The Muslim call to prayer will ring out more freely in New York City under guidelines announced Tuesday by Mayor Eric Adams, which he said should foster a spirit of inclusivity.

Under the new rules, Adams said, mosques will not need a special permit to publicly broadcast the Islamic call to prayer, or adhan, on Fridays and at sundown during the holy month of Ramadan. Friday is the traditional Islamic holy day, and Muslims break their fast at sunset during Ramadan.

The police department’s community affairs bureau will work with mosques to communicate the new guidelines and ensure that devices used to broadcast the adhan are set to appropriate decibel levels, Adams said. Houses of worship can broadcast up to 10 decibels over the ambient sound level, the mayor’s office said.

    • 790@lemmy.sdf.org
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      The German word for actions like that is “Konfrontative Religionsbekundung”. My layman translation would be “confrontational exhibition of religious faith”.

  • Anamnesis@lemmy.world
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    Having lived in Bedstuy where a loud Muslim prayer happens every Friday morning, it’s annoying as fuck and should not be exempted from ordinary noise ordinances.

    • CthulhuPudding@lemmy.world
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      I lived right next to a Mosque in Kensington (that opened up without a proper permit in a residential zone a year after I purchased my property). They used to broadcast their prayers at ungodly volume. It was loud as hell, would cut through my headphones and ruin any ability I had to do anything, even think straight. I made numerous noise complaints but nothing was ever done by the NYPD. Got so bad that I finally sold the place and moved somewhere dominated by orthodox Jewry just because I knew they’d serve as a bulwark against me ever having to hear any prayers again.

      I’m sure that the people who think this is a good idea view it as a simple matter of religious freedom. It is not. My experience was one of having someone else’s religion thrust upon me. Church bells are annoying and loud, but they do not contain actual religiosity. I was always taught that my rights ended when I infringe upon someone else’s rights. Broadcasting prayers so loud it can be heard above the ambient noise in NYC is trampling on my rights to exist free of religion.

      Believe whatever you want, but keep it to yourself. I feel awful for everyone who lives near a mosque in NYC.

      • OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca
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        My experience was one of having someone else’s religion thrust upon me.

        That’s exactly what this is. If someone is part of the religion, they either already know what time it is or have set up their own alarm to notify them. The only reason to blast this across the neighbourhood is to force everyone to hear it.

        Freedom of religion is freedom from religion.

        • CthulhuPudding@lemmy.world
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          I have, on occasion, heard the siren in Williamsburg. But a siren is very different from having to hear an entire Friday service blasting into my home. Shabbat sirens and church bells suck, but they are only symbolically religious. Mosques are broadcasting their literal prayers. I felt prayed upon. Puns aside, we’re not even talking about the public square, where people have differing opinions on the appropriateness of religious ideas/imagery. This is about a person in their private residence or private business being subjected to someone else’s religion in full.

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            A Google search shows that the Adhan isn’t a prayer.

            God is the greatest. X4 There is No God but God. X2 Mohammad is the apostle of God. X2 Hurry to the prayer. X2 Hurry to the success. X2 God is the greatest. X2

            Duration depends on the person reciting it.

        • pgx@lemmy.world
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          Yeah, these are annoying as fuck and should not be exempt from noise ordinances. This isn’t 1900, they all have phones they can get a notification if they really don’t know what day it is.

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        When you said Kensington I thought you were a posh cunt called Tarquin but no, apparently not

    • ArchTemperedKoala@lemmy.world
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      Every Friday isn’t that bad, here in Indonesia especially around Java it will be played every evening, some even plays it 5 times a day…

  • shitwolves@lemmynsfw.com
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    I wonder if this could be solved by Church of Satan setting up and blasting Slayer or some death metal at 10db above ambient. Seems only fair.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      The Satanic Temple. They’re the awesome activists. The Church of Satan are a bunch of Ayn Rand-loving assholes who do a bunch of stupid woo-woo rituals and try to justify hedonism.

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      If they actually use it in the same manner (congregation, break fast, something besides just to make noise ), why not? After all, their point is “what’s for you is for me as well.”

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      I’m picturing some angry dude in an apartment near this place just blasting death metal out a, window to drown the prayer out.

      It’s a start.

      • Case@unilem.org
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        When I was in college there was a culture of blasting out music from the windows of the dorms.

        Mostly hip hop and pop, not really my genres at the time (though I got into some niche hip hop years later)

        At the time, a metal guitarist had recently died violently. They were a local band with a global reach, well local to me, about 2 hours from campus.

        That day everyone knew their music, lol. Had my “metal” friends come up with speakers and any other audio gear they could muster.

        In my defense, unlike other noise polluters, I observed quiet hours.

