Swedish town allows calls to prayer from minaret

By Atila Altuntas

STOCKHOLM (AA) - A mosque is southern Sweden has been allowed to use speakers for all five calls to the daily prayers, a local Muslim official said Friday.

Abudulrahman Tamarji, head of Islamic Cultural Association in Karlskrona town of Belkin district, told Anadolu Agency, this was the first time a mosque in Sweden had gotten permission to use speakers for all five calls to prayers (Adhan).

“But in the initial phase we will use the speaker only for Adhan before Friday prayers,” he said.

“We do not know what kind of response we will get because our mosque is in a residential area. We plan to evaluate the situation over time and act accordingly,” he added.

The mosque in Karlskrona is the only mosque in Belkin which has double minarets, he said, adding that they had applied to the municipality for the minarets five years back and the construction permit was only released 50 days ago.

In 2013, a mayor’s council in Swedish capital Stockholm had approved the call for prayer from the minaret of a mosque only for Friday prayers, in a first for the country.