Loudspeakers in mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

s are generally used for Adhan

Adhan

The adhān is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin at prescribed times of the day. The root of the word is meaning "to permit"; another derivative of this word is , meaning "ear"....

 or "call to prayer", or sometimes for Khutbah or sermons. External loudspeakers are generally mounted on tall minaret

Minaret

A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....

s. Mosque loudspeakers are used for a call to prayer, five times a day. Loudspeakers, other than external ones, are sometimes also used inside the mosque to deliver sermons or for Prayer

Salat

Salah is the practice of formal prayer in Islam. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam, of the Ten Practices of the Religion of Twelver Islam and of the 7 pillars of Musta'lī Ismailis...

.

External loudspeakers are often kept at a very high volume, so that the sound is heard as far as 5km. It can be amplified over 120 to 130 decibels. In areas where more than one mosque is present, the loudspeaker sounds overlap one another, especially in the early morning

Early Morning

Early Morning is a surrealist farce by the English dramatist Edward Bond. It was first produced in 1968, opening on 31 March at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The play takes place in a contorted version of the court of Queen Victoria, and Victoria is portrayed as a lesbian. Her two sons are...

 when sounds are more clearly heard. This noise

Noise

In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...

 sometimes results in people of other religions migrating away from a mosque's area in order to avoid the noise, along with other factors.

Opposition

There has been opposition to outdoor loudspeakers in western countries. In Cologne Mosque project

Cologne Mosque project

The Cologne Central Mosque is a building currently under construction and commissioned by German Muslims of the Organization DITIB for a large, representative Zentralmoschee in Cologne, Germany...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 the installation of loudspeakers are opposed and stopped. In Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, UK it was opposed saying that broadcasting using loudspeakers would turn the city into a Muslim ghetto

Ghetto

A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...

. In Al-Islah Mosque

Al-Islah Mosque

Al-Islah Mosque is a Muslim Mosque following the Sunni tradition. It is located in the city of Hamtramck, Michigan. It was founded in 2000 by immigrants from Bangledesh .-History:...

 Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, US, the installation of outdoor loudspeakers was opposed.

It is even opposed, though unsuccessfully, in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 where Muslims are minority.
Supporters of loudspeakers argue that it is freedom of religion

Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...

 to use them.

Misuse

Loudspeakers are often misused for political purposes which was opposed by government authorities. Loudspeakers are sometimes used to guide or incite riot

Riot

A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...

s. Incidents involving this were reported in Acre, Israel

Acre, Israel

Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....

, in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, near Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 and Nandurbar

Nandurbar

Nandurbar is a city and a municipal council in Nandurbar district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It came into limelight during February 2006 Bird Flu crisis which struck many of its poultry farms. Thousand of chickens from the farms had to be killed and buried in nearby grounds to stop the...

, Maharashtra state, India. Pakistan even banned use of loudspeakers other than for "Call to Prayer" following a riot.