For Moona Khan, a Muslim resident of Edmonton, the call to prayer from the speakers of her mosque during Ramadan filled her with joy.
“To be able to hear it live like that … it goes deep within my soul. You really (feel) like you belong, like you know your traditions are now being accepted and being celebrated here,” Khan told The Canadian Press.
The adhan is the call to announce that it is time for a particular obligatory Salah (ritual prayer).
The Muslim call to prayer is usually prohibited under the city noise bylaws. However, for the second year, many cities in Canada have allowed mosques to make the adhan through loudspeakers at sunset during the month of Ramadan.
📚 Read Also: The Dream That Sparked The Adhan
Yasin Cetin, a community outreach and engagement adviser for the association, believes broadcasting the adhan is exactly what Canadian-Muslims need to celebrate a second Ramadan in lockdown.
“The challenge is that we miss the communal connection,” Cetin said while sitting outside the center’s Rahma Mosque, west of Edmonton, an hour before sunset.
“The second time around, knowing that this is a part of an inclusive policy, there’s an extra level of comfort in being an Edmontonian.”
📚 Read Also: This Ramadan, Make Your Home the Masjid
First Adhan
The first adhan in Ramadan was recited by Bilal Moumad, 14, at Rahma Mosque.
“I just want to make sure there are kids out there that are inspired to recite,” Moumad said. “Some kids are shy and I want to bring that power to them. It’s peaceful.”
When Khan heard Moumed’s voice reciting the adhan, she pulled up in her car with her family.
“It was surreal for myself and my mom and my husband, because it’s something we had never heard in Canada.
“To be able to share that with my children was really special.”
Ramadan is the 9th month of the Hijri Islamic calendar. It commemorates the first revelation of the Qur’an to Prophet Muhammad.
From dawn until sunset, Muslims refrain from food, drinking liquids, smoking, and engaging in sexual relations).