Minneapolis officials have approved loudspeaker broadcasts of the Muslim call to prayer at all times – making it the first major American city to do so.
The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday unanimously agreed to amend the city's noise ordinance, allowing the “adhan” — Arabic for “announcement”–to sound five times a day, year-round.
The prayers had previously been broadcast three times a day there before, but the ordinance prevented dawn and late evening calls at certain times of the year due to noise restrictions.
Minneapolis has had a flourishing East African immigrants population since at least the 1990s, and mosques there are common. Three of 13 members of the council identify as Muslim.
