Muezzins in uproar over Cairo's plan for a single call to prayer

A lone ministerial voice has been raised above the daily din in Cairo, demanding an end to the cacophony from thousands of minarets in favour of a single, centralised call to prayer.

A lone ministerial voice has been raised above the daily din in Cairo, demanding an end to the cacophony from thousands of minarets in favour of a single, centralised call to prayer.

Egypt's religious endowment minister, Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzouq, has caused a storm by saying that the call, or adan, is increasingly out of control and not very "beautiful".

Crackling sound systems, mediocre muezzins and staggered prayer calls have long been the butt of jokes among local people, but even so the plan has caused a furore in the people's assembly.

Religious leaders have complained that banning the multitude of prayer calls would endanger the livelihoods of an estimated 200,000 muezzins working in a vast array of mosques, from large central ones such as al-Azhar to the smallest prayer halls tucked into buildings and garages.

Mr Zaqzouq indicated that the 70,000 muezzins employed by his ministry would be found work at their mosques, aiding people in prayer. Adel Mugahed, a ministry spokesman, said a group of engineers was studying the possibility of broadcasting one live adan simultaneously from 4,000 recognised mosques, while loudspeakers in smaller places of worship would be silenced.

"The goal is to offer the most beautiful voices, the most beautiful sound for the adan," he said. "Some [muezzins] are obviously better than others."

The ministry has been taken aback by the furious reaction. But Mr Mugahed said: "There is no great secret plan. It's just an idea that we are studying; something that would make the city less noisy and stop this mess with the loudspeakers."

The controversy has driven the ministry to seek the approval of al-Azhar, the country's highest religious authority, which has issued its blessing for a possible change. "Some people, they're used to something and they just don't want change," Mr Mugahed said.

Some Islamists have argued that the adan is part of the prayers themselves and that centralising the call would, therefore, rob muezzins of this holy act. But Mr Mugahed rejects this, saying that there is no intention to ban the call to prayer. Muezzins would still be able to perform the adan, but without a microphone.

Fathi Howeidy, a thinker on Islam, is sceptical. "It's really a silly decision," he said. "My feeling is, this is a good thing if what we are after is reducing noise, if they are going to continue to try to stop noise pollution in general." But the focus on the call to prayer was an odd place to start. "This is a minor thing. What is more important is what is being said during the prayers ... They are working on nationalising mosques, to put everything under control.

"All we are saying is, Why the call in particular? Are we against noise or are we against the adan? There are weddings and birthdays and nightclubs. Will we stop using microphones there? But if we are against the adan, then just say so ... and no one can say that."