Muslim "Call to Prayer" (Noise)

[hound]

I live in a condo on a high floor about 1 kilometer from a Mosque on Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya.  About 4 times a day I am disturbed by a moaning sound being blasted by high powered speakers from the mosque. The most annoying time is at 4:40 am. I can hear this noise clearly even with my windows closed. I have heard that this is a call to prayer.

 

This has been going on for some time, but about 8 months ago it stopped.  Then last month it began again.  (I don't know if they had a problem with their speakers or why they stopped for a time.)

 

I don't think they have a right to disturb people who live anywhere near their Mosque.  If it is a religious right,  do I have a right to get some big-assed speakers and blast Tennessee Ernie Ford singing Baptist hymns in the middle of the night.  I don't think so!

 

I am sure I am not the only person disturbed by this noise generated by the mosque.  Is there some office I can complain to or is it just a waste of time?

 

[gk10002000]

I personally hate all early morning noises, whether it be Church bells, Calls to prayer or whatever.  If you spend some time in some places other than Pattaya you probably will hear some loud Thai sounds coming over the loud speakers at early hours.

[crisp]

Maybe you can ask the other residents in the Condo to complain too & maybe you would have more chance of your complaint being upheld?

[Chang_paarp]

Looks like you did not do sufficient research prior to moving there. The mosque was there first. Complaining will not get any result, only cause you some grief.

 

As a hint Muslims are required to attend prayers 5 times a day, the larger taxi ranks in Perth, Oz have the direction of Mecca marked out so the more devout can pray at the allotted time.

 

If you are renting, I would start looking for a new place to live.

 

If you bought, you may want to look at the thread on double glazing/ uPVC.

[simple1]

OP: You could try your local Amphur / Pattaya City Council, but you would probably need a few Thais to support your complaint though I wouldn't hold my breath. Remember Thai government provides funding for Mosques and Pattaya had been home for decades for Thai Muslim fishing and farming community, as well as Thai Buddhists. Still some small farms in East Pattaya area. A number of local Thai Muslims work in local government, police and politics, so whatever you do, be polite.

Edited August 3, 2014 by simple1

[Asiantravel]

Looks like you did not do sufficient research prior to moving there. The mosque was there first. Complaining will not get any result, only cause you some grief.

 

As a hint Muslims are required to attend prayers 5 times a day, the larger taxi ranks in Perth, Oz have the direction of Mecca marked out so the more devout can pray at the allotted time.

 

If you are renting, I would start looking for a new place to live.

 

If you bought, you may want to look at the thread on double glazing/ uPVC.

 

 

 Agreed. I think there would be zero-chance of convincing them to change what they consider is such an important part of their beliefs

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhan

Edited August 3, 2014 by Asiantravel

[boldface]

Move. 

 

They broadcast during religios festivals, and as idul fitr is ending, they will abate soon. You are not going to stop them. 

 

I find that less annoying than the 5am wake up call with load music systems for weddings / funerals, which is just shit music blasting out. 

[OccamsRazor]

his has been going on for some time, but about 8 months ago it stopped.  Then last month it began again.

 

 

Possibly due to Ramadan, June 28-July 28?

[eeeya]

yes, i agree, we should change everything to suit ourselves. 

I have noisy ducati bikes going up and down my street all day (dealer neaby / Show off street) . there is also a guy selling fruit out the back of a van with a loudspeaker. the security guards blow their whistles all day long parking cars.

 

where do i go with my shopping list of noise complaints?

 

 

 

 

[chiang mai]

deleted quote
 
And let's take out all the Christian churches that ring their bells on Sundays too!
 
Live and let live I say.
 
Actually I live about three hundred metres from a mosque and I'm up on the twelfth floor, the various calls to prayer are just background noise that I've learned to live with hence it's not a problem in any way.

[petercool]

one post and a quote of it removed

[petercool]

another post removed - please keep it sensible

[transam]

I am surprised that a religion with so much stuff attached to it, with a vast following, don't know the times when stuff must be done, and so the use of electronic stuff is needed..

[prk888]

reminds me of 'townies' in UK buying their idyllic village weekend cottages and then moaning vociferously about the Sunday church bells (plus occasional weekday rehearsals) both activities preceding these new residents by hundreds of years - so I agree with #4 above.

[AbeSurd]

I know exactly what the OP is talking about. I've been living near this mosque - Darul Ibadah Mosque - for years. As far as I'm concerned the noise from the call to prayer wasn't a problem until the start of Ramadan this year (about a month ago). Up till then - for years - I had no problem. I could just hear the mosque faintly.

Ramadan is now over and it is still much too loud.

Things have changed at the mosque - so to complain is completely justified.

I suggest the OP go to the mosque and speak in a positive, friendly, respectful and polite way with the Imam there.

If that doesn't work, I believe there is a complaints department at Pattaya City Hall who sometimes act on noise complaints.

