The administration of the city of Minneapolis in the American state of Minnesota, by changing the ‘loud sound ordinance’, for the first time, allowed Muslims to call out the call to prayer five times.
After the change in the aforementioned law, Minneapolis became the first major city in the United States, where Muslims will be allowed to give the call to prayer through a loudspeaker at five times. While Muslims were sometimes allowed to call the Adhan five times in Ramadan.
A number of US cities, including the Minneapolis, have so-called ‘obnoxious noise ordinances’ in place, under which no one can make excessive noise from dusk to dawn, even if they are making noise for their religious beliefs. But now the Minneapolis City Government has changed the ‘Unpleasant Noise Ordinance’ and allowed Muslims to give the Adaan on loudspeakers all five times a year.
In this regard, the news agency ‘Associated Press’ (AP) said that the amendment draft of the ordinance was presented by the Muslim member in the Minneapolis City Council, which was approved by the council. Later, while further approving the same draft, the council allowed Muslims to call the call to prayer five times over the loudspeaker.
City’s mayor signed the bill into law last week after the council approved the bill. Prior to the passage of the said bill, Muslims in the city of Minneapolis were allowed to give the call to prayer three times during the day, and three times the call to prayer was also allowed in March 2022.
According to the American broadcasting organization “CBS”, after the signature of the mayor, the bill to give the adhan became a law and now Muslims will be able to give the adhan all five times a year on the loudspeaker.
Muslims of Minneapolis were happy to be allowed to call the Adhan for all five times, while the Islamic and religious parties present there also welcomed the decision.
According to the AP, the law allowing the call to prayer over loudspeakers at all five times was welcomed by Jewish and Christian council members, who said it would increase religious harmony and that the call to prayer is important to Muslims.
Jewish and Christian members said that in Minneapolis, Jews call people to worship according to their religious beliefs, while Christians are also allowed to call people to worship according to their beliefs in the church at all times, and now for Muslims too, the permission was granted to call for prayer at all five times.
After receiving the permission to give the call to prayer for all five times on the loudspeaker in Minneapolis, it is believed that Muslims will be given such permission in other big cities of America.
