REGINA, Saskatchewan (LifeSiteNews) — For the first time in a majority-Christian city in Canada’s heartland, the Islamic “call to prayer” was loudly rung from electronic speakers from a mosque in the city of Regina’s downtown.
The Regina City Jamia Masjid mosque did a “sound test” of its call “to prayer” from four loudspeakers, which lasted for about three minutes. The event was dubbed a “historic milestone.”
The broadcast was made on June 19 at 1 pm local time, featuring the first outdoor Adhan (Muslim call to prayer), which blasted throughout downtown Regina.
A video of the test was shared on YouTube, with some commentators calling it a “terrible idea.”
The mosque, in a statement, thanked Regina city officials, the Regina Police Service, as well as the local media for “support and understanding.”
However, the city’s own Noise Abatement Bylaw No. 6980 bans “any unreasonably loud or excessive noise likely to disturb any reasonable person within the city.”
It also bans any loud noise from 10 pm to 7 am; however, for those wanting exemptions, they are given in some cases.
The same bylaw also has in it a specific exemption for “the sounding of bells in churches, religious establishments, and schools.” It should be noted that church bells, most of which are old, have been grandfathered in; however, they are mechanical and not like the electronic horns from the mosque, which are designed to project sound far away.
Also, in the mosque’s own advisory about the horns, it states that they were chosen because they could give good outdoor sound coverage.
Mosque horns are a ‘warning siren’ of things to come, says observer
Mosques have become more commonplace in Canada, as people from majority-Islamic nations have been allowed to immigrate to Canada en masse.
Under the Liberal government of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada let in a record number of immigrants, many from Muslim nations.
This has caused issues in Canada. As reported by LifeSiteNews, a Canadian public school in Calgary faced backlash after essentially banning children from eating in the school cafeteria, which was deemed a “no food space” during Ramadan to avoid offending fasting Muslim students.
In an opinion piece about the Regina mosque’s “call to prayer” horns, posted in the Western Standard, Christopher Oldcorn said that the residents of Regina should “call it what it is: a warning siren.”
“This was not some quiet, internal religious observance. This was a deliberate projection of faith into public space, using amplification technology specifically chosen for sending sound long distances,” he noted.
“If you think this stops at one mosque and one ‘test,’ it’s time to wake up. In 2020, cities across Canada – including Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver – granted temporary noise bylaw exemptions to mosques during Ramadan so they could broadcast the Adhan.”
Oldcorn observed that, in the United States, in many areas with mosques with such broadcasting systems, such as in Dearborn, Michigan, those who oppose the noise have been labeled as “Islamophobic.”
“That is the playbook. Frame every objection as bigotry, and watch city councillors fold like cheap lawn chairs at a summer picnic,” he noted.
Oldcorn noted how in Saskatchewan’s other large city, Saskatoon, in 2003, Holy Spirit Catholic Church’s bells generated a lot of noise complaints, to the point that the city considered lifting the noise bylaw on it.
Current Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is fully onboard with what in Canada is dubbed a “multicultural” identity, which in reality often downplays the Christian heritage of those who founded Canada’s hospitals, schools, and infrastructure.
Just a few months ago, Carney was criticized heavily for suggesting that “Muslim values” are “Canadian values,” with many pointing out that Canada is a nation founded by Christians and is not an Islamic state.
Carney failed to mention the fact that Christianity – in particular, Catholicism – is a targeted faith in Canada. More than 100 Catholic churches have been burned or vandalized in recent years.
Indeed, Carney recently went as far as saying that Canada is not really a “Christian” nation after stating “Christian nationalism” is un-Canadian and that the state is more important than faith.
Canada is historically a nation founded on Christian ideals and principles. European settlers who came to Canada from France and then later from what is the modern-day United Kingdom were Christian and included missionaries who tried to spread Christian beliefs to the local Indigenous populations.
Canada has observed Christmas since 1641, well before its official founding, according to historical records.