjid which is more than 10 miles away. Between traveling to the masjid performing Salat and returning it can take almost 45 minutes. Needless to say if I have no gas or can find my car or license then I can’t make it to the masjid. When I am able to perform my five daily prayers in the masjid I put over 100 miles on my car a day! This is the typical Muslim American experience and I know no other. It wasn’t until I traveled to a Muslim country that I saw a different experience. Before I assumed that my brothers overseas were making the same sacrifices that we were making hear. When I arrived I could not understand my Muslim brothers in Muslim lands who choose to pray at home even though there were several masjids not just in driving but within walking distance. Not only that there were some who didn’t even respond to the call at all. What was worse were those who in addition to this had the nerve to criticize the “disturbance” they suffered in hearing a call to a prayer that they didn’t even respond to.
Part 5 Muslims trading places.It appears that there are many (Non Western) brothers and sisters who despise the blessings of Allah and would give anything to live amongst the non believers here in American. Likewise there are many American born brothers and sisters who despise living in the land of the disbelievers (despite its many amenities) and would rather pack up and live with the Muslims (warts and all). I would propose a mass exchange. Job for a Job, Home for a home airline ticket for an airline ticket.
I would never want to deprive my brothers in Muslim lands of the blessings that they currently have in order to through them into the sinful environment of the west However part of the reason that so many people idolize out lifestyle is because of the naivety. It is fun to tease, feed or take pictures of a lion when you are in the secure zoo and you can enjoy the protection of both a pit and a fence between you and the beast. Similarly it may be fun to indulge in certain western practices when you are living in the relative safety of a community of moral people (Muslims).
For those who were born and raised in America we understand the full extent of the dangers of disbelief. Just as those who were born inside the lions den from a young age have learned the dangers of the lion. Either we have been attacked and nearly killed or have witness death of our friend’s families by the hands of the lion. Therefore we do not dare toy with tease or even wake the beast. In the den we learn that we have no refugee other than Allah. We also pray everyday that Allah gives us the opportunity to move to a safer place.Conclusion
I have good friend from Indonesia that grew up partly there and spent his adult life in America. When I met him a few Id’s ago he had dreadlocks a clean shaven face, dark glasses and flashy clothes. After a few years living here and sacrificing to come to the masjid and learn the deen and socialize with good brothers he sports a neat haircut, grew his beard and only wears Indonesian batik. (even at work) What’s more important is that he began to pray regularly, fast even outside of the month of Ramadan and recite quran beautifully. Alhamdullilah the brother saved up what he could from his job and only had one goal, to buy a one way ticket back to Indonesia. At first he complained about some of the things he grew used to hear that he could not find over their but when I asked him about living overall he said, A walk to all of my prayers, and I hear the adhan and Quran throughout the village people, people respect morality and I don’t want to come back.
Perhaps living in the den for a while will help some of us realize what we were missing with Islam.
If we do not love Allah and his messenger then Allah will replace us with a people that love Allah and his Messenger and Allah loves them. We ask that Allah makes us from among the replaces and not the replaced.
If any thing that I have said correctly than it is from Allah and if any thing that I said incorrectly then it is from myself. -
Raden says:
the fact that Abu still living in the USA proved he prefer to live with the Lions in the comfortable American live style. Abu, we welcome you to live side by side with us in a slump, dirty, dusty, unsafe, high crime rate, racist place & accute traffic jam & flood prone area like Jakarta. The statistic do not show American muslims migrating to Indon but rich Indon muslims sending their kids for obtaining USA education & way of life !
Want a proof ? pls check yourself in the nearest KBRI -
Want more proof Raden who always recommended all chinese move out Indonesia but He himself still living enjoy the slump, dirty, dusty, unsafe, high crime rate, racist place & accute traffic jam & flood prone area in here….kasihan deh lhu provokator tidak laku…Btw Indonesia crime rates is much much lower than US crimes rates
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Actually Raden I had no choice in being an American but I was born as an America. My question for you is what makes you assume that I am living a comfortable lifestyle? Have you seen my living situation? Are you aware of my income? Do you even know whether I have income? What makes you even assume that I am currently living in America? I don’t like to divulge my personal business but lets just say that if I were to reveal to you the reality of my circumstances such as where I was actually writing this post from and what I have been doing for the past few months and were I am going to be (Inshallah) in the next few weeks than it would probably put you to shame.
Thank you for your sarcastic invitation to JKT but a more sincere invitation was offered to me some time ago.
