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une 25, Online/AFP

Indonesia has set up a new team to reduce noise from mosques, an official said Thursday, as places of worship go into overdrive during the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan.

There are approximately 800,000 mosques in the world'€™s most populous Muslim-majority nation but residents living nearby have long complained that their speakers are too loud.

Places of worship become particularly active during Ramadhan, which this year runs from mid-June to mid-July, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset and mosques blare out religious sermons even earlier than usual.

Your comments:

I appreciate knowing that the Vice President is actively interested in solving the audio/noise level from mosques, a religious practice that generally negatively affects non-Muslim community members or even members of the same faith.

I appreciate the spirit behind this project. We hope the VP will show active interest in other aspects of societal disparities or inequalities caused by religious practices or insecurities.

Society will be more stable if all faiths are treated and protected equally and none is more favored than the other.

The challenge for the VP, therefore, is to look beyond or deeper to address religious issues and practices that are perpetuating inequalities in society. Correcting society'€™s imbalances or assuring justice for all; economic, military, political and religious opportunities for all Indonesians are the inherent function of the government.

I wish the VP would cast his sight and attention on critically more important national stability issues also.

James

I live in Medan. There are five mosques in an area of 1 kilometer. They all go off together, trying to outdo each other with speakers on full!

I have to close all house doors. As the article states, it'€™s not acceptable, and there is no audible sound if you wanted to listen. Also, firecrackers start at 3 a.m. every morning and go on for hours!

Tommo

If someone as a leader can'€™t manage controlling the turning up and turning down of the loud speakers, how can they manage the country?

If there is a small thing I cannot manage, how can I manage the big thing?

Yanouca

I live in a high-rise apartment in Central Jakarta. From my balcony I can see (and hear) about 15 mosques.

Although I am not a Muslim, I find the adhan (call to prayer) spiritual and moving '€” in its original form, not blasted out and contorted by loudspeakers.

All I can hear is a rabble of indecipherable noise as each mosque tries to outdo the others.

Wantok

It is sometimes difficult to pray when there are so many mosques that are so different in following the times of shalat (prayer).  

My idea, or solution is this: make them all follow the same time schedule like they do in Saudi Arabia and many places throughout the Islamic world.  

To be honest it sounds so harmonious to hear all mosques in the city at the same time.

There have been so many times that I have been in the middle of shalat and all of a sudden I hear that the mosque next to me is just starting adhan.

I think it is a fairly simple way to make things universal.

RA Mohamed

During this time of the year, just like many years before it, and many more years to come, this type of lip service is common from those who pretend to care but deep down inside they have no desire, nor the will to do anything.

And who actually listens to sermons blaring from various corners?

Abu

The only thing that should be coming from the loudspeaker is the call to prayer.

Everything else is a fabrication and has nothing to do with Islam. Other than that it just drives people away from this religion.

There is nothing in the Koran or hadith that supports what they do. These mosques make up their own rules that have nothing to do with this religion.

Frank Musiol

The easiest way to solve the problem is just ban the use of loudspeakers and recordings, and just have the muezzin do the call to prayer with his natural voice.

Weilim

Call to prayer at a lower volume would be nice. What I don'€™t understand and can'€™t find out is why the
3 a.m. broadcasting of Arabic recordings. What is that for? I can'€™t find any reference to it.

It'€™s just mindless noise that wakes people up.

LAF

No fatwa is needed. Just have the religious leaders read their Koran. It'€™s right there.

Prayers should be delivered in a quiet tone.

If they can'€™t follow the writings in the Koran, how do you expect them to follow anything?

X Simaging

When I lived in Malaysia for two years, every morning loud speakers would very loudly start blaring away with something like '€œwake up mom'€.

Eddy Saf