Dutch mosque plans to use loudspeakers to blast call to prayer

The Blue Mosque in Amsterdam Nieuw-West is looking to boost its weekly Adhan (call to prayer) by blasting loudspeakers over the neighborhood.

While there are a few mosques in Netherlands that already practice this, the Blauwe Moskee shall be the first in Amsterdam.

Imam Yassin Elforkani told the news publication, Het Parool, that a neighborhood meeting is being organized on Sunday by the mosque’s board to discuss this.

“We do not want to provoke with this, but try to normalize Islamic traditions. Because of international terrorism, people still associate ‘Allāhu akbar’ with violence or misery, while many visitors to our mosque experience it as something meditative.

The Adhan can contribute to the fact that Islam is finally seen as something normal in the Netherlands,” said the imam.

Like churches are allowed to toll their bells, mosques are allowed to blast their loudspeakers to make an amplified call to prayer at certain times of the day. While the municipality cannot prohibit this practice, it can set rules on volume and duration.

However, according to Parool, Amsterdam may be making attempts to discourage the use of loudspeakers by mosques for their Adhan. However, Imam Elforkani is optimistic that “Amsterdam is a tolerant city” and the loudspeakers will only result in a discussion and no other further problems.