In response to criticism of the Muslim call to prayer

Religious significance vs. Historical significance.

“First, the ringing of church bells has generally lost any religious significance and usually only marks the time/hour of the day.”

The argument of whether or not Church bells have lost their religious significance is moot. Even so, if Muslim Americans were obliged to follow the social and historical footsteps of Christian Americans wouldn’t they first have to establish the call to prayer as a call of religious significance so that it could later lose its religious significance and serve as a community clock?

“…In contrast, the Muslim call to prayer is primarily religious in nature and is specifically meant to remind Muslims of their religious obligations.”

History of (Adhan) call to prayer
The Muslim call to prayer is not primarily “religious in nature” as you stated. The call to prayer was first established in seventh century Arabia by a freed black slave named Bilal ibn Rabah. He was handpicked by the prophet (pbuh) for this very important task that would later become an earmark for the nearly two billion Muslims around the word. The act had both religious and social significance. The Kaaba was the highest structure to the all of the Arabs (Muslim, or Pagan) In an Arabia plagued with slavery and social castes the act of a recently freed black slave standing on the Kaaba, and summoning the people “to their success” send shockwaves throughout the Meccan establishment, and for the Muslims solidified Islam message of the equality of believing men regardless of tribes, social status or color. When we examine the history of Islam it is clear that the call to prayer has been called for other “non religious purposes.” This included assembling the people of the community in order to dispatch important community related information or to warning them of imminent danger.



Uses of call to prayer in Islamic Societies of the Middle Ages
Furthermore one must recall that the first university was also a mosque. University of Al Karaouine in Fez, Morocco, was founded in 859 CE. Al Ahzar university was established in 972 CE. Mosques always fulfilled the role of universities in the Muslim world. In fact the Arabic word for Congregational Mosque is Jam ‘iah. which is the same word used for university. Al Ahzar still functions as a modern University which makes it worth mentioning as the oldest university in the world. For the students and professors of al Azhar (Whether they be Muslim, Christian or Jewish) the call to prayer signifies a break in classes as much as it signifies a call to worship for the nearby Muslim denizen who is not enrolled in classes.

Uses of call to prayer in contemporary societies
In modern times the call to prayer has also been used in “non religious” functions. While watching the “Shock and Awe” bombardment of the people of Iraq in 2003, in all of the news clips I could heard the call to prayer amongst the noise of the explosions. Originally I assumed that the allied forces deliberately chose prayer time as time to attack until I went to a nearby mosque and asked the Imam who happened to be a friend of mine from Kuwait. He told me that the call to prayer (or adhan) is sounded continuously in the event of such a tragedy, as what he recalled during the invasion of Kuwait
These examples from historical evidence dating back to the first Muslims of seventh century Arabia coupled with examples from contemporary history debunks the misconception that the (adhan) only serves one purpose.

Church bells and historical siginificance
Secondly you juxtaposed Church bells to the "in God we trust" on our money”.
Your argument is that because it is historical it no longer has religious significance.
First of all I would like to ask you what you consider to be “historic?” According to the department of treasury ‘In God we trust’ was not considered for print on American money until the American civil war and this was a reaction to religious sentiment. The motto was subsequently removed and reprinted and removed again. ‘ In God we trust was not established on paper money until 1957.
Some of the most vocal opponents to the “In God we trust’ motto is an organization called American Atheists. Who do you think would be the most vocal critics if the U.S. Mint were to remove the label, the religious right or the American Historical Association?

The first motion picture in this country “Birth of a Nation” was an adaptation of Thomas Dixon’s The Clansman and it was created as a recruiting tool for the Ku Klux Klan. While the film is saved for its historical significance it is not widely circulated and you don’t see Hollywood promoting 85th anniversary editions or playing the film in theatres. American enslavement of blacks and lynching of freed black men are even more rooted in our nations history than church bells and ‘in God we trust’ mottos on currency. Does its history connotation serve as an acquittal to the crimes

Traditional vs. Modern means of broadcast.
“I like the idea of allowing the call to prayer in the traditional way-- broadcast by a person and not a loudspeaker.”

It is obvious that broadcasted sound travels far beyond its original source but so does broadcasted television, radio, and speech. Presidential speeches, television in the public square (such as Times Square) are also broadcasted sound. We are free to ignore it or take heed to it. It is fair for us to silence the source of the broadcast only because we disagree with its content.

Even some Muslim Americans cannot translate the call to prayer into English, let alone your average non Arabic speaking American. So where is the big offense?

Your last comment I have to agree with “I like the idea of allowing the call to prayer in the traditional way-- broadcast by a person and not a loudspeaker.”
I like presidential broadcasts in the traditional way as well. None of the founding fathers of this country ever saw a microphone. No political leader before Roosevelt was ever on Television and no leader before Woodrow Wilson was ever heard on the radio.
Lets do things the traditional way after all the congress established long ago that the public airways are for public good if I don’t agree that he / she is serving the public good than he / she should be denied access to use of this public good as well correct?

Conclusion
Petroglyphs were stated to have been found in the inyo county of the State of California, bearing Islamic and Quran inscription. These have been carbon dated back to eighteen hundreds. New Zealand Archeologist Dr. Barry Fell and Historian Ivan Van Sertima and Alexander von Wutheneau among other scholars all have documented evidence of the presence of Muslims in America centuries before the arrival of Columbus.

We also know for a fact that Muslims have been in this country in significant numbers since the transatlantic slave trade conservatives estimate that 20% of the Africans brought over as slaves were Muslims.

Our challenge as Americans is for us to realize that we as a nation are only 200 years old. This is not even a tenth of civilization span of the nations whom we stole this land from. The first Polish immigrants didn’t settle Hamtrack, Michigan until 1914. Before that it was settled by German farmers. It is unfortunate that our prejudices often don’t allow us to even consider the humanity of those who settled the town before the first Europeans.
If we could broaden our thinking to be more inclusive and not so chauvinistic than we would realize how narrow we are. All too often we allow our opinions to be shaped by the corporate media and we then think along what serves the interests of their corporations and not what serves our interest as Americans.
The city council of Hamtrack has not confined themselves to such a narrow corner. Here is an excerpt from their website
“Hamtramck, Michigan is the home of the most varied ethnic mix of people and customs from around the world, and we welcome you to our home on the World Wide Web.
Our city is a vibrant municipality featuring old world customs and ideas along with a new generation of spirit. As we blend a community of neighborhoods with all of the amenities of big city life,..”
If the city officials can look to their diversity as a strength rather than an plague than I believe that all of us as Americans can do the same.