Troll or Hero? The Sex Blogger Who's Offending Muslims

BBC AMERICA: Sex blogger, agent provocateur, trouble-maker - or freedom of speech activist?

These are all phrases that one of Malaysia's most infamous bloggers, Alvin Tan, uses to describe himself. He has a history of posts that have been highly divisive in the Muslim majority nation, and his latest stunt has involved once again offending Muslim sensibilities with a controversial Facebook post.

In the video, Tan, bare-chested and wearing sunglasses, plays the piano while singing a lyrically garbled version of the Azan - the Muslim call to prayer. Underneath the video, he has written: "Please don't badger me about the wrong lyrics ... First, this is a cover, so creative modification is permitted. Second, I ain't a suicide bomber." » | BBC Trending | Sunday, May 03, 2015

Israeli MP Proposes Banning Islamic Prayer Call

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: New legislation by coalition partner could silence the muezzin's call to prayer from mosques on the grounds of "noise pollution"

Israeli Right-wingers have revived highly contentious plans that could effectively silence the Muslim call to prayer, known as the adhan.

In a move that risks stoking already simmering tensions in Jerusalem between Jews and Arabs, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition is tabling legislation that could put strict limits on Islamic prayer calls from mosques in the city and across Israel.

Robert Ilatov, a parliamentarian with the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, is sponsoring the bill with the support of Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister who is also the party's leader.

While the legislation is being justified on the grounds that prayer calls often produce "intolerable noise" that disturbs many citizens' sleep, it is bound to prompt accusations of religious intolerance and prejudice against Israel's Muslim minority. » | Robert Tait, Jerusalem | Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Channel 4 to 'Provoke' Viewers Who Associate Islam with Terrorism with Live Call to Prayer during Ramadan

THE INDEPENDENT: The broadcaster will provide extensive coverage of the Muslim period of prayer to challenge those who associate the religion with extremism and terror

Channel 4 has said it will broadcast the Muslim call to prayer live every morning during Ramadan as a deliberate act of “provocation” aimed at viewers who associate Islam with terrorism and extremism.

The broadcaster, which was launched with a mission to appeal to minority audiences, will return to its controversial roots by screening a season of programmes around the Muslim period of prayer and fasting, which begins next Tuesday.

A senior Channel 4 executive defended the broadcaster’s decision to provide extensive coverage of the most significant event in the Islamic calendar by suggesting that Ramadan was of greater interest to its viewers than the “blanket coverage” given to the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation by its rivals.

Ralph Lee, head of factual programming, said that Channel 4 would become the first mainstream British television channel to broadcast the call to prayer (adhan) on a daily basis.

Writing in the Radio Times, Lee claimed: “Observing the adhan on Channel 4 will act as a nationwide tannoy system, a deliberate ‘provocation’ to all our viewers in the very real sense of the word.”

Lee said that the “vast majority of people in Britain” would not be aware of the “mass act of personal sacrifice and worship” about to commence.

“Not surprising when you consider its (Ramadan) near invisibility on mainstream TV. Contrast this with the way most Muslims are represented on television – nearly always appearing in contexts related to extremism or terrorism,” he wrote. » | Adam Sherwin | Tuesday, July 02, 2013

RADIO TIMES: Channel 4 exec: broadcasting Muslim call to prayer reflects how Islam is “flourishing” in UK » | Jack Seale | Monday, July 01, 2013

My comment on The Guardian:

First we had David Cameron telling us that the beheading of Lee Rigby was a betrayal of Islam. Then we had the banning of Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller from these shores. Now this: the broadcasting of al-adhan each morning on Channel 4 during Ramadhan. What are we to make of this except capitulation? These are sad times for a once strong, proud nation. – © Mark

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Germany Faced with "Loudspeaker Jihad"
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: "First there was no mention of a muezzin when the mosque was inaugurated; then on Fridays only; then three times a day, now five times a day." — Interview in Die Zeit

A Turkish mosque in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia has begun sounding public calls to prayer from an outdoor loudspeaker system mounted on the roof of the edifice.

The mosque is one of a growing number of Islamic institutions in Germany (and other parts of Western Europe) publicly calling the Muslim faithful to prayer -- five times a day, seven days a week -- with cries of Allahu Akbar ("Allah is Greater").

