Wellington’s Kilbirnie Mosque has confirmed plans to broadcast the Islamic call-to-prayer three times a year, putting to rest claims that it would occur five times a day.
The request includes broadcasts on the anniversary of the Christchurch mosque attacks and during two major Islamic festivals, Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr.
The decision comes after Mayor Tory Whanau introduced a proposal earlier this year to review noise limits for both music venues and religious broadcasts.
As part of the review, the Wellington City Council is exploring whether mosques and other religious buildings should be allowed to use loudspeakers for public calls-to-prayer.
Community concerns addressed
Some community members voiced concerns regarding how often and how loud these broadcasts would be, with one anti-Council leaflet urging Wellingtonians to “take back your city!”
However, documents from the Council clarify that the call-to-prayer would last only about one-and-a-half to two minutes and would not be a neighbourhood-wide broadcast.
Instead, the sound would be contained to the mosque forecourt using a sound system for the benefit of those attending.
“We can commemorate the events that happened on that day and mosques won’t have a noise restriction, much like church bells” Mayor Whanau said when addressing concerns on Newstalk ZB.
Proposal goes to Council for approval
Councillors discussed the proposal at Thursday’s Environment and Infrastructure Committee meeting.
Under the current plan, the call-to-prayer broadcasts would not require resource consent as long as the sound is kept to two minutes or less.
However, any future request to broadcast the call on a regular basis would need Council approval.
“Should the intent change in the future and mosques seek to broadcast call-to-prayer on a more frequent and regular basis, resource consent would be required” Council documents confirm.
Mayor Whanau also noted that broadcasting the call-to-prayer multiple times a day would “probably not” be reasonable, reassuring concerned residents that daily broadcasts are not on the agenda under current rules.
The Council will make a final decision after Thursday’s meeting but, for now, the proposal aims to allow limited, respectful broadcasts during significant Islamic events.
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