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Good Morning, At 4 A.M.
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Haifa
city complain of the distur-
very Friday after-
bance.
noon, the shrill
Worst of all is the early
sound of a siren is
morning call, around 4 a.m.,
heard in the air over
when the otherwise stillness of
Haifa and in many large cities
the city is broken. Many who
in Israel.
suffer from sleep problems
It has nothing to do with a
find their slumber suddenly
bomb alert; it is the warning
disturbed, and it is not always
CA RL
that the Shabbat is rapidly
easy to doze off again.
ALP ERT
approaching and observant
Where we live, in an all-
Spe cial
citizens should make last-
Comm entary Jewish neighborhood on Mt.
minute arrangements for the
Carmel, the muezzin's call has
day of rest and prepare to light
become a:five-time daily fea-
candles. Thereafter, the Shabbat quiet,
ture. We repeat: It is not unpleasant,
more or less, settles over the town.
except in instances where it is a per-
In recent months, Haifa's residents
sonal disturbance.
have become aware of a new sound
Haifa has a justifiable reputation as
emanating from a local neighborhood
a city where, for the most part, Jews
and resounding throughout the city
and non-Jews live together in relative
five times a day, every day.
harmony — at least commercially, if
It is not shrill. It is a man's voice
not socially. Jews constitute about 87
singing in modulated tones, in Arabic,
percent of the population; Christians,
and was at once identified as the
who are mostly Arabs, about 8 per-
Muslin-1 muezzin calling members of
cent; Muslims, Druzes and others, 5
the faith to prayer.
percent.
According to tradition, the function
The recent amplification of the
of the muezzin was created in the time
muezzin's calls has introduced a dis-
of Muhammad to ensure that the
turbing note and created a great deal
faithful, who are expected to pray five
of resentment.
times a day, would know when the
It was quickly ascertained that the
time had come. Muhammad thought
voice came from the small Arab neigh-
that the human voice was most appro-
borhood of Halissa. Veteran residents
priate to communicate the message, as
have not forgotten that in 1948, when
opposed to a Christian bell or a Jewish
the state of Israel was proclaimed, the
horn.
mosque in Halissa was utilized by
Originally, the muezzin would climb Arab snipers to fire into the very heart
the steps to the top of the minaret of
of the Jewish section of the city.
the mosque, and there utter his call.
Today, Halissa is the center of what
Today, loudspeakers are used where
many consider a deliberate provoca-
necessary and in large areas, modern
tion.
electronic amplification.
Complaints against "the noise" were
The text, sung in a minor key, is
registered with the mayor, but with no
simple:
result. Indignant Jewish reaction final-
"Allah is the greatest. I bear witness
ly brought a promise that the early
that there is no god but Allah. I bear
morning call, sounded before sunrise,
witness that is the messenger of Allah.
would be muted, though one of the
Come fast to prayer. Come to success.
lines of that early text, as noted above,
Prayer is better than sleep (said only
and uttered twice, expresses the view
before the morning prayer). Allah is
that prayer is better than sleep.
the greatest. There is no god but
The five calls a day, disturbing non-
Allah."
Muslims, is already a cause for violent
Obviously, the muezzin's calls are
non-Muslim reaction in other coun-
intended only for Muslim ears, and
tries, including India and even in non-
heretofore have been confined largely
Muslim neighborhoods of Malaysia.
to the neighborhood where numbers
The city of Calcutta imposed a ban
of the faithful reside. More recently,
on amplification of the muezzin's call,
however, here in Haifa, the volume has and Muslim appeals to the courts were
been turned up and the muezzin can
rejected, upholding the ban.
be clearly heard over most of the city.
Back here in Haifa, we were awak-
The tones are not raucous, but Jews
ened the other morning at about 4
and Christians in many parts of the
a.m. by the voice of the muezzin ris-
ing to the Carmel from the city below
Carl Alpert is a U.S. native who made
as he intoned his call. It was annoy-
aliyah in 1952. He is a former Zionist
ing, but he finally sang us to sleep.
We are assured that the quiet soon
Organization of America leader. E-mail:
will reign again. II
alpert@techunix.technion.ac.il
le
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