(NL Times) The Blauwe Moskee in Amsterdam Nieuw-West wants to boost [its] weekly call to prayer — the Adhan — through loudspeakers. A few dozen mosques in the Netherlands already do so, but the Blauwe Moskee will be the first in Amsterdam. The mosque’s board is organizing a neighborhood meeting on Sunday afternoon to inform local residents about their intentions, imam Yassin Elforkani said to Het Parool.
According to Elforkani, the louder call to prayer is partly a response to the social debate about the visibility of Islam in the streets, which flared up again this summer after the introduction of the burka ban. By making Islam that bit more visible in the public space, Amsterdam residents will get more used to the religion as something normal and unrest will disappear, he believes.
“We do not want to provoke with this, but try to normalize Islamic traditions,” the imam said to Parool.
