Fittja Mosque, located in a suburb going by the same name, has been given permission by the police to sound its prayer calls from its minaret. This is a joyous occasion for Muslims living in the area as the prayer calls (the Adhaan) make up a fundamental part of the Muslim Faith. The permission was applied for by the Turkish Islamic Association of the Botkyrka Municipality. This mosque will be the first mosque to do so in all of Sweden. In an increasingly hostile world for the Muslims, this comes as a blessing and extends a hand of friendship towards them.

The Muslim population in Sweden is nearly 574 000, although no official estimates are available. If this is true, then Muslims make up about 6.05% of the total population in Sweden. In a western country, that is a huge number. In Sweden, most major cities have established mosques to facilitate the religious needs of its growing Muslim population. Although most cities do have mosques, to be able to sound the call to prayers using loudspeakers is not something any mosque had the opportunity to do.

Muslims pray five times a day, but the Friday prayer is the Holiest prayer for the Muslims during the week, much like going to the church on Sundays by Roman Catholics. Permission has been given to sound prayers from the loudspeaker, on Friday noon from between 12pm to 1pm, with a prayer call lasting between 3 to 5 minutes. The population of Botkyrka is overwhelmingly Muslim (most of whom are immigrants), and it is no surprise that there is the first Mosque to apply and get permission for the prayer call. There are some strings attached though. The loudspeaker will be placed in places approved by the authorities only, and everyone living within 1 km radius of the mosque must be informed 1 hour beforehand. The decision, moreover, can be appealed to by the local residents if they feel that it is creating a nuisance.

Fittja Mosque is a mosque built in the municipality of Botkyrka, in Stockholm, Sweden. It is built in Turkish style of architecture, and its construction started in 1997. In 2008, it was declared open to the public for use. Owned by the Turkish Islamic Association, its religious teachings are that of Sunni Islam. The minaret stands one of the tallest in Europe at a height of 32.5 m. While a few mosques all over Europe and the USA have been given permission to sound the call to prayer, in Sweden the Fittja Mosque will be the first. It is somewhat understandable that the authorities are being so meticulous about their decisions as this might be the forerunner of the nearly 200 other mosques in Sweden.

Church bells have been in use since 604AD. If no problem has arisen out of that, then none will arise out of the Adhaan.

“I’m really happy and grateful,” is what the chairman of the Islamic Association, Ismail Okur, had to say. These words reflect the feelings of all the Muslims in the area.

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Fascist graffiti on the Le Barp prayer hall in September 2012Sud Ouest reports that a Molotov cocktail has been thrown at Muslim prayer hall at Le Barp in south-west France, which had already suffered three racist graffiti attacks by fascists this year (see here and here).

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The U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. is a prominent place for Friday Prayer (Salat al-Juma’). At first, it may be surprising that a country like the United States, which is sometimes said to be at war with Islam, has arranged for Friday Prayer to be held in its national capitol building. But America is home to people of all faiths, and Islam is respected here the same as in the Muslim world.

Islam mandates that noon-time prayer on Friday should be performed by a congregation of worshippers in a mosque or another suitable facility. This practice is reported by the Muslim source al-Tabari to have begun in Medina, rather than Mecca, and made obligatory by the Prophet Muhammad. In countries with predominantly Muslim populations, communal business can be temporarily suspended during Friday Prayer. Although this is not often the case in America, the importance of Friday Prayer for practicing Muslims is the same.

The growing number of Muslim-Americans also means that Islamic practices are growing in prominence in American society. Professional life in America is fast paced and this can make it difficult for Muslim employees to perform daily prayers due to scheduling conflicts. Increasingly, companies are recognizing the significance of Islamic prayer times, and employees are allowed paid breaks to perform religious duties. In those instances where companies have forbidden employees from these breaks, legal suits have resulted, with the courts invariably supporting the Muslim employees.

The U.S. Government employs more than 1.6 million workers, many of whom are Muslim. In the U.S. Capitol building, which contains the House of Representatives and the Senate that comprise the U.S. federal legislature, Muslim employees began holding Friday Prayer regularly in the 1990s. Today, this is a celebrated event open to everyone in the community.

Islam in American Politics: An advertisement by the Democratic Party.

