Listen to Radio Islam Masaajid of the Suburbs aired on Ramadan 2020
Written in March 2014
I went to the Nizamiye Masjid on human rights day. The South African flag flying. A beautiful masjid and a tourist attraction.The biggest masjid in the Southern Hemisphere. I was standing right out side the masjid and I missed the prayer. A major sin. Why did I miss the prayer? The Azan is not allowed in this area. It is called noise. I wonder how many more people must be missing salaah on time because there is no call to prayer. Especially those standing next to masjid or driving pass a masjid. While in some areas of South Africa you can hear the call to prayer, others have banned it completely. Why have our muslim leaders sold us out with the “Ja Baas” mentality and agreed to receivers in houses. What about those driving pass the masjid and not in their houses. What about the poor muslims that can’t afford receivers which cost about R750. There are many benefits that we are missing out on without the call to prayer.
Just try and build a masjid in certain areas in South Africa and you will feel you are back in apartheid. There is no religious tolerance at all. Why are we not allowed to have call to prayer, yet in these same areas the church bells are allowed, school sirens go on incessantly through out the day, let us not forget that off tune ice cream truck that has free reign in these areas. Dogs barking at all hours of the day night have more freedom of speech. I wonder if they will be banning the rooster crowing in the morning next.
Surely we can come to common ground regarding the call to prayer and building masjids in these area. By now this specific party where these masjid issues are the norm should have a set framework to be followed when building masjids in their wards. The muslim leaders should have a guideline on how to build masjids in these DAmaal zones. We complain and send our concerns but it goes to deaf ears from our Muslim leaders till the ward councillors. We are bartering a very high price and numerous benefits of the adhaan are being lost.
We don’t want the adhaan/call to prayer to be a nuisance but we want the opportunity for it to be called out especially during the daytime hours and sunset prayer at school siren levels when most of the people who need to use the masjid are driving pass. What we want is for the call to prayer to be respected and not be referred to as noise. The sound level can be noisy but please stop calling the call to prayer noise. We understand that there are certain sound regulations that should also be respected. Muslims have wasted lots of money at high court appeals to ensure we get masjids built in certain areas and spent lots of money to ensure they have receivers in their homes to hear the adhaan.
Why does it have to be like this? Why do we have to feel so unwelcome when all we want to do is just pray in peace.
Masjid Documentary by Ebrahim Moosa
Masjid Disputes
Here are list of articles where there is an issue regarding azan or building a masjid in certain area. If you look closely a certain party ward is common in most of these areas where there is alway DAmaal.
Nizamiye – Midrand Mosque divides community
Valhalla – CDP objects to Tshwane building masjid in Valhalla
Valhalla – Comments from Valhalla ward councillor
Full document for Valhalla Masjid
Malvern Queensburg – KZN – Pigs head at mosque
Emahlahleni – mosque row ends in appeal court
Buccleuch masjid – Mosque construction dispute
Buccleuch masjid objection letter – minarets are being objected against yet Cell C was allowed to build higher structures .
Buccleuch Masjid settled out of court
DA councillor objecting to masjid in Buccleuch
Riverlea Athaan – stop call athaan on loudspeaker
Wendywood – residents moan about mosque
These are some that I could find.
Please add your issue in the survey below, especially regarding the adhaan and building masjid in your area.
So I tweeted Hellen Zille to ask her why in certain wards we are no allowed the call to prayer
Benefits of Adhaan
The prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said
Salaah on time
Hadrat Abdullah Ibn Masud (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he enquired of the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) what was the best deed in the sight of Allah. The Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) replied, “To say prescribed prayers at stated hours.”
Salaah in congregation
Ibn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “Salat in congregation is twenty-seven times more meritorious than a Salat performed individually.”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
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