Minneapolis City Council to allow Adhan broadcast in Ramadan for the first time

Mayor Jacob Frey announced Tuesday that he will allow a mosque in Minneapolis to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer over loudspeakers during the month of Ramadan.

The call to prayer, known as the adhan, will be played over a loudspeaker in Minneapolis’s Cedar-Riverside neighborhood and is “expected to reach thousands of residents,” Frey’s office said in a statement.

The call to prayer will be broadcast five times a day from a speaker located outside the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque at South Fifth Street and Cedar Avenue.

“At a time when physical distancing requires we pray apart, it’s incumbent on leaders to create a sense of togetherness where we can,” Frey said in a press release. “Adhan provides solidarity and comfort – both of which are essential during a time of crisis. As our Muslim community prepares for Ramadan, we hope the broadcast will offer a measure of stability and reassure our entire city that we are all very much in this together.”

Frey said he “facilitated” the noise permit for the request and noted that the call to prayer will begin on Thursday evening, the start of Ramadan, which lasts for roughly a month.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of Minnesota reportedly paid for the audio equipment that will be used for the broadcast.

“This historic effort to promote religious inclusion – offering the call to prayer in the Cedar-Riverside community – will be welcomed by the Muslim community and all those who value diversity and mutual understanding,” said CAIR-Minnesota Executive Director Jaylani Hussein.

“The call to prayer will be especially meaningful to the many senior citizens in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood who have been isolated due to the pandemic. It will help them feel more connected to their community and mosque in this sacred month,” he added.

Imam Sharif Mohamed of the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque said Muslims all over the world “understand and feel great comfort in the public call to prayer.”

“In this time of fear and isolation, the Muslim communities of Minnesota benefit from a city that honors and loves all of its diversity,” he said.