Some New York City residents are voicing frustration on social media over amplified Islamic calls to prayer broadcast from mosque loudspeakers during Ramadan.
Critics describe the early morning Adhan as disruptive, while Muslim community members defend the broadcasts as a constitutionally protected expression of religious freedom.
Danny Burmawi, a former Muslim turned Christian and author of ‘Islam, Israel, and the West’, argues the modern use of loudspeakers goes beyond religious devotion.
“When you broadcast the call to prayer so that Muslims and non-Muslims will be disturbed by it, that has nothing to do with religion. That is a political signal. That is, a declaration that we exist politically and we are taking over the public space.” he said.
