Muslim Call To Prayer Will Be Freely Heard In NYC, Mayor Says

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Story by Matt Troutman •2h​

Muslims worshipers attend Friday Maghrib prayers during Ramadan at the Masjid Ar-Rahman mosque in Queens Village on April 23, 2021.© Ron Adar/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

NEW YORK CITY — The melodious, worshipful Muslim call to prayer soon will be freely heard throughout New York City, officials said.

Mosques and masjids will be allowed to amplify their calls to prayer during set hours on Fridays and through Ramadan without an NYPD permit, Mayor Eric Adams said.

Adams said during a Tuesday event that the new guidance will clear up confusion and outright religious discrimination about which communities can transmit their calls to prayer. He noted that church bells can be freely heard through the city.

"You are free to worship in New York City," he told Muslim city dwellers."

New York City was home to nearly 769,000 Muslims as of 2016, according to a study by Muslims For American Progress.

But people of Islamic faith have often faced discrimination in the city, particularly in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks when the NYPD began surveilling Muslim communities.

NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban didn't acknowledge this controversial past, but said the rights of every New Yorker must be protected.

"Today, we affirmed that we do not merely tolerate freedom of religion in our city," he said. "We celebrated it, we embraced our civic virtue and the strength of our differences."

The new rules will allow Muslim houses of worship to broadcast the call to pray — adhan — every Friday between 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., as well as during sunset every evening during Ramadan.

The volume must be kept at a reasonable level and in accordance with the city's noise code, officials said.