Muslims worshippers seek loudspeaker prayer time approval
MUSLIM members of the community want the municipality to allow prayer announcements to be made from Empangeni mosques with loudhailers.
Members belonging to two mosques in Empangeni claim they are being discriminated against as they have never been allowed to use loudspeakers to perform the adhan - an important aspect of the prayer routine.
Religious leaders told the ZO that the call to prayer was supposed to take place five times a day and only lasted around three minutes.
According to them, the adhan is significant to Muslims in that it serves as a reminder of the importance of God in one’s life, regardless of what they might be doing at the time. They are to remember that God is greater and that they should put aside what occupies them and respond to God’s call.
‘This is a tradition and it serves as a reminder for Muslim people. We understand that some may find the prayer call a disturbance, but we believe that everyone’s religion should be tolerated and understood.
‘Few people have complaints about church bells or noise from sound systems during church services because we have learnt to accept it. Similarly we request that our prayers and practices that are carried out throughout the world be accepted,’ said one of the religious leaders.
The group claimed that attempts to discuss provisions for the adhan were in the past met with resistance from the municipality.
‘We have a growing Muslim community. The mosque in the Empangeni central business district has about 300 members, while the mosque near Five5Ways centre has around 100 congregants.
‘Despite being open for about 10 years, we still have not been able to have the mosque near Five5Ways rezoned as a religious location. It is still classified as residential.’
Acting municipal spokesperson, Percival Thusini, told the ZO that an application should be submitted by the mosques.
‘We do not have on record that this was ever a problem, but the best thing to do is to submit an application detailing what the call to prayer will entail. We will then review it per the by-laws.’