(Paterson Times) After a lengthy and divisive public hearing, the City Council passed an ordinance allowing the broadcast of the adhan or the Islamic call to prayer.
Council members voted 5-4 to adopt the ordinance following a more than two-hour-long public hearing.
Nearly 30 people spoke at the public hearing both in favor and against the measure. Before the public hearing, councilman Shahin Khalique, who sponsored the ordinance, sent out text messages and robocalls to encourage supporters of the measure to attend the meeting.
“The Christians use the bell to call people to worship. The Jews use the shofar to call people to worship. And the Muslims use the adhan to call people to worship,” said imam A. Quddoos Farra’d of Masjid Salahuddin on Broadway.
