The Islamic Call To Prayer will go forward in the Detroit suburb of Hamtramck, MI, starting Friday, after a petition drive by residents failed to stop it.
The petition drive was intended to stop a noise ordinance amendment regulating the religious messages. The City Council voted unanimously to reject the petitions and place the issue before city voters in the next election.The city council determined that they did not have the right to regulate the hours when the prayer call would be broadcast through loudspeakers in the community.“I am appalled by the level of racism I have seen,” Councilman Scott Klein said. “The people opposing this amendment (that allows the calls to prayer) have nothing on the boys from Birmingham (Ala.).”
But Robert Zwolak of Hamtramck, who led the petition drive, was just as upset by the council's actions.
“The damage has been done. This is Chernobyl,” Zwolak said, referring to the nuclear power plant disaster in Ukraine in 1986. “The fallout will last for many years.”
The Muslim Call to Prayer will be announced in Arabic by loudspeaker five times per day beginning Friday afternoon.
The council fails to recognize that in their zeal to promote "diversity," that personal property rights are being trampled. Doesn't an individual have the right not to be disturbed by moose-like wailing five times per day in their own home?
This not a racial issue, as the liberal member of the city councl quoted above would have you believe, but a issue of community peace.
Posted by mhking at May 26, 2004 08:19 AMClearly those council members are unaware of the thousands of mosques in this country that manage not to disturb the peace for miles around.
The noise is clearly therefore not essential to the religious practice in question, and I do believe a sensible court (is that an oxymoron?) would find that the city council does have the right to regulate.
Posted by: McGehee at May 26, 2004 09:22 AMWere that my community, I would be SORELY tempted to upgrade my home stereo system to about 50,000 watts and play AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" after every announcement...
If the police harass me, I'd claim to be announcing the "Church of Angus" calling... ;)
I'm _almost_ suprise ACLU hasn't stepped in to scream about this. Almost. More baffled about their criteria in choosing their religion-based fights.
Posted by: Deb at May 26, 2004 11:32 AMYour freedom to swing your fist ends at the moment just before your fist connects with my nose! If these Muslims want to accelerate dislike and distrust of their religious beliefs, they have found the exact perfect way to do it!
I don't care who you are or what your reasons, disturbing the peace is disturbing the peace and woe betide anyone who does that to the average peaceful citizen. This story may just be beginning!
I don't get it. Why don't the complaintants do like liberals do - cherry-pick a judge and get them to order it halted?
Posted by: Rabbit at May 26, 2004 03:57 PMIf I hear it there will be hell to pay. I don't want to hear anything those damn foriengers have to say over here. This is not their country. Their forefathers did not do a damn thing to make this a free country, the only thing they did do was stay in thier own country which is where they all need to go back to. Get the hell out of here, if you feel out of place or wanted it is because you are out of place and completely unwanted in this country. We are free because our fathers wanted us to be and faught for that right. The foriengers coming into this country now have no rights to the priveliges of the others already living here. Get out, get out, get out!
Posted by: Charlie at August 2, 2004 09:47 AMamerica, what a joke. your forefathers didnt fight for anything. look at the mess u made in iraq,vietnam. America=universally hated. charlie wat a looser america aint the world u no. America is a failure of a country
Posted by: oscar at October 16, 2004 03:02 PMamerica aint free u cant do shite.and thanks for ur help in the 2nd world war. 2 years late
hu the fuk do u think u are