Like at other locations in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries, I have attended Friday Prayer in the U.S. Capitol. Men and women come from throughout the city to congregate in a central conference room. Some arrive in everyday clothes, others in suits or executive dress attire. When the prayer service begins, the khatib speaks in English and Arabic. Afterwards, many people move into the nearby cafeteria, where they sit and converse with their non-Muslim co-workers and friends. Officially, Islam is now as American as apple pie.

About the author

Ethan Lazuk

Born in Montana in 1989, I attended high school in Phoenix, Arizona, and college at The University of Montana, from which I recently earned a Bachelor's degree in Central and Southwest Asian Studies. I currently live in Washington D.C.
Although American English is my first language, I also have an intermediate/advanced knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic, with some Lebanese and Gulf vocabulary, as well as a basic knowledge of Farsi-Persian. My academic areas of interest include Cultural Anthropology, Islamic Studies, and Environmental and Human Geography. In 2010, I was a summer intern with the Department of Defense, working on Ft. McNair Army Base in the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. Additionally, I have traveled in Istanbul, Turkey, and lived in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.


I am a third-generation American of Polish descent. My great-grandparents fled Eastern Europe during the Bolshevik Revolution and entered the United States through Ellis Island. Today, my parents and sister live in Colorado, where they are surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains. I am also happily married to the love of my life named Dania. Originally from al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia, she came to the United States two years ago as an exchange student. She is a practicing Muslim. But I am a searcher who finds beauty in all religions, and therefore I do not belong to any one religion in particular. But her and I having different religious beliefs has not negatively affected our marriage. In fact, it has brought us closer together. We respectfully embrace our differences, while cherishing our infinite similarities. If being in an inter-faith marriage has taught me one thing, it is that religious differences are not a cause for division, but for collaboration.

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The far right British National Party says it will stage "numerous days of action" over plans to create a new Muslim centre in a Shropshire market town.

Members of the Shropshire branch of the BNP say that they believe the word "mosque" has been deliberately omitted from a recent planning application to convert a former church in Oswestry.

The Oswestry Muslim Society wants to convert a former Presbyterian Church in the town into a Muslim Centre.

North Shropshire organiser of the party Mr Phillip Reddall said: "Our Shropshire branch is planning numerous days of action in Oswestry in the weeks leading up to Christmas. We intend to ensure that local residents are made aware of the plans submitted by Oswestry Muslim Society.

"We will be leafleting the area and speaking to residents and shoppers. We will be encouraging local people to submit objections to these plans via Shropshire Council's online planning register.

"I believe the word 'mosque' has been deliberately omitted from the planning application."

The application, for the building on Oswald Road, which has latterly been used as a furniture store, would include internal alterations.

Creating their own centre would end a 10-year search to find a religious home for the Muslim community in the town. They currently meet at Eastern Oswestry Community Centre for prayers every Friday afternoon and also for major religious festivals such as Ramadan and Eid.

George Miah, chief adviser of Oswestry Muslim Society, said: "For the past 10 years or so we have tried to get a place to worship in the area. It could be a place for sharing viewpoints, cultural differences and understanding people. Our children and female members can get together and invite the community for a cup of tea and to share our views."

The Muslim society has members in Oswestry and Welshpool, St Martins, Llanymynech and Chirk.

Shropshire Council planners hope to determine the bid for the new centre by January 11.

Shropshire Star, 3 December 2012

On its Shropshire Patriot website the BNP urges its supporters to bombard Shropshire Council's planning department with objections to the Oswestry Muslim Society proposal. While stating that the point of its campaign is to resist "the gradual colonisation of Oswestry", the BNP advises that there is "absolutely no point on commenting on religious or ethnic grounds per se" and that "valid comments might include concerns over parking or noise".

Update:   See also "Dismay over BNP's White Tigers defence group plan for Shropshire", Shropshire Star, 3 December 2012

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A pig's head was found on Friday at the PalaSharp Arena in Milan where the local Islamic community holds weekly prayers. The head was found by delegates of the civil protection agency in an area close to where ceremonies are held every Friday.

PalaSharp is an indoor arena, located in the northern Italian city of Milan. It has a seating capacity of almost 9,000 and is also used for concerts and sporting events.