Observers believe a precedent has now been established, and that many of the other 3,000 mosques in Germany will soon begin jumping on the muezzin loudspeaker bandwagon.

The sonorous prayer calls (known as adhan in Arabic) can be heard from great distances when amplified through electric loudspeakers; some German towns and cities are actually beginning to evoke the sounds and images of the Islamic Middle East. » | Soeren Kern | Friday, June 28, 2013


Listen to al adhan here

Islam in the USA: Adhan (Islamic Call to Prayer) Called in a Christian Church!

Obama's Muslim Call to Prayer


Obama Recites The Islamic Call To Prayer In Perfect Arabic: The Adhan (أَذَان)

Obama Recites The Islamic Call To Prayer In Perfect Arabic / The Adhan

Muslim Call to Prayer Upsets Sleepy Villagers
THE TELEGRAPH: Sleepy residents of a quiet Cornish valley say their peace and quiet have been shattered by an early morning call to prayer for hundreds of Muslims who gathered in a holiday park for Persian New Year.

Around 700 Iranian Muslims arrived at Trevelgue holiday park, near Porth, on Saturday and have been praised by staff for their courtesy and good behaviour.

But some neighbours say they have grown weary of the party's call to prayer - or Adhan - that has been broadcast on loudspeakers three times daily - starting at 5.30am.

Neighbour Emma Brewer, 35, said the noise was too loud at the venue, better known for family holiday-makers and Run to the Sun car rally revellers than as a place of religious worship.

"It lasts about 20 to 30 minutes and it is rather loud," she said. "I'm a bit naffed off by it, to be honest."

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said that she had complained to the local district council about the noise levels.

"It kicked off without warning," she said. "The first I knew of it I was awake because of it, at 5.34am on Monday morning. I didn't know what it was.

"I phoned the people that deal with noise on the council and the initial response is, 'we have to tread carefully, it's a sensitive issue'.

"I just thought, why, it's just noise. I mentioned to them that the council didn't have a problem silencing church bells." Muslim Call to Prayer Upsets Sleepy Villagers >>>

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Al-Adhan, the Islamic Call to Prayer, “One of the Prettiest Sounds on Earth” at Sunset, According to Barack Hussein Obama, the Wannabee US President
This is the Call to prayer that Obama finds so “pretty”!
Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.” - [Source: The New York Times]

Hat tip: Klein Verzet

Does Obama need his ears syringed, I wonder? Many adjectives could be used to describe this monotonous din, but ‘pretty’ is NOT one of them!

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

The Muezzin Calling the Faithful to Prayer
The Muezzin’s call to prayer, al-Adhan (the ‘dh’ is pronounced as a ‘heavy’ ‘th’ as in ‘thee’) is a particularly mournful drone to sensitive Western ears. It is a most unfortunate din, one feels. Is this what we want in our own towns and villages? Somehow, I doubt it; yet it might well be coming to Oxford very shortly!

Play the following genuine call of the muezzin. I think you will agree that it doesn’t have the happy tones of the peeling of church bells. But then, no one said that the Qur’an was equivalent to ‘the Good News’, or Gospel. On the contrary, the Qur’an is full of doom and gloom; so we shouldn’t be surprised when the call to prayer in Islam also sounds mournful, also sounds as though the muezzin is in agony! Listen here; see what you think:

Al-Adhan
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Coming to a Town Near You Shortly: The Sonorous Sound of the Muezzin’s Call to Prayer - Al Adhan
The Muezzin’s Call to the Faithful to Prayer
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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Has the Anglican Church Taken Leave of Its Senses?
Image of the Muezzin calling the faithful to prayer courtesy of Google Images
What is this bishop thinking about? Doesn’t he realize that Islam is out to destroy the Church? This is an idiotic move! Hat tip to Judah of Judah’s Journal for drawing my attention to this news item:

THE TELEGRAPH: The Bishop of Oxford has supported plans to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer over part of the historic city.

Welcoming proposals from Oxford's Central Mosque to sound the call three times a day over East Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard said those opposed to the plan should "relax" and "enjoy community diversity".

The bishop also rejected claims by the Anglican Church's only Asian bishop that sounding the call in Britain represented an attempt to "impose an Islamic character" on some areas. Oxford bishop backs Islamic call to prayer >>> By Laura Clout

Would YOU want to listen to this DIN five times a day? The Islamic Call to Prayer: Adhan

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)