There is also the Pattaya City Hall helpline. This is the easy option. Phone 1337 and tell them the problem.

The more of us who live near the mosque let our feelings be known (calmly, with a smile), the more chance there is that something will be done.

I urge the OP to ignore those who say complaining will get us nowhere.

[alocacoc]

I don't think they have a right to disturb people who live anywhere near their Mosque.

 

I wonder if dogs have the right to disturb people. And the dogs aren't even religious.

 

My advises, convert to Islam or move to another place. That's all you can do.

 

[WaywardWind]

I have visited Cairo for several weeks, and lived in Kabul for nearly a year - the noise levels from the many mosques was incredible (I think there was a competition in Cairo to see if they could drown out everybody else), but like the poster above says, it becomes part of the background and after a bit, you don't even notice it. 

 

I have to admit that I was sometimes tempted to give back a 100 watt blast of Bob Seger, though...

[Bernard Flint]

another post removed - please keep it sensible

Was only a joke,as most would have thought

[ZigZagMan]

another post removed - please keep it sensible

When I suggested a "drone strike", I was only KIDDING.
Geeez.

[Bernard Flint]

 

another post removed - please keep it sensible

When I suggested a "drone strike", I was only KIDDING.
Geeez.

 

Same with me lol, the only ex sas man i know is my cousin and he doesnt even live in thailand, still in hereford

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Bells rung by hand, announcements by Clerics = OK
Mechanical and electronic noise = not OK

I can't pick fault with any religion following traditional values.
But when they are too lazy to do things the traditional way, then it's time to call a stop.

[Pattaya46]

Bells rung by hand, announcements by Clerics = OK
Mechanical and electronic noise = not OK

Bell rung are mechanical noise too...
Church early ringing forbidden in my country for 30 or 40 years already.

[chiang mai]

Bells rung by hand, announcements by Clerics = OK
Mechanical and electronic noise = not OK

I can't pick fault with any religion following traditional values.
But when they are too lazy to do things the traditional way, then it's time to call a stop.

 

The use of speakers seem to be the problem, the following fair usage extract from a UK newspaper that cannot be read online in Thailand, I typed this from a hardcopy of course:

 

"Local residents have attacked the idea saying it would disrupt the peace and turn the area into a 'Muslim ghetto'.

But the elders said they still intend to seek planning permission to install the loudspeaker.

If granted, they would broadcast a two-minute long call three times a day from the Central Mosque, where up to 700 people gather to worship every Friday.

The idea has gained support from the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, who last week said those in opposition to the idea should "relax" and "enjoy community diversity".

But residents, who packed out a council meeting last month to signal their outrage, remain set against the plan which they say is an "un-neighbourly intrusion".

They said they would rally to block the proposal when it is submitted to the council in nine months time, when construction on the mosque is complete.

Dr Allan Chapman, 61, who lives near the building, said: "The response against this has been incredible, we have been indundated with calls ranging from stiff upper lip outrage to sheer screaming fury."

[for real]

This 'call' was used when there were no clocks or watches and the vast majority could not read the time.

The only use for this 'call' nowasays is to remind the unfaithful..

'We are here'.

[ZigZagMan]

This 'call' was used when there were no clocks or watches and the vast majority could not read the time.

The only use for this 'call' nowasays is to remind the unfaithful..

'We are here'.

 

Exactly. Put the followers on speed dial and yell into their phone for 2 minutes.

 

I'm a guest here in Thailand so I don't go around cutting wires or stuff like that but if I was back home, I'd be having a real good time.

[Naam]

I am surprised that a religion with so much stuff attached to it, with a vast following, don't know the times when stuff must be done, and so the use of electronic stuff is needed..

reason for the prayer calls is that the timing of "doing the stuff" changes every day.

 

To calculate prayer times two astronomical measures are necessary, the declination of the sun and the difference between clock time and sundial clock. This difference being the result of the eccentricity of the earth's orbit and the inclination of its axis, it is called the Equation of time. The declination of the sun is the angle between sun's rays and the equator plan.

 

In addition to the above measures, to calculate prayer times for a specific location we need its spherical coordinates.

for this lesson you owe me a free top notch SU carburetor tuning!

[Naam]

This 'call' was used when there were no clocks or watches and the vast majority could not read the time.

The only use for this 'call' nowasays is to remind the unfaithful..

'We are here'.

little do you know

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/748446-muslim-call-to-prayer-noise/page-2#entry8193138

[KittenKong]

I dont see that it makes any difference who was there first.

All noise is wrong and all of it should be banned, unless it occurs during normal business hours and there is some valid reason for it.

[emilymat]

What I have genuinely never understood is that, if Islam is 1200 years old or whatever, how did the call to prayer operate before electronic speakers etc?. They must have had a system.

[dagobert]

You can do nothing belive me Islam will allways win.


Sent from my GT-P3100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app