Hamtramck Call to Prayer Controversy

Update on the Hamtramck Call to Prayer Controversy

February 23, 2005

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/2005/religion/0502/27/B01-98280.htm

On February 23, 2005 The Detroit News reported, "nearly a year after the call-to-prayer controversy thrust Hamtramck into the center of a national debate, some non-Muslim residents say they don't mind the two-minute broadcasts. Others fear a loss of the community's roots as a home to Christian Eastern European immigrants... The controversy peaked nearly a year ago when the City...

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Call to Prayer Controversy Sets Precedent for Nation's Growing Diversity

July 21, 2004

Source: Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/news/locway/ham21_20040721.htm

On July 21, 2004 Detroit Free Press reported, "Campaign banners fluttered in four languages and neighbors from an array of ethnic backgrounds took to the streets and gathered in houses of worship in Hamtramck Tuesday to lobby each other as voters decided two hotly debated ballot questions. Issues as universal as religious freedom and public education hung in the balance in the special...

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Call to Dialogue in Hamtramck, Mich

July 9, 2004

Source: Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/news/locway/call9_20040709.htm

On July 9, 2004 Detroit Free Press reported, "Dozens of people came together Thursday evening at the Al-Islah Islamic Center in Hamtramck to talk about what they have in common in the religiously divided city.

They talked about being immigrants or the children of immigrants. They talked about how Christians, Muslims and Jews all believe in one God... Hamtramck has been divided...

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Hamtramck Prayer Controversy is Emblem of "Culture Wars"

June 9, 2004

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0405/20/d01-158815.htm

On June 9, 2004 The Detroit News published an editorial on the controversy over the call to prayer in Michigan: "The din surrounding the Hamtramck mosque keeps getting louder: It’s a clarion call to hate groups and provocateurs. The National Alliance, a neo-Nazi-like group whose national clubhouse is based in West Virginia, is circulating fliers to oppose the noise ordinance...

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Update: Hamtramck Officials Wade Through Petitions, Protests on Call to Prayer

May 23, 2004

Source: Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/2004/religion/0405/23/b03-160686.htm

On May 23, 2004 Detroit News reported, "A controversial noise ordinance allowing a mosque to broadcast daily Islamic calls to prayer over loud speakers is set to go into effect Wednesday. But it probably won’t go into effect because of a petition protesting the ordinance. But it probably won’t matter because the mosque plans to broadcast the calls to prayer anyway....

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Muslims Feel Threatened Over Prayer Controversy

May 9, 2004

Source: The International Herald Tribune

http://www.iht.com/articles/518546.html

On May 9, 2004 The International Herald Tribune reported, "For the population of Hamtramck, a city of 23,000 near Detroit, the battle of the loudspeaker, which the City Council approved Tuesday, has revealed a crossfire of religious, ethnic and lifestyle grievances, aggravated by the lingering memories of Sept. 11, 2001, which left many Muslims here feeling they were under suspicion. . Once an enclave...

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Petition Aims to Halt Prayer Call in Michigan

May 8, 2004

Source: The Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/news/locway/call8_20040508.htm

On May 8, 2004 The Detroit Free Press reported, "A petition drive began Friday to stop a new law that will allow mosques in Hamtramck to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer over loudspeakers. Organizers say they are certain they'll get the required 552 signatures to force the City Council to reverse its April 27 decision. 'There are some people, including Muslims, who don't want the...

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Controversy Over the Call to Prayer Continues in MI

May 6, 2004

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-na-mosque6may06,1,4762580.story?coll=la-news-religion

On May 6, 2004 the Los Angeles Times reported on the continuing controversy over the call to prayer in Hamtramck, "The City Council in this community of 23,000 last week approved the mosque's request to amplify the traditional call to prayer. The imam says the chant, which lasts about a minute and a...

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