We are American by birth and Muslim by choice, and don’t forget this Raden! Some people have migrated with their heart but have no means for a physical migration. Others have means for a physical migration but their hearts do not desire it.
Never assume that if someone is currently living in a certain circumstance this means that they prefer it.
It would be foolish for me to argue that JKT is devoid of any problems however one sounds very foolish when you try to frighten an American with the negative attributes of Indonesia as if they do not exist in America. Lets start with Racism : My ancestors endured 400 years of brutal slavery and oppression from the hands of American racists. Places of worship have been blown up and Millions have been raped, sodomized terrorized, savagely beaten, and lynched (hung from trees) just for the color of their skin.
The plight of Native Americans is even worse, for they were virtually exterminated.
Any group in America (included European Americans such as Irish and Italians, can recount there fair share of oppression received by the hands of racist Americans.
Even in the constitution of the United States African Americans are still declared as 1/3 of a man.Crime:
Keep in mind you when you are speaking to an American who was born in Brooklyn, NY and resident of Miami, Fl since 1997 (two of the highest murder capitals in the US (remember that the US has the highest murder capital in the world) This doesn’t even come close to JKT.Dirt:
Speaking of dirt try living in any metropolis in America, I lived in and visited too many to bother mentioning. I have also lived in Sacramento, CA which is five hours drive from
Los Angeles which is one of the most polluted and traffic plagued cities in the world.
Furthermore a study was conducted in the US that concluded that there is more fecal matter in the ice served in soft drinks at fast food restaurant then there is in the toilets of the same restaurants. So keep in mind that no matter how clean a place appears to be looks can be deceiving.Flooding
Flooding is nothing strange to people of the Gulf Coast. Have you not heard of hurricane Katrina. At least the tsunami in South East Asia was a natural event. The hurricane Katrina did not claim a significant number of lives. Those who were killed were actually killed by the flooding which was caused by the dynamiting of the cities levees. If you would like to read further I would recommend “Come Hell or High Water” by Eric Dyson. There are many other books on this topic, as it is common knowledge to New Orleans residents that Franklin Delano Roosevelt made an executive order to Dynamite the same levees during the great flood of Mississippi in 1927.
The current destruction of the levees (which lead to the mass flooding of the city) during Hurricane Katrina is under investigation in the United States as an intentional criminal act designed to divert the overflow of water while displace the poor (black) residents of New Orleans and save the affluent business district.Don’t be so naive as too assume that everyone living in America is living in a comfortable lifestyle. Poverty is also rampant in America. Over 50% of Americans cannot even afford basic healthcare insurance. Not to mention that the education in America consistently ranks in the bottom percentile worldwide and is consistently dropping every year.
America is not what you see on TV. Many brothers and sisters dont understand this. What makes matters worse is that in order to avoid humilation from family and friends “back home” many people living in America from over seas never expose the reality of the situation they are living in. For example I know of a family (very close friends of mine) who the husband showered with a hose in the back of a garbage dumpster every night before he could afford a trailer to live in. He could not work due to his illegal status so he sold food until he was caught and fined for selling without a permit. A brother of his lent him money to by a lunch truck but a drug addict from the neighborhood set the truck on fire. Now he barely has money to pay rent on his trailer. He continued to sell food illegally out of his car but his license and tags have now expired and he can be arrested at any time. He doesn’t even have the money to fly back to Indonesia. Alhamdulliah the brother is a good Muslim and has not turned to doing or selling the Haram (like many Muslims do, when they go to the US) I make dua for him every day and send help as I can. Yet according to his family back home “Oh he is doing well, he is in America!”
Moths and flies always flock toward the light that fire provides this doesn’t prove that flying through the fire is good for them. So mentioning the fact that many wealthy Indonesians trip over themselves to send their kids to America proves absolutely nothing except that they may be just as misguided as the moths that are on their way to burn themselves.
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Cuk, no matter what u wrote in this free forum – that is yourown personal opinion, however this sites will be more colorful with your participation … ha ha
To Abu, in America – cost of education up to high school is free and highly subsidize by gov’t in university level at ‘best practices’ level (I compare it to our education system here in Indon). In your sad story, it seems you can not assimilate well with the majority American although you born in USA. Enrol into the nearest neighbourhood school & grown up there is the best place to mingle around to assimilate & understand the neighbourhood american culture if you want to. But, is there the case that you DO NOT want to assimilate with the majority of the American ? If yes, then this is the source problem.
