Paterson: 3rd US city greenlights Muslim call to prayer

The third-largest city in the U.S. state of New Jersey has approved the Muslim call to prayer to be broadcast over loudspeakers. The city council of the city of Paterson made the move in a 5-4 vote late Tuesday, with the support of Maritza Davila, the council president. The measure allows the adhan, or call […]

The third-largest city in the U.S. state of New Jersey has approved the Muslim call to prayer to be broadcast over loudspeakers.

The city council of the city of Paterson made the move in a 5-4 vote late Tuesday, with the support of Maritza Davila, the council president.

The measure allows the adhan, or call to prayer, to go out over speakers from mosques between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a maximum decibel level and the time allotted to not exceed five minutes.

Davila told Anadolu Agency that she supported the bill “with the idea of equal freedom for everyone.”

The vote made Paterson the third city in the U.S. allowing the call to prayer, following Hamtramck and Dearborn, both in Michigan, a Midwestern Great Lakes state.

Paterson has some 30,000 Muslim residents in a population of about 146,000. (Anadolu Agency)