Hyderabad: Members of the Muslim community from Chaderghat locality of the city have alleged that some “anti-social” elements are threatening them to stop recital of Azaan on loudspeaker.
The committee members of Masjid-e-Nizami located at Victoria playground in Chaderghat said that an unidentified group started objecting to the recitation of Azaan in Public Address Systems (PAS) of the mosque from the past four months.
The Imam (a person who leads Muslim prayers) of the mosque said the police officials from Sultan Bazar police station intervened and asked to reduce the volume of the loudspeaker.
“In spite of keeping the volume low, those anti-social elements have again threatened us,” the Imam claimed.
Social activist Amjed Ullah Khan has now brought the issue to the notice of Hyderabad City Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar and requested him to look into the matter and settle it amicably.
Besides, reciting Azaan (call for prayers) five times a day, the PAS is also used to make a few very highly localized announcements such as the death of someone in the concerned locality or information regarding missing children, and alerting for Sehri and Iftaar during Ramzan.
Earlier this month, The Shiv Sena had asked the Centre to take steps to stop the use of loudspeakers in mosques “to curb noise pollution”.
An editorial in Sena mouthpiece “Saamana” wrote that the issue is of noise pollution and environment protection.
“The Centre should promulgate an ordinance to stop loudspeakers on mosques to prevent noise pollution,” it said.