If an American living in American becoming poor and cornered like your story then you can not blame to the gov’t system 100% but introspect yourself. In contrary, in Indonesia, if you born from a poor vilager’s family you can stay put poor a few generations because our education is not free and below international standard and in most vilages here they lack of development budget because 60% rupiah money are circling in Jakarta capital city. Now is slightly better but it takes time ramping up very slowly.
If you are citizen of America and remain poor for the past generations – 400 years ago until now still being cornered then it is a big puzzle to me. Why not you mingle around with other americans & assimilate there well with their culture ?, afterall you born in the land of USA. Do u know the statistic, how many % roughly people like you in America ? -
Cuk, no matter what u wrote in this free forum – that is yourown personal opinion, however this sites will be more colorful with your participation … ha ha
To Abu, in America – cost of education up to high school is free and highly subsidize by gov’t in university level at ‘best practices’ level (I compare it to our education system here in Indon). In your sad story, it seems you can not assimilate well with the majority American although you born in USA. Enrol into the nearest neighbourhood school & grown up there is the best place to mingle around to assimilate & understand the neighbourhood american culture if you want to. But, is there the case that you DO NOT want to assimilate with the majority of the American ? If yes, then this is the source problem.
If an American living in America becoming poor and cornered like your story then you can not blame to the gov’t system 100% but introspect yourself. In contrary, in Indonesia, if you born from a poor vilager’s family you can stay put poor a few generations because our education is not free and below international standard and in most vilages here they lack of development budget because 60% rupiah money are circling in Jakarta capital city. Now is slightly better but it takes time ramping up very slowly.
If you are citizen of America and remain poor for the past generations – 400 years ago until now still being cornered then it is a big puzzle to me. Why not you mingle around with other americans & assimilate there well with their culture ?, afterall you born in the land of USA. Do u know the statistic, how many % roughly people like you in America ? -
Janma says:
I like the sound of adzan from the mosque, but I don’t like it if there are many many of them competing all at once. one is beautiful….. 20 or 50 is just a cacophony!
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would it be better to let all of them to use loud speakers when praying to their God ? catholic / protestant/presbyterian churches, Buddhist temples, Hindu temples, Kejawen temple, etc .. ? afterall it is reformation era, equality in diversity ?
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I like the sound of adzan from the mosque, but I don’t like it if there are many many of them competing all at once. one is beautiful”¦.. 20 or 50 is just a cacophony!
This may be the case Janma. I brother from Egypt once suggested that the mosques be organized on a universal timer. This way they all start at the exact time and end in unison. This is an interesting idea. Personally I prefer the staggered method since you can readliy distinguish which adhan is coming from which masjid.
The sunnah of the prophet pbuh was tha he chose Bilal ibn rabah may Allah be pleased with him because he had a melodious voice. Although I have heard some beautiful Muadhan maybe some of us are not as fit to call it than others.
would it be better to let all of them to use loud speakers when praying to their God ?
Sure why not? This is the case in India with Hindus and Sikhs and Muslims. I must admit that Hindu prayer chants sound quite beautiful. In America Christmas carols are sung not just in the street but in front of the door steps of homes. They to are also very beautiful. In Egypt the coptic Christians dedicate themselves on ringing church bells exactly during the time the adhan is being called. I don’t agree with this because the purpose is to drown out the adhan by sheer volume rather than superiority in sound. However in other pluralistic societies people compete with beauty of sound and intonation. In Puerto Rico during christmas groups of people show up to your door and roam the neighborhoods with guitars, drums and maracas, and they have some very upbeat songs (Parrandas)The fact of the matter is that when people are competing to show the beauty of their religion they usually recruit the best singers, chanters, reciters, speakers ect. In the societies where one religion is the dominate majority sometimes they lose this competitive edge and you have just any one calling the adhan.
In Medina during the time of our prophet (saw) the first ideas suggested were wooden clappers like the Christians, then horns like the Jews. Drums were ruled out because it was too militant and the adhan was chosen.For those of us that would like to go to jena there will be a special adhan for the inhabitants and it will be like nothing we have ever heard (may Allah allow us all to hear this adhan)
It is a miracle from Allah that some of the most intolerant non Muslim Americans who hate everything about Islam oftentimes only like the adhan. My cousin who was deployed to Iraq reported that many of his Christian Jewish, and Atheist friends in the military after returning home to America actually began to miss the adhan.
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Do you think so? Well the sound from that stage even can be heared from hundred meters long.
Or maybe you said live music in a cafe?
And some club house have been closed because the sound is disturbing the neighbours.
Wait wait wait why compare religious call with music. 😀