Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, announced on August 29, that mosques will be able to call Muslims to prayer every Friday and at Iftar during Ramadan.
In the presence of leaders of the Muslim community in New York, Adams stated that “today, we are cutting red tape and saying clearly if you are a mosque or a house of worship of any kind, you do not have to apply for a permit to amplify your call to Friday prayer.”
Stressing that New York’s Muslims are free to practice their faith, The Democratic mayor noted that Islam is an important part of New York’s culture and that mosques have been of great help in countering crime and illegal immigration.
With this initiative, which, according to the mayor, should promote inclusion in the city, New York is following in the footsteps of other American cities, such as Minneapolis in the State of Minnesota.
In April, and a historic initiative, Minneapolis became the first major city in the US to allow mosques to broadcast the call to prayer via loudspeakers at any time.
The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a resolution amending the city’s noise ordinance, which had prevented Fajr and Ishaa’s calls of prayer during certain periods of the year.
