February 6, 2008
Source: The Daily Utah Chronicle
Loui Ismaeel, a sophomore in pre-med, leaned over, picked up a little black clock from his desk and watched the digital seconds tick away. There were still six hours before sunrise -- the time to face east for the morning prayer.
Ismaeel remembered the call for prayer, or adhan, in his hometown of Jeddeh, Saudi Arabia, 8,000 miles away, when the local mosque's speaker system broadcasts it for all to hear. The announcer's words, beginning with "Allahu Akbar," meaning "God is great," drift over the palm trees and Red Sea coastline into every home of Mecca's principal gateway city.