The Siasat Daily: Al-Azhar rejects “light adhan”

Azhar Rejects Light Adhan

Tuesday, 9 March 2010

Cairo, March 09: Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Muslim world, has dismissed a proposal to replace the call for prayers in a planned mosque in France’s second-largest city of Marseille with a beam of light from the minarets, reported.

“The Adhan is an announcement that the time for prayers has come,” explained Sheikh Ali Abdel-Baqi, Secretary General of Al-Azhar’s Academy of Islamic Research.

“This announcement is being done in a certain way that was conducted by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).”

The main purpose of Adhan is to alert Muslims that the time for prayers has come.

It is called out by a muezzin in the mosque five times a day to summon worshippers for prayers.

But that has become a problem for many Muslim communities living in non-Muslims countries.

This has forced some Muslims to come up with the idea of using light to call for the prayers instead of Adhan.

Muslims planning a grand mosque in France’s second-largest city of Marseille are proposing to beam a purple light from its minarets at the time of prayer.

“The Adhan can be made inside the mosque to avoid any disturbance to non-Muslims,” said Abdel-Baqi.

Dialogue

Al-Azhar official advised Muslims to avoid protests over opposition to using adhan to call for prayers.

“They should pursue dialogue with authorities in these countries to convince them about the importance of Adhan.”

France is home to nearly seven million Muslims, the biggest Muslim minority in Europe.

The country is also witnessing a heated debate about the wearing of burka in the country, which banned hijab in schools and public places in 2004.

Since the 9/11 attacks, Muslim minorities in the West have been facing hard times in fulfilling their religious duties.

In November, Swiss voters backed an initiative by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party for a blanket ban on the construction of minarets in the country.

In Denmark, plans to build two mosques in the capital Copenhagen to serve the Muslim community are meeting stiff resistance.

Australian Muslims are also meeting opposition to build mosques and schools to serve their community.

Source: The Siasat Daily