Mosque loudspeakers

Mosque loudspeakers

From Republika

I used to visit mosques all over the country, especially the ancient ones, where I loved to perform my prayers. My attraction to mosques is their beauty and grandeur, also their miraculous ability to create inner peace.

That was then. Now I feel distant from mosques. It does not mean I have given up saying my prayers, but I prefer performing them at home, especially the evening prayers during Ramadhan, when I have to cover my ears from the noise of the mosques in my neighborhood.

I know this is an improper thing to do for a faithful Moslem, but I cannot deceive my conscience either. For me, the mosques have become so noisy thanks to the use of loudspeakers. The mosques now seem to compete with each other for the highest noise level.

Imagine a neighborhood with 10 big and small mosques switching on their loudspeakers to call Moslems to prayer every day. Every night I can only get to sleep after daybreak, when the loudspeakers go silent after 10 hours of continuous use from dusk to dawn.

Oh, God, who can I complain to? Did you not once say, "Lower your voice when calling Me?"

A Faithful Moslem

in Depok