ACTION

New York City in 2026: Waking Up to Islamic Calls to Prayer

There have been a number of videos posted with loud—and early—calls of submission. Eli Shepherd at RedState: A tweet making the rounds this week shows video of the Islamic call to prayer, the Adhan, echoing through New York City streets at dawn. Five in the morning. Amplified. Projected over neighborhoods that still carry the scars of September 11, 2001. That date is not ancient history. It is living memory…. The Adhan is not ambient background music. It is a declaration. The phrase “Allahu Akbar” means “God is greatest.” It is a theological claim. It is a call to submission. Practicing Muslims understand this. That is not controversial. That is simply fact. Now imagine living in lower Manhattan. Imagine hearing that broadcast before sunrise, rolling through concrete and glass, over a skyline where nearly 3,000 Americans were murdered in an attack carried out in the name of that same phrase. Context matters. Memory matters. And if that memory is ingrained in my mind, being in 6th grade and states away at the time, I can’t imagine where it sits for those in the city (Red State).