Samaa Kabbar, The Circle
On Sunday May 2nd, the Islamic Centre of Cambridge (ICC) became the first mosque in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region’s history to broadcast the athan (calls to prayer) over loudspeakers outside. According to the Cambridge By-Law No. 32- 04, the Municipal Council of the Corporation of the City of Cambridge has deemed that no person shall ring bells, blow horns, shout, make or permit unusual noises, or noises likely to disturb the inhabitants of the municipality. This, by default, has included the projection of the athan, but on May 1st, 2020, the ICC was given permission by the city to broadcast the athan for the duration of Ramadan.
Mosques all over Ontario have begun in the past several days to broadcast their athans over loud speakers that can be heard outside of the mosques. Reactions towards this have been mixed. There are members of the community who think that it is great move to not only support the Muslim community, but also that it serves as a peaceful sound to all those who can hear it. Other community members, however, have different opinions about it.
Ravi Hooda, a realtor and school council chair for the Macville Public School in Bolton City, tweeted in opposition to the athan being broadcasted in Brampton. It read: “What’s next? Separate lanes for camel & goat riders, allowing slaughter of animals at home in the name of sacrifice, bylaw requiring all women to cover themselves from head to toe in tents to appease the piece fools for votes.” He had received much backlash for his comments and was terminated from his position working for RE/MAX and was also removed from the school council. When speaking to CBC News about the affair, he said that his words were not out of animosity towards any ethnic or religious groups, but that his point was that “we shouldn’t be going back to the times where such means of communication was necessary”.
Not only was his tweet Islamophobic, but it drawed upon many stereotypes that Muslims face. It is evident that he attempted to base his xenophobia on the fact that the athan is a phenomena that should be best left in the past due to it being unnecessary nowadays. Technology has now been the most common way for people to keep track of their prayers and get to hear the call to prayer when the time comes.
