Egyptian Rana Abdel Hamid succeeded in extracting an official permit allowing the call to prayer over loudspeakers for the first time in the mosques of the Astoria neighborhood, west of Queens, New York City, USA.
Rana and her mother, Mona Al-Baghdadi, were the reason for raising the call to prayer in the streets of Astoria with the entry of the blessed month of Ramadan, during the five daily prayers, clear and audible, as it happens in Arab and Islamic countries, in an influential and unique scene that was documented by social media platforms and circulated with pride and joy.
The young woman and her mother managed two days ago, to obtain official permission to raise the call to prayer through loudspeakers in the mosques of Astoria, and the mother expressed her joy at publishing a picture of Rana displaying the permit paper, and commented, "Praise be to God, praise be to God, dearest Islam and Muslims. After 31 years in America, I wish I could hear the call to prayer in the street."
"Rana today received permission for the call to prayer with loudspeakers in mosques for the first time in Astoria during the month of Ramadan," she said, adding, "Of course, not Rana who will give permission to her voice, certainly the one who will call for prayer is the muezzin of the mosque."
Rana's mother broadcast the first video of the prayer being transmitted over the city's loudspeaker after the official permission, and commented: "Thank God, the call to prayer sounded in the streets of Stanway for the first time, proud of my daughter Rana."
It was followed by other footage of the call to prayer and prayer over loudspeakers in mosques in the city during different times, as well as scenes of the distribution of hot iftar meals to fasting people, while rain covers the region these days.
Rana, who identifies herself as a social activist, commented on the first call to prayer in Astoria, saying, "Just a Muslim girl from New York in Ramadan, and she has 3 sound permits from the call to prayer for the Astoria mosques where she grew up, which means that you will walk down Stanway Street and hear the call to prayer soon."
"For those who don't know, Muslims pray 5 times a day, in those prayers we have a beautiful call to prayer, a loud call to the Muslim majority, and our societies often become more nostalgic for it," she added.
"For the neighborhood that was targeted after September 11, our ability not to apologize for performing our worship seems very strong at this moment, we have always felt that we are under the radar, but when we spoke with our Muslim neighbors, the most desired thing for them was to call out loudly. If church bells are ringing, why can't we also announce our prayers?"
"Many of our team members worked in coordination with local leaders, writing proposals to make this moment possible, and I couldn't be happier, especially during the month of Ramadan," Rana said.
"Here are our streets, which now reflect our most authentic space, and all minority people can create their own complete and authentic communities," she concluded.