Minneapolis to allow Muslim call to prayer at all hours

Minneapolis officials have approved loudspeaker broadcasts of the Muslim call to prayer at all times – making it the first major American city to do so.

The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday unanimously agreed to amend the city’s noise ordinance, allowing the “adhan” — Arabic for “announcement”–to sound five times a day, year-round.

The prayers had previously been broadcast three times a day there before, but the ordinance prevented dawn and late evening calls at certain times of the year due to noise restrictions.

The vote came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and the decision drew no organized community opposition. Mayor Jacob Frey is expected to sign the measure next week.

“The Constitution doesn’t sleep at night,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, after the vote.

He said the decision shows the world that a “nation founded on freedom of religion makes good on its promise.”

Minneapolis has had a flourishing East African immigrants population since at least the 1990s, and mosques there are common. Three of 13 members of the council identify as Muslim.

With Post wires.