Kerala mosques say no to use of loudspeakers
- Mosques in Malappuram have cut down on loudspeaker use during Azan.
- They have agreed upon a single Azan calling from the biggest mosque, followed by the others without using speakers.
- The decision was in response to the public opinion that indiscriminate use of loudspeakers had a negative effect on nearby schools, merchants and even public meetings of various organisations and that it should be stopped.
FollowIn this age of positive activism toward noise pollution control, religious entities are not lagging behind. For instance, the mosques in Malappuram are leading their way in contributing to noise controlling in their own small way. The authorities of 17 mosques at Vazhakkad have come together to reduce the usage of loudspeakers. They have agreed that there will only be a single azan, which is the call for prayer five times a day. All the 17 mosques in the region have signed an agreement to keep the practice intact.Â
It is noteworthy that all the warring sections of Islam have also agreed to the decision and have stopped the use of loudspeakers since last Sunday. The sections involved include two factions of Sunni and Mujahid (Salafi), Jamate Islami and Tableeg Jamath.
As per the agreement, the single Azan will be called by the biggest mosque in the area Valiya Juma Masjid and the rest of the mosques will just follow suit without using loudspeakers. Besides integrating the Azan five times a day, the use of loudspeakers for all other religious programmes have also stopped.Â
President of the council, T. P Abdul Azeez said, "The decision was in response to the public opinion that indiscriminate use of  loudspeakers had a negative effect on nearby schools, merchants and even public meetings of various organisations and that it should be stopped." The decision was put in place after several rounds of discussions between various factions. Apart from that, a 5-member panel has also been constituted to unify the timing of Azaan of all the mosques.Â
The panel is likely to meet the leaders of all the Muslim groups and Pnnakad Hyderali Shihab Thangal to decide on a given time of the Azan. Azeez, speaking to Deccan Chronicle, further added, "We have already met Sayed Naser Hay, the chief Qazi of Kozhikode,  seeking directions on this and he has sought some time to make up his mind." In fact, this is the first move after Muslim League supremo Hyderali Thangal requested all the mosque authorities to curb the  use of loudspeakers in 2015. He had mentioned that the loudspeaker in the mosques should not be a nuisance to the students and those engaged in work.Â
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