Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
The Blauwe Moskee in Amsterdam Nieuw-West
The Blauwe Moskee in Amsterdam Nieuw-West - Credit: Photo: De Blauwe Moskee/Facebook
Politics
De Blauwe Moskee
religion
Islam
Amsterdam
religious tolerance
Amsterdam Nieuw-West
Yassin Elforkani
Tuesday, 8 October 2019 - 17:00
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Amsterdam mosque to boost call to prayer with loudspeakers

The Blauwe Moskee in Amsterdam Nieuw-West wants to boost it's weekly call to prayer - the Adhan - through loudspeakers. A few dozen mosques in the Netherlands already do so, but the Blauwe Moskee will be the first in Amsterdam. The mosque's board is organizing a neighborhood meeting on Sunday afternoon to inform local residents about their intentions, imam Yassin Elforkani said to Het Parool.

According to Elforkani, the louder call to prayer is partly a response to the social debate about the visibility of Islam in the streets, which flared up again this summer after the introduction of the burka ban. By making Islam that bit more visible in the public space, Amsterdam residents will get more used to the religion as something normal and unrest will disappear, he believes.

"We do not want to provoke with this, but try to normalize Islamic traditions", the imam said to Parool. "Because of international terrorism, people still associate 'Allāhu akbar' with violence or misery, while many visitors to our mosque experience it as something meditative. The Adhan can contribute to the fact that Islam is finally seen as something normal in the Netherlands."

Just like Christian churches are allowed to ring their bells, mosques are also allowed to make a boosted call to prayer at certain moments. Municipalities can set rules on duration and volume, but cannot prohibit it.

According to Parool, it does seem like Amsterdam is trying to discourage mosques from using loudspeakers for their Adhan. In Amsterdam Noord, where the Boven IJ mosque will be erected, the ground lease arrangement contains a ban on a reinforced public call to prayer, for example.

Imam Elforkani of the Blauwe Moskee on Henri Dunanstraat expects that the mosque's intention to use loudspeakers will cause a discussion, but not much problems. "Amsterdam is a tolerant city, right?" he said to Parool

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • CEO: Air France-KLM takes planet health very seriously
  • Cable car over Amsterdam IJ River could depart from Westerpark area metro station
  • Rotterdam's public transport company RET facing serious financial trouble
  • Lifeguards warn water still too cold for long swims despite rising temperatures
  • Dutch central bank leader Knot concerned after employees win substantial wage increases
  • PM Rutte acknowledges making mistakes with Groningen gas extraction

Top stories

  • Investigators find €80 million in cocaine at Dutch ports
  • Appeal denied: Joran van der Sloot temporarily extradited to U.S. tomorrow
  • Amsterdam to ban polluting traffic in large parts of the city from 2025
  • Hundreds of young Dutch people at risk of forced marriage during summer holiday
  • Dutch PM says blowing up Ukraine’s dam is a war crime
  • Grants will definitely replace student loan system this year; Applications start soon

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content