Rick Steves' Travel as a Political Act Blog - Islam in a Pistachio Shell, Part 2: The Muslim Call to Prayer

Islam in a Pistachio Shell, Part 2: The Muslim Call to Prayer

The Islamic equivalent of the Christian bell tower is a minaret, which the muezzin traditionally climbs to sing the call to prayer. In a kind of architectural Darwinism, the minarets are shrinking. As calls to prayer are now electronically amplified, the muezzin sings into a mic at ground level, and the minaret's height is no longer necessary or worth the expense. Many small, modern mosques have one mini-minaret about as awe-inspiring as your little toe.

While the call to prayer sounds spooky to many Americans, I find that with some understanding it becomes beautiful. Traditionally, just before the sun rises, an imam stares at his arm. When he can tell a gray hair from a black one, it's time to call his community to prayer. While quality and warble varies, across Islam the Arabic words of the call to prayer are exactly the same. The first call to prayer of the day starts with an extra line:

Praying is better than sleeping God is great (Allahhhhhh hu akbar...) I witness there is no other God but Allah I witness Muhammad is Allah's prophet Come join the prayer Come to be saved God is great...God is great There is no other God but Allah.

Big mosques have a trained professional singer for a muezzin. Many tiny mosques can't afford a real muezzin, so the imam himself does the call to prayer. The qualitative difference can be obvious. Invariably, my hotel seems to be within earshot of five or six mosques, which creates quite a cacophony.

My challenge is to hear the Muslim call to prayer as a beautiful form of praise that sweeps across the globe — from Malaysia across Pakistan, Arabia, and Turkey to Morocco and then to America — like a stadium wave, undulating exactly as fast as the earth turns...five times a day.

About This Entry

You are reading "Islam in a Pistachio Shell, Part 2: The Muslim Call to Prayer", an entry posted on 14 January 2010 by Rick Steves.

3 replies to this entry. Add your comment below.

Previous Entry, Islam in a Pistachio Shell, Part 1: The Five Pillars, posted Jan 11 2010

Next Entry, Islam in a Pistachio Shell, Part 3: Rituals and Origins, posted Jan 15 2010

Comments [ top ]

Generally I consider myself an agnostic (on some days, closer to athiest, depending on which religious moron has shot his or her mouth off, like Pat Robertson), but I too enjoyed listening to the calls to prayer in Turkey and Egypt. Regardless of my personal belief or unbelief, I chose to listen to it as a reminder that there is more to life than workaday concerns, to keep balance to our days and lives.

Posted by: Angie - Jan 14, 2010 12:02 PM

Church bells have the same effect on many Americans who, after being polled, claim we are among the most religious people on the planet. It might be very helpful to world peace if some of the world's great philosophers' and writers' works - like those who helped write the U.S. Constitution, the Bible, and the Quran - were translated into Arabic, English etc so we could all study these works and what they might mean. Most Muslims speak English but it's hard to find translations of the writings of people like Thomas Jefferson, for instance, in their countries. No better way to steal the fire from the crackpots and despots and zealots and demagogues than if we all have access to information. For example, the Quran does not sanction suicide bombers and it does not sanction violence against non-combatants. But clever radicals tell their brain washed adherents that they are not suicide bombers but rather "martyrs" for the cause. Talk about gilding the lily. Most Muslims do not buy into that claptrap but it only takes an infinitesimal percent of the planet's population to wreak havoc on the psyches of the rest of us. But what does this have to do with travel? It's hard to believe visiting countries rich in Islam history and traditions and religion would not stimulate the visitor to ask questions and thereby get better understanding of what residents themselves really believe about religion and their political system.It's going to be interesting to see how many responses RS gets to his blog on this subject. As Americans we are generally not very well versed on what's really going on outside the U.S. And the Middle East including Lebanon and Israel are rife with complexities and history. We simply can't walk away from it tho because of OIL.

Posted by: bill - Jan 14, 2010 12:16 PM

When Rick writes a blog like this it is generally beneficial. But somehow he has to address the concern, real or imagined, that he is simply trying to hype his book - which has so far apparently been for a niche market. Does his publisher contact him and say "Rick, nobody's buying this thing. Get with the program. You can't appear on The View or Jay Leno but you must capitalize on your main access to potential purchasers. So provoke, drop the book from airplanes, ask your children to marry Muslims, whatever." I don't believe that for a NY minute but RS must have thousands of readers who consciously or subconsciously wonder about it even as they read what he writes. I guess his gift of the book as part of his charitable efforts helps answer the question.

Posted by: w - Jan 14, 2010 2:08 PM