New York City is changing its rules to allow Muslim houses of worship to broadcast their calls to prayer at designated times each week without a permit, Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday.
The NYPD rule change will clear the way for mosques to project their calls to prayer — a one-to-two-minute chant played over a loudspeaker known as an Adhan — between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. every Friday throughout the year and each evening at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. The Adhan must be kept at a “reasonable” noise level, according to the mayor.
“For too long there has been confusion about which communities are allowed to amplify their calls to prayer, today, we are cutting red tape and say clearly, ‘if you are modest or house of worship of any kind, you do not have to apply for a permit to amplify your call to Friday prayer,’” Adams said during a Tuesday City Hall press conference announcing the change alongside Muslim faith leaders.
