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And, despite the fact that these constant calls are "alienating" tourists (i.e., income), "secular" Muslims are hesitant about speaking out, lest a ridda-inspired jihad comes to their doorsteps. "Uproar over loud prayer calls in Muslim Morocco," by Alfred de Montesquiou, for AP, August 9:
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — The muezzins' calls echo well before daybreak, summoning the Muslim faithful to daily prayers and reminding foreign tourists in the Moroccan capital how far they are from home.Not to mention the simply faithful -- irrespective of their economic, social, or educational status.But the rising decibel level is deepening fault lines between a government drive to modernize and a wave of rigorous political Islam.
Morocco, a country of 33 million people, gets more than 7 million tourists a year. And there are worries that some may be put off by the five heavily amplified calls a day, each lasting five minutes, to "hasten to the prayer, hasten to the prayer."
Muslim purists counter that authorities are compromising religion to please Westerners and the country's liberal elite.
The frictions are happening in a country that is considered moderate on matters of religion and is a U.S. ally and at a time when there are fears that al-Qaida is establishing itself in North Africa.[...]
Earlier this year Annie Laforet, a Frenchwoman, was blamed for the closure of a mosque next to the luxury guest house she runs in the old town, or medina, of picturesque Marrakech. The claim, which Laforet denied, caused outrage in the local press, and Laforet says she received death threats on Islamist Web sites.
Local authorities backed her denial and then reopened the mosque, from which the prayer call now blares every morning about 4:30 a.m., and then again an hour later.
"It's a bit loud, but it's fine," Laforet said. "Tourists know it's part of living in the medina."
Still, Mohammed Darif, a Moroccan political scientist and expert on Islamism, says hard-liners increasingly are depicting the tourist influx as a threat to Muslim values.
The wealthy may support the government's pro-Western and liberal values, he said. "But the Morocco of poverty, backward countryside and urban slums is increasingly averse to tourism and the internationalized elite."[...]
Islam is the state religion in Morocco and the king is the "Commander of the Believers." The state trains and appoints all imams, but tends to avoid dictating standards of public behavior.Criticizing any form of Islamic practice is difficult in the Arab world because no Muslim wants to stand accused of being irreligious, Roy said.
Or, more precisely, no Muslim wants to be accused of apostasy, thereby risking death.
Posted by Raymond at August 9, 2008 4:53 PM
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I don't suppose email messages or cellphone calls or text messages could call the faithful to prayer?
I also suppose using a clock would be too "decadent"?
Posted by: tanstaafl![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at August 9, 2008 5:40 PM
Just do what I do - never enter a Muslim country in the first place. Now if we could just keep the Muslims from entering ours....
Posted by: BunrattyBill at August 9, 2008 5:52 PM
And between the lines we get the typical suggestions that poverty and despair give rise to militancy and all that is needed is for muslims to be rich and prosperous for them to be pro-Western and against violent jihad.
And no mention of what the sentiments of the poorer, rural areas in Morocco, among the Amazigh tribesmen of Atlas and Rif mountains who don't speak Arabic and keep their culture alive and, in some cases, are looking to become atheist or Christian. I doubt if anyone who remarked in tourism ever even looked to these mountain areas to make note of the social attitudes of the people their and compare them to those in the cities and the slums of the more *modern* Arab areas. In fact, I believe tourists have even commented aobut how much more generally amicable, civilized and respectful towards tourists the Amazigh in the mountains are, (as well as the natives of the Sahara desert), not to mention how much more interesting their culture is relative to the Arabized city dwellers. And even comparing for example, the social conditions and the accomplishments of the Moroccan and Algerian immmigrants of Amazigh origin, esp Kabyles and Riffians, with the Arabs would probably shock many people who aren't aware of what total Arabization can do.
Posted by: maxwell46&2 at August 9, 2008 6:03 PM
this is one of the reasons you do not want Muslim minarets built in your neighborhood...if you allow them to be built...this is the problem you will encounter...sooner or later.
