The New Nation - Internet Edition

Zainab Hemani

A huge controversy has developed over the new Oxford Central Mosque's application for permission from the local council to make a call to prayer (adhan) three times a day. The adhan would be transmitted from the minaret of the mosque through the loudspeakers.

The area seems to be divided with half the people accepting this whilst the other half protesting against it. Chair of the interfaith relations committee at the Muslim Council of Britain, Imam Ibrahim Mogra, told The Muslim News that many cities allowed the prayer call as it took place during "sociable hours." Among these cities, he mentioned Bradford, Blackburn, Manchester, Bolton, Coventry and Birmingham. He also said that people soon adapted to the Arabic call to prayer.

Amongst those supporting this scheme is the Bishop of Oxford, Rt Rev John Pritchard. He remarked, "I believe we have good relationships with the Muslim community here in Oxford and I am personally very happy for the mosque to call the faithful to prayer. Faith is a very important factor in the lives of 80 per cent of the world's population and a public expression of that faith is both natural and reasonable. I would say to anyone who has concerns about the call to prayer to relax and enjoy our community diversity and be as respectful to others as you would hope they would be respectful to you." These remarks outraged some of the locals in Oxford who sent him several death threats and messages to retire.

However, this did not deter the Bishop, who added, "I want to distance myself from what the Bishop of Rochester has said," after the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, criticised the adhan being transmitted and suggested that some parts of the country were now too dangerous for non-Muslims to go to.

Charlie Cleverly, the Rector of St Aldates Church, told The Muslim News, "We are genuinely delighted that Muslims have come to live in Oxford and they have freedom to exercise their faith (which incidentally is not the case for Christians in Muslim countries). But we feel that the prayer call could be seen as an imposition on the community and that it is unwise to push for it in the present climate. We look to Muslims to integrate with English society and to do so without imposing this sound on our cities. We know that the prayer call already goes out over a radio system for those who want it. We look forward to peaceful integration and friendships growing and believe it would be wiser and more good neighbourly for Muslims in England to drop this request." While a member of the Church of God of Prophecy in Oxford, said he didn't agree with the application, he refused to disclose why.

Dr Allan Chapman, a member of Oxford University's Faculty of History, who lives near the mosque, called it an action to "torment and torture"' non-Muslims. "It's not a matter of people's right to religious freedom, it's about making Islam the religion of public space - getting into people's houses and work places. If this is granted it will show that

Muslims have the upper hand in a Christian country. The letters we have had in from all over the country about this have moved from a scale of stiff upper lip outrage to murderous fury. We see an element of Islamic dictatorship being introduced and an aggressive minority trying to seize the middle ground," he argued.

The Muslim News spoke to Altaf Husain, secretary of the mosque who said that the mosque accepts that due process was not followed at the start which would have been to first consult the neighborhood on the matter before making the application. However, "it was not true that there has been a conflict between the mosque and the local community on the matter."

He said that the uproar and protests were "merely the media's creation" and "had no basis." Husain did add that there were some locals who had made statements to the media, but that "no one had come to the mosque to ask for information regarding the matter." He said, "The application will not go through until consultation with the neighborhood takes place. We will inform them, get feedback and if the majority decides that it will be a nuisance, then we will not go ahead with it. We are getting a small questionnaire and information pack ready to distribute to the locals. I believe that it is within our rights as citizens of the country to be allowed to recite the call to prayer."