After restrictions on the use of loudspeakers, six mosques in Mumbai have registered on a mobile phone application that informs people of Muslim community when they are ‘Ajan’.
This app named ‘online Ajan’ has been prepared by a Tamil Nadu company.
Mutavalli Fahad Khalil Pathan of Mahim Zuma Masjid told ‘PTI-Bhasha’ that the mobile ‘app’ helps to deliver azan directly from local mosques to Namazis in view of the restrictions and sensibilities related to the use of loudspeakers for Namaz.
He told that this app will help users to listen to Ajan at home and when public restrictions are held in Ramadan and at a time when there are public restrictions.
Pathan said, “This initiative has been taken after the strictness of the police on the use of loudspeakers. Police visited the Zuma Masjid and warned that action could be taken on the use of loudspeakers. Due to this, the mosque has temporarily closed loudspeakers. ”
He said that the Zuma Mosque in Mahim region has adopted the app to continue the tradition of Ajan. He said that this has been done especially for the elderly and people living nearby (mosque).
The app has been developed with technical support from a team of IT professionals from Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu and is now available on ‘Android’ devices and iPhones.
This app operates the audio of the live telecast of Ajan at the same time through the mobile phone when the mosque is given a strange. Pathan said that those who cannot hear Ajan due to Namaji loudspeaker ban can now hear it at the scheduled time through this app.
Praising this initiative, the Namazis said that even after the loudspeaker is closed, they can now hear the Ajan of their nearest mosque through their mobile phones.
Pathan said, “We chose innovation instead of confrontation. Now people of the Muslim community can stay connected with the time of Ajan. In the last three days, 500 people living around our mosque have registered on the app. A total of six mosques in Mumbai have registered in the app. ‘
He said, “It is important to clarify that the Mumbai High Court has not ordered the removal of loudspeakers, but has fixed the sound limit- 55 decibels a day and 45 decibels in the night. In response to this and at the request of the police, we have stopped using loudspeakers voluntarily and started using a box speaker to follow the guidelines.
Mohammad Ali, one of the co-founders of ‘online Ajan’, said that 250 mosques in Tamil Nadu are registered with the app.
He said that the company asks for an application form, the address of the mosque, proof and the Aadhaar card of the person giving Ajan.
Asif Farooqui, general secretary of the Congress Mumbai unit, welcomed the move to adopt new technology by mosques.
The Congress leader said, “Loudspeaker is just a medium to join people on a large scale. Namaz is important, not loudspeakers. There are many ways to convey the call for Namaz and it is a good thing that mosques are adopting innovations. ”
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somayya is conducting campaigns against the use of loudspeakers on mosques in Mumbai.
The former MP has claimed that 1,500 loudspeakers being used without the permission of officials in Mumbai have been removed due to their campaign.