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    Houses of worship can broadcast up to 10 decibels over the ambient sound level

    10db may not sound like much but a sound 10db louder sounds twice as loud to the human ear.

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    The Islamic call to prayer happens before sunrise, just after noon, late afternoon, just after sunset, and night time.

    I think you’re going to have a fuck load of complaining when that bad boy goes off at 4:30 am. I used to live in Mosul and you could hear the imams all across the city. It’s like a giant alarm clock.

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    This is some backward ass bullshit. Keep your religious garbage to yourself. Complain about Christians forcing school prayers then have this dumb shit.

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      Glad church bells were the top comment… I grew up across the street from a church and I cannot say this loud enough FUCK CHURCH BELLS!! Ban them both, if you need to be called to pray or told what time it is buy a smartphone and set a reminder.

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        See I live in a wee village and despite my non- religiousness, the church bells are absolutely lovely.

        I’d like to know if Muslims find the call to prayer a nice sound

    • li10@feddit.uk
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      Are they using bells then?

      I’d be annoyed if I lived near a Christian church that had a megaphone telling people to come pray, but bells at least seem less intrusive.

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      That’s the argument that all the “Muslims shouldn’t have extra privileges” miss.

      No one should have extra privileges, but we can’t take away church bells because of all the Christians would cry foul, so we’re stuck giving more religions the right to make excess noise everytime they ask because otherwise it’s discrimination.

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        Caterwauling over a loudspeaker is much more disruptive and annoying than a bell and I don’t care who is caterwauling or ringing the bell

        But honestly, yeah, apply all noise limits to everyone in the same way. If a bell is being rung during quiet hours and it’s too loud, then hit the church with a violation.

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          Look, you let one group be loud, you let all similar groups be loud. You don’t get to choose based on who you like or who makes a sound you like. Fair is fair.

          I’d rather peace and quiet thank you very much, if I can’t have that, I’d rather fair rules over arbitrary ones.

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            It’s all relative noise levels and how reasonable a noise is. Tbh I’ve never lived somewhere with church bells that make loud noises during night hours like the Muslims do with their call to prayer, but I guess if a church was doing that, I’d support restricting them, too.

    • Madison420@lemmy.world
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      Church bells originally existed for a purpose though and that was to strike the hour and ring alarm. Iirc the call to prayer can be used to tell time but like once or twice a day at best.

        • Madison420@lemmy.world
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          Correct, I’m just saying that’s why bells are still allowed to ring without regards to sound ordinance.

      • teft@startrek.website
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        You can’t set a watch by prayer times unless you have a prayer time table for your locality. Since the start and end times for prayers are related to the solar diurnal motion, they vary throughout the year and depend on the local latitude and longitude when expressed in local time.

        • GreenMario@lemm.ee
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          God: it’s 4:34:43 AM EST and oh whoops you didn’t get your prayer rug out on time. That one’s going straight to hell. Crosses name out on clipboard

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          Correct, though if your familiar with the area it’s a pretty good way to find out what time it is. Bells just do it better.

  • alienanimals@lemmy.world
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    Religion: Get away without paying taxes, receive special privileges, and influence government policy!

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    Well, they managed to put the foot in the door (you’re fucked) just you wait what other special treatments religious folk will require …

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      I lived about 3 miles from a church in a mid-sized town in the midwest. On Sundays they’d play music on some gigantic jangly bell thing I could hear loudly at my house… again, 3 miles away. I can’t imagine the noise complaints a regular person would get for playing something that loud, but they’re a church so apparently it’s fine.

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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        This happens surprisingly often. There is a church on my block that I can’t hear unless I go right up to the building on Sundays and I know that they do get into because during Covid they moved outside with the singing.

      • MrBusiness@lemmy.zip
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        On the one hand, I would be annoyed by more loud noise. On the other hand, it would show the other churches how obnoxious their 5 to 10 minute bell jingles are (hopefully).

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      Used to go to school near a mosque.

      Their broadcasts are actually some really nice kind of singing, which is a lot less intrusive than the church bells I get across the village at 6 in the morning.

  • ChiefSinner@lemm.ee
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    My GF lives by a mosque where they blast their off-tone, lazy chants at full blast. Its awful. Its so loud it rattles her windows. Apparently its to evangelize, but I can’t imagine anyone getting swayed when their ear drums burst from poorly toned chants.

    • Afiefh@lemmy.world
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      Nobody is getting swayed, but your gf may be tempted to move away, opening the place for more Muslims and creating a Muslim area.

    • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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      Why am I thinking about c90adventures when he was in like Mexico and the market across from his hotel was blaring something over what im convinced were some old ww2 air raid sirens.

  • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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    I still think this issue can be solved with an app. In fact I am willing to help work on it as long as they promise to put it to bed.

    You get a little cry to prayer on your personal device based on your location.