The Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, recently announced a new set of guidelines on August 29th for mosques, allowing them to ring out adhan, or the Muslim call to prayer, more freely.
Muslim call to prayer can now be broadcast publicly in New York City without a permit https://t.co/2p7FDBwpdY
— Gilda Morkert (@g_morkert) August 29, 2023
Adams said that under the new rules, which he said will foster a spirit of inclusivity in the city of more than 8 million people, mosques will no longer need to apply for a permit to publicly broadcast the adhan on Fridays and at sundown during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Friday is considered the holy day in Islam, while Muslims break their fast at sunset during Ramadan.
The Community Affairs Bureau of the New York Police Department (NYPD) will work with mosques across the city to communicate the new guidelines and ensure that the devices used to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer will be set at the appropriate decibel levels. The Mayor’s Office said that houses of worship can broadcast up to 10 decibels over the ambient sound level.
Cope hard biaatch
— (@thunder_bol7) August 30, 2023
“For too long, there has been a feeling that our communities were not allowed to amplify their calls to prayer,” Adams said. “Today, we are cutting red tape and saying clearly that mosques and houses of worship are free to amplify their call to prayer on Fridays and during Ramadan without a permit necessary.”
With local Muslim leaders on his side during a City Hall news conference, Adams said Muslim New Yorkers “will not live in the shadows of the American dream while I am the mayor of the city of New York.”
While adhan is usually heard in many Muslim-majority countries, the Muslim call to prayer is less commonly heard in the United States. The adhan declares that Allah (God) is great and proclaims the Prophet Muhammad as his messenger. It urges men (women are not required) to go to the nearest mosque and observe salah (five times a day for prayer), one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Can I broadcast, say, "Amazing Grace" without a permit? How about "Onward, Christian Soldiers!"?
— Monster (@SumErgoMonstro) August 30, 2023
“The sound of the adhan is not just a call to prayer; it is a call to unity, reflection, and community,” said Afaf Nasher, the Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’s New York chapter, in a statement. “We believe that this action will contribute to greater understanding and appreciation of the Muslim community’s values and traditions.”
New York City follows Minneapolis in updating laws to allow mosques to broadcast the adhan. Minneapolis made headlines in 2022 when it permitted mosques to broadcast the adhan for the first time publicly.
Somaia Ferozi, principal of the Ideal Islamic School in Queens, welcomed the new guidelines set by the New York City government, adding that they send a positive message to her students.
“Our children are reminded of who they are when they hear the adhan,” Ferozi, who attended Adams’s news conference, said. “Having that echo in a New York City neighborhood will make them feel part of a community that acknowledges them.”
Camels noses are under our tent!
— Dave Tapie (@Mister_VA1) August 30, 2023
A member of the Democratic Party and a former police officer, Mayor Adams has enjoyed good relations with leaders from different religions and has promoted the role of religion in public life.
He has alarmed civil libertarians by publicly stating that he doesn’t believe in the separation of church and state.
“State is the body. Church is the heart,” Adams said during an interfaith breakfast earlier this year. “You take the heart out of the body, the body dies.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Adams clarified his statements, saying that Adams meant faith guides his actions.
