‘We’ve arranged a device to control sound': Bengaluru cleric amid azaan row

Mohammed Imran Rashidi, chief imam at Bengaluru's Jamia Masjid further said that temples, too, should comply with court orders on loudspeakers.

Amid the ongoing controversy in Karnataka over azaan and use of loudspeakers, Mohammed Imran Rashadi, chief imam of Bengaluru’s Jamia Masjid, said on Thursday that arrangements have been made to keep the sound level within permissible limits, adding that temples, too, should follow court orders.

Mohammed Imran Rashidi, chief iman, Jamia Masjid, Bengaluru (ANI)

“We’ve arranged a device that controls the sound as required so that no problems arise. We’ll follow all the Supreme Court-issued notices. Similarly, temples should also follow,” Rashadi said, according to news agency ANI.

The senior cleric’s remarks come two days after Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, pointing to a high court order on loudspeakers, said that his government would take a call in this regard. Bommai’s comments came after his cabinet colleague KS Eshwarappa, on Monday, said that a solution should be found to address the concerns over the use of loudspeakers in mosques in the southern state.

This latest controversy comes at a time when Karnataka is already dealing with ‘issues’ such as the hijab ban, calls for a ban on halal meat and boycott of Muslim traders at some places in the state. The azaan row, however, began in the neighbouring Maharashtra, where Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, last Sunday, warned that though he is not against any religion, he will ask his party workers to play Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques if the Maharashtra government does not remove loudspeakers from outside mosques.

The issue, subsequently, spiralled over to Karnataka as well.