Minneapolis becomes first major American city to allow broadcast of five Muslim calls to prayer

Minneapolis will allow broadcasts of the Muslim call to prayer at any hour, becoming the first major U.S. city to allow the announcement, or “adhan,” to be heard through loudspeakers five times a day, year-round.

The Minneapolis City Council unanimously agreed on Thursday to change the city’s noise ordinance. Minneapolis Star Stand reported.

The vote came during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. “The Constitution is not sleeping,” Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said after the vote.

He said the action in Minneapolis shows the world that a “nation based on freedom of religion is keeping its promise.”

Muslim worshipers gather at Huntington Bank Stadium during Eid al-Adha prayers and festivities in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2021 file photo)

Wali Dirie, executive director of the Islamic Civic Society of America’s Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque, opens rooftop loudspeakers used to publicly broadcast the Islamic call to prayer

Minneapolis has had a thriving population of East African immigrants since at least the 1990s, and mosques are now commonplace. Three of the council’s 13 members, Aisha Chughtai, Jeremiah Ellison and Jamal Osman, identify as Muslim.

The decision drew no resistance from the organized community. Mayor Jacob Frey is expected to sign the measure next week.

“Minneapolis has become a city for all religions,” said Imam Mohammed Dukuly of Minneapolis’ Masjid An-Nur Mosque, who was one of several Muslim leaders who witnessed the vote.

Three years ago, city officials teamed up with the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque to broadcast the adhan outside five times a day during Ramadan.

Prayers are said when the light appears at dawn, midday, mid to late afternoon, at sunset, and when the night sky appears.

Imam Sheik Bashir Osman leads a prayer at the Tawfiq Islamic Center in Minneapolis

The move to allow the prayers to be broadcast is seen as a victory for the city’s burgeoning population of East African immigrants, many of whom are Muslim

It follows a unanimous vote by the city council to change the city’s noise ordinance after previously preventing morning and evening calls. Pictured are Muslim worshipers gathering at Huntington Bank Stadium during Eid al-Adha prayer

In Minnesota, summer dawn arrives as early as 5:30 a.m., while sunset at the solstice occurs after 9 p.m.

The city allowed broadcasts year-round last year, but only between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. — usually excluding early morning prayers and sometimes night prayers.

Ellison, Chughtai, and Osman noted that previous attempts to expand the adhan felt like asking permission, as opposed to exercising a right that other religions enjoy.

At a recent public hearing, Christian and Jewish leaders expressed support for extending the hours for the adhan.

Councilwoman Lisa Goodman, who celebrated the last day of Passover on Thursday, said the Jewish call to prayer — which is generally spoken rather than broadcast — has no legal restrictions.

Observers said church bells ring regularly for Christians.

“It’s something I grew up with, but not my kids,” said Councilman Jamal Osman, adding that hearing the call to prayer from local mosques brings him joy.

Muslim worshipers gather at Huntington Bank Stadium during Eid al-Adha prayers and festivities on July 20, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota

A sign is displayed outside the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque in Minneapolis before the midday prayers known as adhan during the celebration of Ramadan in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Loudspeakers mounted on the roof of the building broadcast the prayer throughout the neighborhood