Posted by: exsgtbrown at August 9, 2008 6:26 PM
Amplification is bid'ah; who has ever heard of Muhammed(pbuh) using it? These murtadd's should not be associating the adhan with it. They have insulted Islam!
pbuh = puts buggers up heinie.
at August 9, 2008 6:27 PM
Still, Mohammed Darif, a Moroccan political scientist and expert on Islamism, says hard-liners increasingly are depicting the tourist influx as a threat to Muslim values.
-from the article
Fine. Non-Muslim tourists will take their business elsewhere. We wouldn't want to threaten Muslim values. Please don't think this makes you eligible for Western aid. None of us deprived you of your ability to make a living.
Once again, the ball is in the court of the nowhere-to-be-found-when-there's-work-to-be-done "moderates".
Posted by: PMK at August 9, 2008 6:51 PM
all these pro-western governments in muslim lands are ready to fall. they just don't know yet.
Posted by: theygottago at August 9, 2008 8:05 PM
"Earlier this year Annie Laforet, a Frenchwoman, was blamed for the closure of a mosque next to the luxury guest house she runs in the old town, or medina, of picturesque Marrakech. The claim, which Laforet denied, caused outrage in the local press, and Laforet says she received death threats on Islamist Web sites.
Local authorities backed her denial and then reopened the mosque, from which the prayer call now blares every morning about 4:30 a.m., and then again an hour later.
'It's a bit loud, but it's fine,' Laforet said. 'Tourists know it's part of living in the medina.'"
-- from the article above
Poor Annie Laforet. Of course it's not fine. It's horrible. To be awakened by a muezzin's amplified wail at 4:30, and then again, like one of those alarm clocks that goes off, and then goes off again after a pre-set interval to make sure you get up, is not tolerable. I wouldn't tolerate it. Would you?
Couleur locale can only go so far. The attraction of a hideous place like Morocco (puzzles me. I saw with my own eyes how it is, with the locals constantly trying to cheat you, at the souk, on the street, everywhere, the loudness of life, the hysteria of street scenes, and if anything should happen to you in an encounter with an official, god save you, and if there is a medical emergency, or a car accident, or something of the sort, your chances are slim. Don't go. It's awful. You are a non-Muslim. You are a target for every sort of wile, every sort of attempt to separate you from more of your allowance. There is a whole wide world out there. Why torture yourself in Morocco, or anywhere else in the Maghreb, or anywhere else in the Muslim lands at all?
Posted by: Hugh at August 9, 2008 8:51 PM
What Islam lacks is Integrity.
What Islam lacks is Honesty.
What Islam lacks is Truthfulness.
Until the cult of islam can EARN these traits, islam will continue to fail in the eyes of Humanity and will continue to remain scorned for the decades to come.
Posted by: Laughs_at_Silly_Jihadis at August 9, 2008 10:46 PM
My Rabbi grew up in Casablanca, which explains his total agreement with Robert Spencer re Islam, which he calls the religion of hate. My favorite story: His neighbor downstairs, a very devout Muslim, was a blind guy who used to stand on a chair and beat his wife with a broom. One day, the Rabbi's mom asked the guy's wife why she didn't just move out of the way. She replied that her husband would only make things worse for her, so she stood nearby and let him whack her.
at August 9, 2008 10:59 PM
"And no mention of what the sentiments of the poorer, rural areas in Morocco, among the Amazigh tribesmen of Atlas and Rif mountains who don't speak Arabic and keep their culture alive and, in some cases, are looking to become atheist or Christian. I doubt if anyone who remarked in tourism ever even looked to these mountain areas to make note of the social attitudes of the people their and compare them to those in the cities and the slums of the more *modern* Arab areas. In fact, I believe tourists have even commented aobut how much more generally amicable, civilized and respectful towards tourists the Amazigh in the mountains are, (as well as the natives of the Sahara desert), not to mention how much more interesting their culture is relative to the Arabized city dwellers. And even comparing for example, the social conditions and the accomplishments of the Moroccan and Algerian immmigrants of Amazigh origin, esp Kabyles and Riffians, with the Arabs would probably shock many people who aren't aware of what total Arabization can do."
-- from a posting above about the Berbers (though they are not named)
See "Berberes et arabes: la Berberie est un pays europeen" (1950), by Edouard Bremond.
Bremond was a French general with long experience in North Africa. The title of his book accurately reflects the views he expresses in it, the fruit of decades of experience and reflection.
