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Oxford: the Muslim call to prayer

This article by Vaughan Roberts of St. Ebbe’s Church, Oxford, is directed at his own congregation. Although a local issue for them, the article might be a model to others in Muslim areas.

You may have noticed in the local press that the Central Mosque in East Oxford is considering making a request to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer (adhan). How should Christians respond?

We should certainly affirm the right of all citizens in Britain to choose whatever religion they wish and to practise it (within the bounds of the law). Some have argued that that this tolerance should extend to accepting the right of Muslims to issue the adhan, which they regard as the equivalent to the sound of church bells. That, I believe, is both wrong and na•ve. To understand the significance of adhan we should recognise it both as theological and territorial.

Call to prayer is theological

The sound of church bells is theologically neutral: a wordless noise announcing a church service. But the adhan is a declaration in Arabic of the Muslim faith: ‘Allah is the greatest, I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah’. The Christian equivalent would be the proclamation by loudspeaker from church towers that ‘Jesus is Lord’ or ‘Jesus is the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through him’.

Call to prayer is territorial

We must not be na•ve about the nature of Islam, which is an ideology as well as a religion. According to both Islamic theory and practice down the ages, Muslims are meant to govern, with non-Muslims being subject to Muslim rule. In Britain, where there is no realistic likelihood of national Muslim government, one strategy is to ‘Islamise’ certain areas and, as the Bishop of Rochester has recently pointed out, the adhan is seen as one important step towards realising that goal. It is not just a call to pray: it is a political statement — a declaration that the area in which it is heard is a Muslim area. As such, it should be seen as a thin end of a very important wedge.

What should Christians do?

A. Urgent prayer. We are in a spiritual battle and it is urgent that we use spiritual weapons, pleading with our great God to halt the spread of Islam and to cause many more, including large numbers of Muslims, to hear the good news that Jesus Christ is Lord and submit to him. We live in a privileged generation, when more Muslims are coming to Christ than ever before in history, around the world and in Britain too.

B. Loving friendship. We should open our hearts and homes to our Muslim neighbours as well as Muslims who work alongside us in the office or lab or visit our city as refugees or language students. We are right to be wary of Islam but that does not mean that we should fear Muslims or keep our distance from them. They are human beings loved by God and made in his image. We should make every effort to show them Christian love and friendship. Most are friendly people whom it is a pleasure to know.

C. United witness. As well as offering friendship to our Muslim neighbours we will long to share with them the gospel of Christ. It has been very good to see Christians in Oxford, from a variety of different churches, joining together to pray and encourage each other in their witness to Muslims under the umbrella of the Muhabba network (there is a prayer meeting every Tuesday from 7.00 to 8.00 am in St. Aldate’s Church).

D. Gracious protest. It is important that we make our voices heard by the City Council, especially those who live in the currently affected area. It is a great privilege to live in a democracy and we should make the most of it by ensuring that our voices are heard. We must be sensitive in the way that we do this, avoiding the impression that we are simply seeking to guard our own Christian privileges whilst opposing other religions.

This article was first printed in the February 2008 issue of EBBE & FLOW, the magazine of St. Ebbe’s Church, Oxford, and was reprinted with permission.