In Indonesia, the noise level of muezzins is controversial
Prayer in a mosque in Jakarta (Illustration) AFP - ADEK BERRY
Text by: Gabrielle Maréchaux Follow
3 min
In Indonesia, some citizens find the muezzin too loud and the mosque loudspeakers too loud.
What could appear as a trivial problem of neighborhood or noise nuisance resurfaces regularly and questions the very Constitution of the country and its position vis-à-vis religion.
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From our correspondent in Jakarta
,
The latest one who complained about the noise of the muezzin is not just anyone.
Zazkia Mecca is a mother of five, but above all she is an influencer who has almost 19 million followers on Instagram.
However, if in the United States or in Europe, it is especially on Twitter that politicians and Internet users ignite and that the controversies begin, in Indonesia, the government and the citizens prefer Instagram.
Zazkia Mecca posted
a video
on his account
where we hear a person screaming at the top of their lungs.
The man who speaks and performs these vocalizations is 23 years old and his name is Ramadan.
He asks people in his neighborhood who cook for their families, which is often women, to wake up to cook.
It is not yet 4 am and we have to prepare the “sahur” meal which, during the fasting month of Ramadan, is taken before sunrise.
Islam is not a state religion in Indonesia
Commenting on this video, Zazkia Mecca wonders about the important sound volume used for this. She then quotes in another video some hadiths recalling that the prophet Mohamed invites to respect his neighbors and that the announcements of the mosque should not be rowdy, but above all it recalls the multi-faith character of Indonesia. This is important to understand why this kind of news item ignites in the country: Indonesia is the country with the most Muslims in the world, but Islam is not a state religion and its Constitution emphasizes on the plurality of beliefs, in particular at the origin of its motto "
United in diversity
"
.
Zazkia Mecca is a Muslim like 86% of Indonesians, but in the past, when religious minorities complained about the loudness of mosques, they were sometimes punished.
This is the case with Meiliana.
In 2018 this Buddhist woman from the island of Sumatra was sentenced to 18 months in prison for blasphemy after allegedly criticizing the decibels of the mosque in her neighborhood.
Since then, between anti-blasphemy law, religious pluralism, and majority Islam often put forward by politicians and its Constitution, Indonesia has often found it difficult to decide.
But last February, another viral video forced the authorities to take a position: the parents of a Christian schoolgirl discreetly recorded a meeting where it was explained that their daughter was forced to wear the Muslim veil in public school.
Faced with the outcry, a decree was issued by the Ministry of Education banning the obligation of the veil in public establishments.
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