"Historic decision." The American Minneapolis Council allows the call to prayer to be raised 5 times a day

The Minneapolis City Council in Minnesota has voted unanimously to grant approval to the city's mosques to broadcast the call to prayer over loudspeakers 5 times a day, becoming the first U.S. city in history to pass the resolution.

The city's mosques were allowed to call for prayer according to the Minneapolis Council's April 2022 decision, but this decision limited the period of broadcasting the call to prayer from seven in the morning to ten in the evening, which made it impossible to announce the call to prayer for Fajr and Isha at some times of the year.

US media reported that after the vote held on Thursday with the approval of 12 members of the Minneapolis City Council, Minnesota, the call to prayer through loudspeakers in all mosques became allowed throughout the day in the five prayers.

Until early 2022, many Muslims in Minneapolis relied on alarms and timers to know prayer times.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed in a statement the Minneapolis City Council's new decision, which is expected to be signed by the mayor on Monday.

"This is a historic victory for religious freedom and pluralism for our entire nation, and we thank the members of the Minneapolis City Council for setting such a great example; we urge other cities to follow suit," said Minnesota Council President Jilani Hussain.

Hussein extended special thanks to Council Rep. Aisha Chugtai, who led the effort to pass the resolution, noting that CAIR attended the City Council meeting and urged members to vote in favor of the resolution.

Mosques in America

A report entitled "American Mosques in 2020: Growth and Development" stated that there was a significant increase in the number of mosques in the United States, reaching 2769,2020 mosques in 2106, compared to 2010,31 mosques in <>, an increase of <>%.

In addition to the increase in the number of mosques, the number of visitors has also increased, with an average of 410 worshippers on Fridays in 2020, compared to 353 in 2010, an increase of 16%, according to the report, which confirmed that "approximately 72% of mosques recorded an increase of 10% or more in the number of Friday prayer attendees."

According to the latest official statistics in early 2022, the number of Muslims in America is estimated at about 3.5 million, or about 1.2% of the total population.