In Minneapolis, the Islamic call to prayer, or “adhan”, will reverbeate through the streets multiple times daily; the capital of Minnesota becomes the first large US city to approve mosques to publicly broadcast the call to prayer five times each day.
The Minneapolis City Council–with 13 Muslim members–approved a resolution unanimously that changes the city’s noise ordinance to accommodate the change. The city allowed year-round broadcast of the call to prayer last year, but only between 7 AM and 10 PM, thus excluding some morning and evening prayers.
“This is a historic victory for religious freedom and pluralism for our entire nation,” Jaylani Hussein, director of the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Minnesota branch, said in a statement on Thursday. “We thank the members of the Minneapolis City Council for setting this great example, and we urge other cities to follow it.”
The resolution received support from local Christian and Jewish leaders.
The vote took place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and the city’s Muslim community rejoiced with the result.
“Minneapolis has become a city for all religions,” said Imam Mohammed Dukuly of Masjid An-Nur mosque in Minneapolis.
The prayers take place at dawn, at noon, at late afternoon, at sunset, and at night. In Minneapolis, dawn comes as early as 5:30 AM and sunset after 9 PM on occasion.
Minneapolis has had a community of Muslim immigrants from East Africa since the 1990s, and mosques have become common across the city.
The effort faced no serious public opposition, which is notable due to the rise in Islamophobic rhetoric in recent years, such as during the Presidency of Donald Trump.
