(Dutch News) Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema says she shares the “lack of enthusiasm” with the city council for plans by a mosque in Nieuw West to become the first in the Dutch capital to call worshippers to Friday prayers using loudspeakers.
During a debate on Tuesday night, Halsema said that using amplifiers for the call to prayer is “not of this time.”
“I very much identify with the comments by television presentor Arjen Lubach who pointed out that in 2019 this is no longer necessary because we have all sorts of technological aids to remind people when to pray,” she said.
Mosque officials, local residents and the borough council are currently in talks on the plan, the mayor said. She said she would also talk to the imam.
