Sweden: A minaret is a symbol

Sweden: A minaret is a symbol

The Islamic Cultural Association in Karlskrona (Sweden) wants to buy the building it's currently using as a mosque, part of a former school, and build their new mosque there. However, the city plans to place the mosque on the same property as residential housing. The mosque is planned to have an 18 meter high minaret. The city plan still needs to be approved.

Lennart Ahlqvist, chairman of the Swedish Homeowners Association in Karlskrona says that the mosque is not an issue, but a minaret is something else completely. How many people want to move to a place with a call to prayer five time a day? Instead of increased integration he's afraid it will have the opposite effect.

Carl-Göran Svensson (M), chairperson of the environment and building committee says that noise levels will have to abide by the law. He says that as far as he knows, the church clocks have been seen as disturbing, though people live next to it.

Imam Abboud Sleiman responds: "The minaret is a symbol. It is prohibited to have the call of prayer from it. We will have the call to prayer inside the premises at a normal conversational level, there will be no difference with how it's been before. According to our religion we must not disturb our neighbors."

Source: BLT 1, 2 (Swedish), h/t Politiskt Inkorrect

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