Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Moroccan Researcher: Stop Using Microphones in Mosques

CHALLAH @ Al Arabiya

Demands by a Moroccan researcher to stop using microphones in the calls for prayers have stirred strong reactions from Islamist scholars and a heated debate started over how religious the practice is and how political the demand seems to be.

Moroccan researcher in Islamist movements, Saeed Lakhal, called upon the government to ban the use of microphones in mosques on the grounds that they disturb residents in the neighboring areas not only because of the sound, but also owing to the ideas they spread.

“Many mosques in Morocco are not exclusively used for spiritual purposes and serve instead as a channel to propagate political ideologies,” he told Al Arabiya. “This is especially true when it comes to mosques run by Islamists.”
Mosques all over the country, Lakhal added, are under the supervision of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs and are accordingly bound by specific regulations.

“This means that those movements that run mosques either abide by those regulations or give up control over the mosques all together.”

Lakhal added that using microphones also bothers those living in residential areas close to mosques and that this becomes more obvious in Ramadan when the “taraweeh” prayers, performed every evening throughout the holy month and in each of which a part of the Quran is read, are also transmitted via microphones.

Comment: Especially in the West do you really think these are necessay? With all of our communication capabilities we need loud speakers calling to prayer? If you believe this than I have a bridge for sale in ... This is about social dominance and has been for many ,many years.

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