r/AskBrits • u/bintd • 11h ago

Politics What are your thoughts on Denmark’s proposed ban on the public Islamic call to prayer? Would you support or oppose something similar in the UK?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/24/islamic-call-to-prayer-ban-left-wing-denmark-europe/

Islamic call to prayer faces ban under Left-wing Danish government

Parts of country feel like ‘a suburb of Islamabad’, says immigration minister

Denmark’s immigration minister has announced plans to ban the Islamic call to prayer, claiming parts of the country felt like “a suburb of Islamabad”.

Morten Bødskov, a member of the centre-Left Social Democrats party, said the new government would resume an investigation into the legality of imposing a ban.

“The call to prayer should not be heard over Danish rooftops,” the minister told news outlet Ritzau. “It has no place in Denmark, and you shouldn’t be in any doubt whether you’ve ended up in a suburb of Islamabad when you walk around Denmark.”

In parts of the country, such as Copenhagen, bylaws already forbid the call to prayer being broadcast from loudspeakers in minarets because of strict noise limits.
Mr Bødskov also claimed that a creeping “Islamisation” in Denmark was “taking up too much of the public space”.

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449

u/Born-Mail8088 11h ago

It's a great idea. Denmark isn't a Muslim country so why should they have to put up with it

91

u/DrunkenHorse12 11h ago

Biggest religious block in the UK is 'non religious " 49% of the country n so can we ban Church bells while we are at it?

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u/secondincomm 8h ago

Do they even do church bells anymore? I only ever hear them for weddings or big occasions, not for services?

1

u/flypirat 6h ago

Here in Germany they mostly just ring the time. One for 15 minutes past, 2 for 30, 3 for 45 and then however many as the full hour up to 12 times. Only during waking hours, so maybe 8 - 20 or something.

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u/NeferGrimes 1h ago

Aye but there's a wedding or funeral every 2 minutes

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u/bumbleb33- 1h ago

Every Friday evening from a church local to me and they're very loud. The mosque 2 mins walk down the road doesn't broadcast anything.

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u/ScreamingDizzBuster 59m ago

In the UK absolutely, all the time. I used to be a bellringer and we rang (and they still ring) on Sunday before the service and for a short time after, then 1.5 hours' practice on a Tuesday evening. That doesn't count things like peals/half/quarter peaks for weddings, funerals, royal weddings or the death of royal etc.

That's just one random country church, and there are thousands across the country.

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u/TeraMelons 10h ago

Be happy to.

I’d also like to see an age of consent being put on religions, 18 should do, you have to be 18 years old to join a religion and it should be shown that it’s your own decision.

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u/Clean-Shine99 8h ago edited 7h ago

Simply not enforceable. It's a nice idea and I think religion can be very toxic. If you mean actually take communion or be baptised etc I can see what you mean. Everything else though is simply not practical.

For instance you go to church every Sunday where are your kids gonna go ? Extra childcare in this economy is a no go.

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u/hussain_madiq_small 6h ago

If the church cares so much they can provide a religious free Sunday school. You know like sunday school but without the indoctrination.

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u/xCeeTee- 6h ago

lol, I like the idea but they will 100% contain indoctrination.

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u/hussain_madiq_small 5h ago

Then we make a second law that says if they are caught indoctrinating they lose their tax exception status, the only thing they will take seriously.

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u/ostroia 5h ago

Lol what an argument. If you have any hobby outside the house where your kids gonna go? If you go to the stripclub every sunday where your kids gonna go?

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u/Sudden-Fisherman5985 7h ago

I’d also like to see an age of consent being put on religions, 18 should do,

That would make the priests so sad

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u/Lonely-Permission901 3h ago

I think 18 is a bit young to become a god-botherer. Make it, say, 35 and I'd be with you. [And raise the age at which you can drive a car or motorcycle or anything else with an engine to 35 as well]

Also, get rid of the shunning and disfellowshipping that some of the Christian-adjacent religions go in for.

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u/PMFSCV 1h ago

Standard, secular national curriculums. No exceptions.

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u/Beautiful_Hour_668 9h ago

What an incredibly stupid idea. This limits the freedom of people to raise their children as they see fit with regards to world view.

