Egyptian Muslim Activist Permitted to Raise Mosque Sounds in NYC

Egyptian Muslim activist Rana Abdelhamid was granted three Athan sound permits for the Astoria mosques during the holy month of Ramadan.

“Historic news!!! Just a NY Muslim girl in Ramadan with three Athan sound permits for the Astoria mosques she was raised in,” Abdelhamid wrote on Instagram.

She affirmed that people will walk down the street and hear the call to prayer out loud very soon.

“For those who don’t know, Muslims pray five times a day, in those prayers, we have a beautiful call to prayer, that in Muslim majority contexts gets called out loud,” she elaborated.

The 29-year-old girl highlighted that it is often “what our communities become most nostalgic for.”

“If church bells can ring, why can’t our prayer be made visible too?” she continued. “Writing proposals to make this moment possible and I cannot be more in joy, especially during Ramadan! Here’s to our streets being unapologetically reflective of our most authentic spaces.

Later on, she posted a video of prayer sounds on Instagram; with the caption: “The athan was called out loud today from Astoria mosques and it was as emotional as I imagined it to be.”