The Muslim mayor of Dearborn, Michigan is dismissing noise complaints about a mosque's call to prayer, deeming it a non-issue.
Mayor Abdullah Hammoud spoke about the complaints during an appearance on the "Not From Here" podcast. The issue has been percolating for months, as some residents have raised concerns about the fact that the mosque in question uses a loudspeaker for its call to prayer multiple times a day.
According to WXYZ:
At the Islamic Institute of Knowledge on Schaefer Road, the call to prayer comes out of a loudspeaker twice a day for about two minutes. It's just one of the many mosques that follow this practice in the city, raising some concerns with residents.
"Your freedom of religion does not allow you to force me to listen to your prayers in my yard or home," one irritated resident, Andrea Unger, said.
Fox News Digital spoke to Unger, who has lived in Dearborn for decades. She stated that "she had recorded the call to prayer for 30 consecutive days and found it consistently exceeded 70 decibels" and contacted the police department as well as city council, but the issue persists. She also added that it is not just one mosque. Others, including the Islamic Center of America of Ford, engage in similar practices.
According to reports, loudspeakers are not permitted between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
But the Muslim mayor does not view this as an issue.
"I would tell you is, you know, those complaining about the call to prayer, I mean it's a very, very few, you still want to respect the wishes and, if you have a serious concern, I have to uphold the law across all boards," Hammoud said.
"But we've done decibel readings at these mosques, all within threshold, all within legal limit. And so for me, it's not an issue," he said, adding, "We also have to uphold our constitutional rights to freedom of religion."
"And I would say this, you know, that's the thing. I'm saying this as a Muslim. People, of course, are going to say this is a call to prayer, but like, you know, why are these complaints just coming forward now?" he asked.
However, Issa Shahin, chief of the Dearborn Police Department, said at an October city council meeting that if there is a mosque that is not adhering to the time or decibel level rules it will be given a citation.