Local authorities have vigorously condemned the incident. Vice-Mayor Maria Grazia Guida called it "intolerable". "It is light years away from this city of dialogue, of tolerance we are building," she said. The matter is being closely followed by police.

ANSA, 23 November 2012

See also La Repubblica, 23 November 2012

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The word seemingly came out of the blue:

Choral director Jeffrey Cobb told his singers and orchestra – roughly 180 local adults and teens drawn from college, a high school, and churches – that a pastor barred an Islamic prayer from the piece they planned to sing.

Their concert was to be performed the next day, on Veterans Day, at First Congregational Church in Traverse City for the annual Mel Larimer Concert Series. 

Pastor David Walls and other church officials wanted nothing to do with the Islamic Call to Prayers portion of the performance. They did not want to offend their congregation and military veterans they planned to honor that day, church leaders said.

A shock wave rippled through the choir during their tune-up at the church, and no one took the jolt harder than Alya Nadji, 16, a Muslim and member of the Traverse City West High School Chorale.

Alya tried to keep singing, but couldn't compose herself. She ran to the bathroom sobbing. She sent a text message to her parents and asked them what she should do. They decided she should leave the rehearsal.

"I felt like I wasn't being treated equal ... I felt that I was unwelcome and that I didn't belong any place near there," said Alya, a junior, who wears a head scarf in the Islamic tradition.

The church's decision to ban the prayer sparked protest by choir and community members. Northwestern Michigan College officials held an impromptu meeting hours before Sunday's concert and said the college would withdraw as an official supporter of the Larimer event.

Walls, First Congregational's senior minister, said he and other church leaders rejected the prayer because they did not want to offend audience members.

"We were concerned that there was potential that some of our active military personnel, military families with sons or daughters in Iraq, who have even lost their lives there, would find it much too hard to handle," he said.

"A prayer in Arabic, addressed to Allah, with references to Muhammad for an event that was intended to honor veterans," Walls said.

Traverse City Record-Eagle, 16 November 2012

Northwestern Michigan College issued an admirably firm statement condemning the decision and announcing that it planned to hold a special presentation of the mass including the excluded Adhaan section. Unfortunately, the college administration has had second thoughts. See "NMC reverses plans to hold choral performance", Traverse City Record-Eagle, 18 November 2012

The piece that was censored, The Armed Man, is by the Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, who was once a member of the jazz-rock group Soft Machine.

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HAYWARD — Four teenagers who police say threw lemons at a local mosque and struck at least one person inside have been arrested on suspicion of vandalism that interferes with civil rights.

It was the fourth time vandals targeted the Hayward mosque during the last eight months, police said.

At about 10 a.m. Friday about 40 congregants had gathered inside the American Muslim Association, at 26320 Gading Road when four male teenagers threw lemons at the building and then ran, said Hayward Police Lt. Roger Keener. At least one person was hit in the arm.

Officers determined four Hayward males, ages 13 to 16 were responsible for the attack, Keener said. The teens were arrested on suspicion of defacing property "interfering with the civil rights of those attending the mosque."

"We've had an ongoing issue of local juveniles harassing some of the mosque's attendees during prayer time," Keener said.

Gading Road is known as Hayward's "church row" because it is home to many places of worship, but the mosque was the only one targeted Friday.

Mercury News, 9 August 2012

See also "4 teens arrested for hate crimes against mosque", ABC, 9 August 2012

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In this Episode, Chris speaks with Walaa about the basics of Islamic prayers. He asks her the number of times, the reasons for prayer, praying in mosques, and some of the movements performed in Muslim prayer.

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After the French Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem has decided to play very loud music, in defiance of the volume and disturbance of the sound of the muezzin at the mosque in nearby Al-Issawiya, two additional Jewish neighborhoods, Pisgat Ze'ev and Har Choma, have announced that they, too, will take up a similar approach. French Hill also decided to go with hard rock, and not Mediterranean tunes, as had originally been planned, because, as they put it, hard rock is more likely to deliver the message.

According to Yediot Jerusalem, the French Hill neighborhood has recently approached an amplification company with an order for four huge speakers to be directed at Al-Isawiya. As soon as the village muezzin will start his exceedingly loud prayer, it will be responded to with ear shattering Rock n' Roll, letting local Arabs understand how disturbing the loud prayers have been to their Jewish neighbors.

