Al-Azhar rejects light beam Azan move

AL-AZHAR, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Muslim world, has dismissed a proposal to replace the call for prayers in a planned mosque in France's second-largest city of Marseille with a beam of light from the minarets, the Egyptian independent daily Al-Doustor reported last Monday.

"The Azan is an announcement that the time for prayers has come," explained Sheikh Ali Abdel-Baqi, Secretary General of Al-Azhar's Academy of Islamic Research.

"This announcement is being done in a certain way that was conducted by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him)."

The main purpose of Azan is to alert Muslims that the time for prayers has come.

It is called out by a muezzin in the mosque five times a day to summon worshippers for prayers. But that has become a problem for many Muslim communities living in non-Muslims countries.

This has forced some Muslims to come up with the idea of using light to call for the prayers instead of Azan.

Muslims planning a grand mosque in France's second-largest city of Marseille are proposing to beam a purple light from its minarets at the time of prayer. "The Azan can be made inside the mosque to avoid any disturbance to non-Muslims," said Abdel-Baqi. Al-Azhar official advised Muslims to avoid protests over opposition to using Azan to call for prayers.

IslamOnline.net