Minneapolis Becomes First Major City to Allow Broadcast of Five Daily Calls to Prayer

This Ramadan, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey made history by changing the city’s noise ordinance so that the Muslim call to prayer, or adhan, can be broadcast by the mosques’ speakers at any time of day. 

Mayor Frey signed an updated noise ordinance that will allow any religious song to be played at any time of the day, which includes church bells or synagogues blowing the shofar horn. 

“This sends a strong message about freedom of religion, inclusivity and that all people, regardless of their religion or background are welcomed and embraced in Minneapolis,” said Frey, who is himself Jewish. 

This historic moment took place inside the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center and was attended by local Islamic, Christian and Jewish leaders as well as city council members. 

Minneapolis is the first and only U.S. city that has amended its noise ordinance to accommodate religious sounds. Although, in Astoria, New York a Muslim woman has obtained a permit to allow the call to be played. 

Previously, the city’s noise ordinance only allowed religious sounds to be played between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. 

Out of the nearly 4 million Muslims who call the United States home, 140,000 reside in Minnesota. The Minneapolis neighborhood where the mosque is located, Cedar-Riverside, is heavily populated by East African immigrants. Minnesota is represented by one of the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress, Somali immigrant, Ilhan Omar as well as Muslim convert, Keith Ellison who was the first Muslim in Congress. He is currently the state’s Attorney General. 

“A part of saying we care about you, a part of saying we love you is saying you can be the person who you are, you can be the community that you are and that is the ability to freely practice your religion,” said Frey. 

Religious leaders say they are prepared for possible noise complaints from the surrounding community, "If we get complaints, we want to listen," said Imam Sharif Mohamed of Dar Al-Hijrah. 

The only mosque in Occoquan, Virginia was just given special permission this week to publicly broadcast a call to prayer during Ramadan. Muslims from neighboring cities came to hear the call, with many never experiencing public adhan in the U.S. This year Ramadan, Passover and Good Friday overlapped, leading the town’s mayor to ask the local Islamic leaders to broadcast the call as an educational opportunity. 

Muslim prayer times vary based on the location and the position of the sun in the sky, which changes the times throughout the year. The adhan includes Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (midday), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), and Isha (night). It serves as a reminder to Muslims to pause their daily activities and perform their obligatory prayers. 

For example, during the summer the first call might be as early as 3:30 a.m. and the final call at 11 p.m. The first call is sounded when the sun meets the eastern sky, which is generally closer to 5 a.m. 

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