Call for unifying 'Adhan' by mosques in Kerala

In Abu Dhabi, a system of live broadcasting Adhan from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to all mosques in the emirate was already in place. Such systems could be intiated in Kerala in the long run, said a Muslim leader

With many regions of Kerala having more than one mosque situated close by, the echoing of 'Adhan' - Islamic call for prayer five times a day, often results in inconvenience to the local community. Hence a section of Muslim leaders in Kerala have initiated a discussion on unifying 'Adhan' and restricting its volume.

There are over 7,000 mosques spread across the state of Kerala. In many Muslim dominated regions, especially North Kerala, many mosques are situated close to each other. Even though the two minute long 'Adhan' is performed based on a specific time, there used to be slight variations in the time followed by each mosque. Hence in places where there are a few mosques near each other, 'Adhan' often causes some inconvenience to locals as it is either performed one after another or the call to prayer echoes together.

Kerala Haj Committee chairman C Muhammed Faizy has initiated a fresh discussion on unifying the time of 'Adhan' so as to restrict the sound levels. The discussion was initiated so that the prayer call did not cause any disturbance to local people. Suggestions to have one single 'Adhan' for a region on a rotation basis by the local mosques have also come up.

Mr. Faizy told DH that there were positive reactions from many Muslim leaders about bringing in uniformity to the 'Adhan' and restricting its sound level of 'Adhan' as well as other religious events so that it does not cause any inconvenience to locals. Hopefully, it would be discussed among all Muslim leaders in upcoming meetings, he said.

Panakkad Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal, who heads the Indian Union Muslim League and also the vice president of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, a body of an Sunni Islamic scholars of Kerala, had also earlier shared a similar view.

Saifuddin Haji, a secretary of the Kerala Muslim Jamaath, said it was a very positive initiative by the Muslim leaders as Adhan should not be an inconvenince, especially to students preparing for examinations and aged people or patients.