BENGALURU: In the backdrop of a raging debate over the use of loudspeakers in mosques, Moulana Maqsood Imran Rashadi, Imam of Jamia Masjid, one of the largest mosques in Bengaluru, said they have installed a ‘decibel meter’ to control the azaan volume within legally permissible limits.
“During this ongoing Ramzan, we are using an electronic sound measuring and control device. We will abide by all legal norms without a doubt,” Rashadi told The New Indian Express on Thursday.
He clarified that the only issue is the azaan calls and there are no problems with public address systems used for prayers in mosques.
“We consulted acoustic experts and they gave us suggestions. We started the process two to three months ago and demonstrated the device to officials of the Home Department, including the jurisdictional DCP. Later, we conducted a live demonstration for police officers from the DGP’s office too,” he said.
They started testing the device in Thanisandra where they found that the azaan volume was an issue for the surrounding high-rise buildings. Then they worked on it in one of their mosques in Mavalli area near Lalbagh where a team from the Pollution Control Board has been monitoring the azaan volume round-the-clock for the past six weeks. “There has been a lot of effort to ensure that the process is problem-free through repeated checks,” he noted.
“Starting with Jamia Masjid in City Market, we will soon install sound monitoring devices in 8,000 important mosques across the state,” he said. Meanwhile, all mosques in Hubballi are following the sound limit norms during azaan. Most mosques have also installed sound control units. Large mosques in the Central Business District, Ganeshpet, Kamaripet, Dajibanpet, Channapet, Gopankoppa and Unkal have already been keeping a check on the sound output and residents in these areas confirmed that they could barely hear the azaan.