Let’s
concede one thing – the Azaan has to
be sweet sound for all religious Muslims. It’s like a call to their conscience
to pray and be a good human being. To that end, every sentiment behind that
call deserves respect. But when you add
a loudspeaker to it and blare it five times a day, there is nothing pious about
it. It’s an assertion. Most people who appeared on debates over this lousy
loudspeaker practice made it about “noise
pollution”. That’s the dumbest argument put forth by idiots who keep
covering up Islamic nonsense. Surely,
the noise of Azaan is not louder than the aircrafts that fly over Santacruz or
Andheri all through the day in Mumbai. We can forgive the aircrafts because
it’s the nature of the beast and not some conspiracy against people trying to
sleep but the Azaan is not a Pratt-Whitney or Rolls Royce engine design – It’s
a man-made assertion and conspiracy. It
is not an environment issue, it is a religious issue. All it took was a
couple of tweets by singer Sonu Nigam for Islamic defenders to rage over this
issue:
I
have written before, that since the early 1990s Muslims in India have started
asserting their identity far more than ever before. Yusufbhai passed as Dilip
Kumar for a long time in Bollywood. Now, if you have a Muslim name or if you
are a Paki, your chances of making it in Bollywood are better. There’s a movie
called “Noor” about a Paki journalist. Naturally so, because Indian journalists
were portrayed better by Martin Scorsese in “Goodfellas” – the mafia wiseguys.
The loudspeaker-Azaan is a nuisance all day – five times a day. If it were
limited to some festivals or Ramzan or Eid, we could understand. That is not
the case.
When
I travel to Delhi or Bangalore or Chennai, wherever I stay, I hear this Azaan
stuff from 5am in the morning till 9pm in the evening. Don’t point to Hindu
stuff like Ganesh festival or Diwali. That argument is bogus. Hindu festivals last a few days – Azaan
lasts forever. In any case, I am also for a ban on band-baaja processions
on our roads in this day and age. It can be limited to a few metres for
symbolism. But I don’t think Azaan is merely a call to pray anymore. Muslims in
India since the early 1990s have been encouraged to assert their identity
strongly and Azaan is just one part of it. Wherever there are Muslim pockets,
you will find men clad in Pathani garb, with beards without moustache, a skull
cap and women with black tents adorning them. This is to let you know – “We are Muslims, we are a clear separate
community distinguishable from common Indians”.
At
the Golden Temple in Amritsar the reading of the Holy Granth Sahib is amplified
but the sound doesn’t travel beyond the complex. At Hindu temples, the
century-old bell is still the symbol and not loudspeakers. Azaan on
loudspeakers is not merely a call, it is an assertion and imposition of Islam
over Kafirs who have to be forced to listen to it. This is worse early mornings
when everything else is quiet and the noise becomes more amplified. Pre-1990s
Muslims in India were not distinguishable from other Indians. They dressed just
like other Indians. It’s only now that you see everywhere that the Pathani
garb, the skull cap, the nonchalant defence of beef-eating that has grown
dramatically. This is nothing but
deliberate and planned assertive Islamisation of many towns in India. This
has nothing to do with noise pollution. The usual media morons find faults with
Nigam’s tweet with holes they see in their cheese in terms of English grammar,
like the “Wheeler-Dealer” of Lutyens who is probably funded by anti-Indian
forces:
The
problem for these redundant, workless folks like Shekhar Gupta is that Virendra
Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sonu Nigam or Phogat sisters or our wrestlers are
standing up for India, standing up for our Jawans and standing up against
Islamic invasion of our culture. Make no mistake about it. As more prominent
voices become assertive about such invasions, the more the discomfort for media
mafia and the Sickulars. Sometime back, the Bhagyalakshmi temple in Hyderabad
was shut down its Aarti sounds because Muslims agitated. Why should Azaan be an intrusion in our lives? Keep it to your home or
mosque! Not just loudspeaker-Azaan, the very call to Azaan has motives that
we aren’t aware of, followed by sermons we are unaware of. History has a reason
and logic:
I
will write more when time permits. But I know this – The Azaan in places like
Kashmir and Namaaz (especially on Fridays) has become a call for violence. This
cannot pass anymore. Azaaniyat is not a prayer or call to pray. It is more of
an assertion of Islam dominating every other faith. It is not merely the noise pollution as some idiots would like to argue
– It is thought invasion, and Faith invasion.
During raman the decibel levels go up bigly (a la trump ). It's not one mosque blaring out 5 times a day 365 but several mosques clustered blaring one after another trying to out do each other...o yes it is an assertion and the finger is clearly shown ...
ReplyDeletewhy not use South Korea approach?
ReplyDeleteBeing an Indian Muslim, I too have problems with loud speakers at mosques. Most of them are of very low quality. They seperate us from other Indians rather than joining us.
ReplyDeleteAnd are you alone among Indian Muslims in thinking this? Why haven't you asked your mosque to stop this nonsense?
DeleteThanks for your analysis. Relegion practice should be in private at home or with the premises of places of worship. Loudspeaker can be an exception but not a rule of daily routine.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with You.
ReplyDeleteIn Sunni muslim countries like Saudi, Qatar mosques belonging to Shias and other non Sunni faiths are not allowed to use loud speakers for azaan
ReplyDeletefinished too soon, looking to read some more on this subject. cheers :)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant distinguishing between noise pollution, which is generic and obfuscatable, and religious assertion, which it truly is. This analysis was necessary and, as yet, unvoiced. Thank you for the amazing perspective.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of shallow Muslim assertiveness has created a Hindu backlash.This is the failure of Muslim leadership.Muslim leaders have failed to educate Muslims about co existence with non Muslims.Muslims should know that out of 800 crore humans there are only 160 crore Muslims [ further divided in to Shias,Ahmadis,Bohras,Wahabis,Salafis,Sufis and all].If they go on asserting their sham uniqueness like this world can unite against them.
