Tuesday April 18, 2023
By Kiya Edwards
MINNEAPOLIS — With the stroke of a pen, the more than 20 mosques throughout Minneapolis are now allowed to publicly broadcast the Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, five times per day throughout the year.
Mayor Jacob Frey officially signed the new ordinance Monday at Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood following a unanimous city council vote Thursday, amending what constitutes a noise violation in the city's Code of Ordinances.
"Just like church bells or the ringing of the shofar, they are all important to our religions," Mayor Frey said. "They can all be heard."
Established in 1998, Dar Al-Hijrah is the city's first Somali-operated mosque. In 2020, it received a city permit to publicly broadcast the call to prayer five times per day, but only during the month of Ramadan. Otherwise, calls went out three to four times per day.
"As one of the three Muslim members on the city council and the first Muslim woman on the council, I'm really thankful that members of my family and my community can hear the Adhan," Ward 10 Council Member Aisha Chughtai said at the mayor's signing.
Leaders say Minneapolis is now the first major U.S. city to allow the broadcast of all five daily prayers.
"Today is a historic day for our city, for our state and also our nation," said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN. "I met a woman who was standing outside … she never believed that there would be a day that she could hear the call to prayer and did not have to leave the country — United States — to be able to do that. That and many stories like that have inspired us all to be here today."
"It was something that I had to really appreciate and remember," Ward 6 Council Member Jamal Osman said. "Also, my children."
The time of the call to prayer changes each day, depending on the sun. Monday, for example, the first prayer began just before 5 a.m. and the last will be just before 9:30 p.m. Each call may last no longer than six minutes per hour and no more than 60 minutes per 24 hours.