Posted by: Hugh at August 9, 2008 11:03 PM
Bible radio featuring songs (in Berber) and recitations of the Christian scriptures (in Berber), and probably also now the recitation of the Psalms (in Berber) is heard in the Atlas Mountains.
It seems not to be falling on rock.
See Matthew chapter 13, verses 3-9 (especially 8), and 18 to 23.
Posted by: dumbledoresarmy at August 10, 2008 12:18 AM
no wonder they're all so grouchy and stressed. With their version of big brother on a loud speaker all day long telling them when to jump (or squat) it's also no wonder they don't question their leaders. Does anyone remember H.G.Welles TIME MACHINE where the one race of people were called to their doom by loud speakers? And when one of them was dragged away to be eaten by the underground race, the rest just stood there like zombies?
Posted by: charlie at August 10, 2008 1:52 AM
I stayed a week in Tangiers, northern Morocco, in the mid 1980s.
I never once heard a call to prayer the whole time I was there.
at August 10, 2008 2:24 AM
I can't stand the disharmonic and dissonant sounds that come from those minerets. Honestly, it seems hideous to me. When I was in Jerusalem several years ago, I learned to hate whatever the Muslims call that kind of music. One thing I don't want to experience here in America is a neighborhood mosque with that blood-curdling loud sound being thrown into the air for miles. I can understand why people would be angry and frustrated with the hearing of that stuff several times a day. A few years ago, my church was presented with a memorial gift of a rooftop carillon that strikes the hour and plays one song every three hours from 9 am to 9 pm. We have purposely kept the sound volume at a low range, so as to not offend the ears of some in our neighborhood. What is nice is that the carillon can be programmed for different seasons and holidays, and we have received some great positive feedback. But it's music, not meaningless and disturbing dissonance.
Posted by: alljihadisinhumane at August 10, 2008 2:38 AM
In Sudan, my 3rd floor hotel room window was open and a mosque was directly across the street. At 4:30 in the morning, I thought, it was a civil defense siren. The volume so loud and speakers so distorted I couldn't even recognise it as human. It was shocking and frightening to be jarred awake like that, and I wondered what affect that has on a society over time...to be violently shocked from sleep each morning by loud wailing.
Posted by: Xero G at August 10, 2008 3:06 AM
".....I wondered what affect that has on a society over time...to be violently shocked from sleep each morning by loud wailing."
Probably about the same effect as banging their heads on the floor five times a day.
at August 10, 2008 7:58 AM
What a wonderful World it can be when everyone wakes up on the wrong side of the Bed.
Posted by: flowerknife_us at August 10, 2008 8:22 AM
I don't suppose email messages or cellphone calls or text messages could call the faithful to prayer? --posted above
No way! They have to broadcast their in-your-face noisy, cacophonous "piety"! I think of this line in a Sylvia Plath poem: "It's worse than a barnyard."
Posted by: darcy at August 10, 2008 10:45 AM
I like Concerned Citizen's definition of "pbuh." The one I've been using is "piss be upon him."
As for the calls to worshipping the false god, maybe getting rid of the amplifiers and loudspeakers would solve the problem.
Posted by: MadAggie at August 11, 2008 9:00 AM
We should encourage mosques in the US to do the same thing here in the US. Play these calls aloud on loud speakers.
Posted by: American at August 11, 2008 9:39 AM
We should encourage mosques in the US to do the same thing here in the US. Play these calls aloud on loud speakers.
Posted by: American at August 11, 2008 9:39 AM
What? A Mohammedan has appeared.
That will NEVER happen in America. People wouldn't stand for that cacophonous crap, calling misguided Barbarians to worship a moon deity that doesn't exist.
Posted by: darcy at August 11, 2008 9:56 AM
Maybe "American" was "just doing some thinking".
Posted by: Ummah Gummah at August 11, 2008 11:59 AM
Maybe "American" was "just doing some thinking".
Posted by: Ummah Gummah at August 11, 2008 11:59 AM
Right. That would be "An American" (Mohammedan).
Guess he took the "An" off, lol! We still recognize you! Suggestion: Stop "thinking."
Posted by: darcy at August 11, 2008 6:01 PM
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