Har Choma and Pisgat Ze’ev residents are waiting to see the results from the French Hill "pilot." If the protest via rock blasts succeeds, the other two neighborhoods, situated on the border of the Jerusalem municipality, will follow suit.

Jewish Press, 16 July 2012

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The Town Hall last night (Wednesday) backed down on plans to deduct five minutes worth of pay every time one of its Muslim employees takes a quick break to pray. Children's department chief Councillor Nash Ali said yesterday that he has asked for the deductions to be stopped after the council's biggest union cried foul.

The move followed a dispute brought by Camden Unison, which claimed the worker concerned – in the play service – was effectively being penalised for his religious beliefs. Camden is adamant that the case was not rooted in any religious prejudice and that the tone of the union's claims, published on its web site, had been "inflammatory".

The member of staff, who has not been identified by Unison, has worked for the council for 10 years. His breaks to pray were likened to the way smokers are permitted time for cigarettes without their salary being docked.

John Shepherd, a union co-convenor in the children, schools and families department, said the man involved had "prayed at work once a day for around five years". He added: "Prayers take around five minutes. A few weeks ago, he was told he would now have five minutes of his salary deducted each day he prays. Unison immediately took up the case, pointing out the obvious discrepancy between this treatment and the treatment of other members of staff who smoke, for example, or maybe go to the toilet more often than other workers.

"In these instances managers do not monitor where staff are every second of the day and make minuscule pay deductions. So why should a Muslim worker be treated any differently? We argued that doing so is likely to be an unlawful deduction of wages and a potential breach of the Equality Act on the basis of the protected characteristic of religious belief."

The union said it had not heard any movement on its complaint for several weeks before going public with its online article, which prompted New Journal queries to the council.

Cllr Ali said: "I have asked for the deductions to be stopped. We do not wish to see small deductions from salaries for small periods of time to pray and I have sought confirmation that arrangements are in place for any employee who wishes to pray during the working day to do so, while making up any missed time at a later date."

He added: "The member of staff concerned is employed in a specific role where, under Ofsted guidance, there is a requirement for a fixed staff-to-child ratio to ensure the children and young people in our care are safe. As a responsible employer, the council is as accommodating as possible to any employee wishing to observe their religion and discussions are in progress to find a mutually agreeable solution."

Camden New Journal, 31 May 2012

You can consult Camden UNISON's "inflammatory" statement on the case here.

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Having succeeded in convincing the AFL [Australian Football League] to introduce prayer rooms at all venues, Bachar Houli was unfazed last night by a stinging backlash sparked by former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, who called the idea "stupid" and "political correctness gone mad".

Football fans took to websites to condemn and ridicule the move, but at his home in Melbourne the AFL's first Muslim player told The Australian: "The main thing is we've got what we want, and you can't change that. At the end of the day, people want to go and enjoy the footy as well as continue with their beliefs, and if it means they have to pray once a day at the footy, we're not asking for much."

Mr Kennett said the move was "ridiculous" and complained that political correctness had replaced "the great days" of football, when there were few stands, mud on the ground, meat pies sold for sixpence and fans braved "the smell of the urinal".

Describing Australia as "a Christian society of many faiths", the former Liberal premier and former Hawthorn club president said communities should not have to change their "very fibre" to accommodate multiculturalism.

"To put prayer rooms into sporting venues is not part of the Australian lexicon, it's not the way in which we've behaved," he said. "I think it's an overreaction, I think it's political correctness, I think it's absolute rubbish. It's not practical, it's stupid, it's political correctness gone mad."

Houli, who plays at Richmond, where he prays before and after games, pressed for prayer rooms to be introduced at grounds in his capacity as the league's multicultural ambassador. He said devout Muslims, who pray five times a day, were forced to pray in carparks or stairwells during games, and said more Muslims would come to the football if they had a place to pray.

Multi-faith prayer rooms have been introduced at the MCG and Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, and Sydney's ANZ Stadium. The AFL intends to press for prayer rooms at all other venues, including the SCG.

The Australian, 20 April 2012

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