Hi everyone,
The first time I heard the Muslim calls to prayer was after I moved to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I was living in an apartment in a traditionally immigrant neighborhood, one that used to be inhabited by Greeks, Norwegians (they built the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge), and Italians, but now is primarily Arab Muslims, Chinese, and Central American.
Around the corner from my apartment was a mosque, a little storefront space guarded by high, iron fencing. Walking by I could see inside, a long line of shoes at the front, a carpeted interior, a room full of only men. I would hear the Arabic call through a loudspeaker five times a day, starting at dawn. I wasn't a fan of it. It was foreign, in a language I could not understand, for a religion that views women as inferior.
We had church bells, too, in Bay Ridge, that tolled out the hours of Mass. These dulcet tones were a comfort to me, and after I left New York and moved to a little quiet town, the church bells have still been a joy to me. As a Christian and an American, they speak to a history I understand. I now live in a place that is Christian where Bay Ridge, a neighborhood often called "Little Palestine," is at least 10% Muslim in a city that is 9% Muslim overall.
As an American, I know that my right to practice my religion freely is predicated on the right of others to do so as well. We all get to do it, the First Amendment tells us "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." But what about social norms? Does this mean we need to be inundated with every foreign religion of every immigrant who makes the US their home?
This was the topic of a heated X exchange between two podcasters, The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh and Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan. Hasan was shown in a video saying, “If you can have your church bell, we can have our Islamic prayer call. We are as American as anyone else, and don't take B.S. from anyone,” Hasan said.
In response, Walsh said “Christianity built this country. Islam did not at all in even the slightest way. That’s why we can have our church bells, you ungrateful little bitch.” In response, Hasan claimed Walsh wasn't practicing Christianity correctly. Hasan also said "I'm more American than you, so cry more." By morning, the fight was still going, with Hasan oddly claiming that Muslim slaves built America.
Many Muslim countries had slavery into the 20th century. Estimates say that there are some 1.7 million men, women, and children living in slavery in the Middle East as of 2021, the highest prevalence of modern slavery by region. This includes forced labor and forced marriage. America has opened our nation to the world, but that world must take on our customs, not at all the reverse.
Libby