Islamic Call to Prayer Irks Many

February 15, 2007

Author: Lesley Grimm

Source: Flatbush Life

http://www.courierlife.net/site/tab4.cfm?newsid=17857841&BRD=2384&PAG=461&dept_id=552850&rfi=6

It is precisely 2:45 p.m. Friday afternoon, and an evocative male voice penetrates the cold winter air.

“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,” the man sings in simple and repetitive musical notes. The message is in Arabic, and translates to, “God is the greatest.”

The Islamic call to prayer, or Adhan, summons Muslims for ritual prayers five times each day.

In Kensington, the call to prayer is amplified by a loud speaker perched atop the Masjid Nur Al-Islam mosque at 21 Church Avenue.

The broadcast continues for about two minutes, resonating through a part-commercial, part-residential section of the neighborhood.