UNITED STATES: Minneapolis Mayor has signed a law that will allow broadcasts of the Muslim call to prayer five times a day, becoming the first major U.S. city to allow the announcement or “adhan” to be heard over speakers five times a day, year-round.
The Minneapolis City Council unanimously agreed Thursday to amend the city’s noise ordinance, which had prevented dawn and late evening calls at certain times of the year due to noise restrictions. The vote came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“The Constitution doesn’t sleep at night,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, after the vote.
He said the action in Minneapolis shows the world that a “nation founded on freedom of religion makes good on its promise.”
During the brief signing ceremony, the Mayor remarked that the historical event is not just for the Muslim but for every citizen who’s freedom of religion is guaranteed by the American constitution.
(See video of law signing ceremony below)