ReplyDeleteParagraph four aptly describes areas in London, East London, from Stepney Green to Mile End, or part of Woolwich in South London. Get out of Gard du Nord in Paris you are straight into ditto. This loudspeakers were forcibly closed down in Chiselhurst ( a hostel for Muslims started blaring!) Mosque smack opposite Croydon University Hospital! Blaring 5 times a day! It goes on and on.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there is the Akshardham Temple in Neasden, Ask any English resident around, if they have a problem, what they say " its living across heaven! The sight is so peaceful " no loudspeakers and all who visit respectfully Park their cars even during festivals. Not a complaint.
There must be a movement against noise pollution as such and not directed against on or the other religion/community.
ReplyDeleteHave you also observed that, in the last few years, a mosque has come up beside or opposite almost every temple?
ReplyDeleteIf the temple undergoes any renovation, the mosque gets even bigger and taller.
Also note that in south India, there is an explosion of big mosques and churches. The highway to Chennai is an example. Many large mosques have come up strategically along highways.
DeleteThe then khangress government has been mute spectator to the raise of new & assertive i.e. primitive muslim culture in India. While the middle east is modernising, Indian muslims are going back in time & adopting primitive practices. See raise of burka in all old city areas of Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad. Further since 1980's loud speakers are on raise including the volume is raising with each day. Surely this is because of some Pakistan design for Hyderabad is hot bed of Pakistan sponsoring activities. With much of Hyderabad muslim population live in poverty suceptible to prostitution & selling their daughters to Saudis with Pakistan as the main agents of this business.
ReplyDeleteFabulous write up...now we see the true faces of perfect grammarians.These guys only raise voices when Islam is 'under threat'..such a 'sickular'mindset.Its high time we boot these fake patriots out of our society and system.
ReplyDeleteJust compare behavior of any minority in India at the time of partition and now, in most cases, Jains, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists etc. you will not see any difference, but then compare Muslim community. This is what leaders like Donald Trump are afraid of about the Muslim community. Sooner or later there will be a World War between Muslims and the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteSonu Nigam has got his shaved in response to a fanatic mullah's challenge. And waiting for the mullah creature to pay up the barber the 10 lakhs he promised. What about Markandey Katju who had promised to shave his head if AAP did not get the 90+ seats in Panjab as he predicted? Oi Katjoooo ....... where are youuuuu?
ReplyDeleteMarkandayea Katju is better known as Marakazanda Katju in Tamilnadu meaning mental case.Nothing more to shave inside.
DeleteI am a worshipper, but only at home and that too within my own spiritual ambience. I believe any noise or a recital outside one's own ambience is atrocious and has nothing to do with religion. Anyhow, Hindu religion is so brilliantly crafted that its existence is over and above all this, just to quote a tiny part of Krishna Yajur Veda’s 1-10 Aranyakas. Our existential world of brilliant soul-to-eternity is an evidence enough to prove why Hinduism don’t need security guards in the first place!!
ReplyDeleteAnd wrt Sonu Nigam’s broad view over non-existence of noise-makers then when this earth was primitively wearing out to evolve, it was some smart interventionists during those days of invention of sound-crafts have brought upon us humans this calamity. Let's stop it.
Why should there be prayer rooms for Muslims in offices and air ports? All over the world they are pampered and with terrorism as their weapon they want more and more. It is just not only in India it is all over the world. Hindus go to temples on weekends and Christians go to churches on Sundays. why these separate facilities for Muslims to offer prayers. If they want they will go to Mosques on Fridays.
ReplyDeleteGud keep doing it ..til it become Hindu Rashtra completely ..no compromise on that ...they had already sensed it ..that is why they continued with opposition since 2002..they attemped for assasination..now they begin to feel pressure ..anti national forces crocodile/Vulture need to be eliminated from land of SHIV,KRISHN,RAM...people,Hindus in particular need to understand the danger they are living in an be assertive ..specially Macaulite/seculars either living in oblivion or in denial..they have to come out of it ...sooner is better
ReplyDeleteReligion is a personal choice & practice of the same should be private & personal. There is no room for loudspeakers or special prayer rooms to accommodate a particular religion. Main roads are occupied during prayer times & traffic diverted (example - Delhi where prayers held on main roads & causing traffic jams), are all appeasing politics of then khangress govt.
ReplyDeleteBJP has not given any tickets to muslims, but have given some good social work to that muslim community.
Khangress has given many tickets to muslims - does it resulted in improvement for muslim community. These muslim leaders are self serving & did nothing to improve their community.
Giving tickets to each & every community is not a solution, for it is a media promotion. Even UN does not proper representation with West is having larger representation in all important councils including Permanent & Security council. Should we extend Indian media logic to UN ?
I totally agree with the blogger and we should start a movement against Noise Pollution, No loud speakers should be allowed in any place of worship except on important festivals that too with due permission of the administration. And this should be applied everywhere, everyplace that contributes to the Noise Pollution.
ReplyDeleteRavi - you say that azaan is an assertion of Islam dominating other faiths. The interesting thing is that the wording of azaan is also exactly that. As people of other faiths don't understand Arabic, they are unaware. The Azaan says that there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet. In a multi-faith society it seeks to proclaim in a loud voice that it is the only true faith. Sadly, such aggressiveness seems to be more on the increase.
ReplyDeleteFor ages Islam has built mosques by destroying temples, the famous one is babri built on top of half destroyed temple. Recently a Muslim woman almost killed her husband since he would not shave or wear jeans. Muslims should homogenize and integrate with the rest of the population.quran also needs some changes. Then peace can follow this world.
ReplyDelete