By Kouthar Sambo

Speaking on The Voice of the Cape’s (VOC) breakfast show this morning, the chairperson of the Kalk Bay Committee Mohamad Fredericks said that the residents were thrilled to hear the athan (to listen) for the first time from the Mosque, Masjidul Jaamia in Kalk Bay last week.

“We have been dwelling on this since last year when we established the new committee in February of 2022. We were just throwing our feelers out there, being a predominantly white community, non-muslims surrounding the Mosque. We felt that we had to get the views of the people and their reaction,” said Mohamad.

He added that the nearest neighbour of the Mosque is the Pastor who had to be consulted with.

“We told him we need to amplify and allow the athan echo from the Dam to the Fisherman’s Flat so the Muslim people can hear the athan. He did not have a problem and neither did many other people who lived in the same street.”

There are a few people who walked into the Mosque, explains Mohamad, asking why hasn’t the athan played from the mosque. Last weekend, however, the amplification instruments and mikes were installed and tested for the waqt of Magrib.

“It sounded so beautiful, and the response of our community was phenomenal. There was never an athan being amplified in this area and this time it was echoed – even people on the Kalk Bay harbour could hear,” added Mohamad.

He went on to highlight the importance of being considerate to neighbours, especially in the beginning. For now, Thur, Asr, Magrib, and Esha athan is amplified throughout the area, while there is currently no Fajr athan.

Photo: Supplied