REGINA — A muslim broadcast prayer in downtown Regina is temporarily pausing to assess the situation.
Last week, Regina City Jamia Masjid broadcast its first-ever two- to three-minute call to prayer, in keeping with Islamic practice. Following widespread criticism, mosque director M. Anisur Rahaman said local Muslim groups asked that the broadcasts stop on Friday.
“They are saying they are not feeling safe as a minority, like a Muslim. So they’re thinking we need more dialogue about problems that can happen in the future because of social media and negative comments we have received.”
In a post made by the Regina Police Service (RPS), the service said threats were being made in relation to the practice.
Rahaman himself said he’s received calls from people threatening to remove the speaker from the mosque building.
In talking with the RPS, Rahaman said the next steps will be community consultation over the next two weeks.
“If this is not bringing a positive impact for the Muslim community, then we would also prefer not to continue this because we also would respect the greater Muslim community as well as we also respect the non-Muslims,” said Rahaman.
Rahaman said he’ll be sending flyers and emails to locals to understand how the broader community feels.
“If we see 90 to 95 per cent positive feedback, we will try to see what we can do for the rest of the people.”
Mike Sinclair, priest at St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is right next door to the mosque, said no one cared when they rang bells multiple times a day downtown.
“We had a campaign where we were ringing bells for probably three to four hours a day every Wednesday to commemorate and give some voice to missing and murdered Indigenous women, and nobody batted an eye.”
Sinclair said the reaction has been from a lack of understanding of the Muslim religion.
“We get a fearful and an angry response instead of one that extends the hand and says, ‘hey, I'd like to understand more. Help me understand what's going on here.”
Sinclair said St. Paul’s Cathedral is putting their support behind the Regina City Jamia Masjid.
Permit clarification
In order to broadcast the prayer, the Regina City Jamia Masjid applied for an amplification permit.
Considerations for granting a permit include length of broadcast, area, time of day and sound level.
Rahaman said he followed the rules, going to the City of Regina to ask about the permit, followed by a dialogue with the RPS.
The permit was then granted weeks later for a short period, which will expire on July 10.
Questions have arisen about whether Regina city councillors should be involved in permit discussions, but Ward 6 Coun. Victoria Flores disagrees.
"It would be entirely inefficient for us to take over the work of [issuing a] noise permit.”
On Tuesday, RPS Chief Lorilee Davies said they would be reviewing granting a new permit for the mosque.
“If there is new information that comes forward. We're always reviewing and determining what the next steps should be.”
If the broadcast is unable to continue, Rahaman said conducting outside prayers is one possibility.
