Malay group plans protest over ‘azan dispute’

Muslims leave after Friday prayer at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur January 30, 2009. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — A protest will be held after Friday prayers today over claims that a mosque here had been pressured to stop using loudspeakers to play the Muslim call to prayer. A text message has been circulating over the past few days urging Muslims to gather outside the Al Kalsiah Mosque in Pantai Dalam here, claiming that a “Chinese lawyer” had demanded the mosque stop the “azan” (call to prayer) recital.
“What right does he have to stop the call for prayers? The Chinese lawyer had arrogantly written an objection to the prime minister and cited human rights to justify his demand,” said the text message.
“All members of ‘jamaah’ are requested to attend the Friday prayers on January 14 at the Al Kalsiah Mosque Pantai Dalam and to join in the protest against the Chinese lawyer for demanding that the call for prayers be stopped,” added the unsigned message.
 The lawyer, however, was not named in the brief message.
It added that the mosque situated near a new commercial development area called Bangsar South, was first opened 30 years ago, while the lawyer only moved to the Malay-majority neighbourhood about a year ago.
Pantai Dalam used to be dominated by squatters and low-cost flats but has seen the development of luxury apartments and commercial property in recent years.
Meanwhile, an official from the Muslim welfare group Pekida confirmed that it would lead the protest outside the mosque after claiming that the mosque has been forced to turn off its loudspeaker for two weeks.
“It has been two weeks since the mosque was forced to silence the call for prayers and the residents were wondering what happened. Later they found out it was because of pressure from this Chinese lawyer,” said Rahimuddin Harun from Kuala Lumpur Pekida’s Majlis Ayahanda or council of elders.
“This should not have happened as his house is about one kilometre from the mosque, but the mosque was forced to give in to the demand, because he had written letters to everyone,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
The Muslim call for prayer’s five recitals daily first became a political issue in 2008, when Selangor Executive Councillor Teresa Kok was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for allegedly asking a Puchong mosque to stop playing the azan over its loudspeaker.
Kok, who was released a week after her arrest, denied the allegation while the mosque’s committee members also came forward to defend the Selangor DAP chairman.