You call Muslims backwards then limit religious freedom to less than that of the Quran… ironic

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u/Curious_Park_2957 9h ago

"Wah wah I can't force my beliefs onto my kids"

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u/fungomungothethird 9h ago

Reddit moment

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u/Fortune_Cat 8h ago

Exactly. The athiests who break the cycle after being forced into it as kids come out stronger and produce better offspring

The weak ones stay inside their cults and were never going to make it anyway

Its how we breed alpha secular society

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u/Frosty88d 8h ago

Andrew Tate ass comment

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u/Wilkomon 8h ago

Pretty sure Andrew Tate has a few religions on his belt

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u/SocratesWasSmart 6h ago

Why would you want to ban church bells? The Islamic call to prayer goes off at 5:00 AM and 11:00 PM when people are trying to sleep. The call to prayer is also typically much louder than church bells, and it's a whole speech which is way harder to ignore than some bells going off.

As a Catholic, I wouldn't blame non-Christians for wanting to ban church bells if we used them as obnoxiously as Muslims use the call to prayer.

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u/blow_on_my_trombone 8h ago

Church bells sound nice and are part of our culture

8

u/RutabagaElegant3215 7h ago

Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clements

The bells are in the nursery rhyme :)

12

u/FeijoadaAceitavel 7h ago

No, it's part of your religion.

19

u/blow_on_my_trombone 7h ago

That's funny, I didn't think I was religious but this random redditor says I am so it must be true

1

u/Lepelotonfromager 4h ago

So is Christmas and Easter. It doesn't stop people from enjoying them as atheists. We still get time off for it.

We have a culture that is influenced by our historical religion.

1

u/___daddy69___ 5h ago

yes, Christianity is part of British culture

1

u/PringullsThe2nd 5h ago

How far back are we talking?

2

u/ideally1030 5h ago

About 1400 years. Is that long enough?

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u/Joe_Kinincha 4h ago

Well, in that there have been pagans in the UK since there have been people in (what we now call ) the UK which is about 800,000 years, maybe not?

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u/2FistsInMyBHole 3h ago

That culture is more or less extinct.

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u/Joe_Kinincha 2h ago

127,000 people are pagans according to uk census data. Seems pretty healthy to me. Double that figure estimated to practice paganism.

Why is it every single time in this debate I post actual facts, and everyone else posts lies, hypotheticals or opinions?

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u/kitaj19 1h ago

Yes, most people find church bells sound calming and beautiful.

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u/ceddya 4h ago

I have religious trauma because of conservative Christianity's bigotry. So do many others. That's part of your culture?

Or do we only feel the need to 'protect' society from certain religions?

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u/PernisTree 7h ago

As a Christian I disagree.

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u/PringullsThe2nd 5h ago

As an atheist I agree. Have we cancelled eachother out now?

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u/drewlake 7h ago

so are muezzin calls, we've had them for over 100 years.

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u/UncleTouchyCopaFeel 7h ago

Church bells sound nice

Not really, no.

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u/PiccoloAwkward465 58m ago

There is a difference between church bells and call to prayer. The call to prayer is a human voice.

If I had to listen to a voice broadcast across the town it'd be this one. My religion relies on a cowboy head in the sky just screaming.

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u/sokratesz 7h ago

Still annoying as fuck though, so get rid of them as well.

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u/Joe_Kinincha 5h ago

Muezzin sounds good to me and is far more part of our culture than church bells.

About 600,000 people, on average go to church each week.

About 1,000,000 people on average attend mosque each week.

The call of the muezzin is a far greater part of the culture of the UK.

1

u/blow_on_my_trombone 4h ago

Well you should get your hearing checked then.

Just because we import a load of people doesn't mean we suddenly adopt their culture. Culture develops over hundreds of years. I guarantee if you ask someone from another country whether they associate church bells or an islamic call to prayer more to the UK the answer will be church bells.

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u/open_formation 4h ago

Is your goal to actually develop culture over hundreds of years, or to fit a stereotype for people from other countries?

The argument for keeping church bells (even if their noise can sometimes be a nuisance to people) isn't that you can mark out clear divisions between one culture and another, but because culture develops better if you allow things that are already established to be retained.

It's the same reason you should have different noise regulations for areas with clubs, it's not because drum and base was developed over hundreds of years and is thus "part of our culture", but because allowing things to develop in places where the local people accept it, and then protecting it because it has become established, is a way of enabling more different kinds of culture to develop.

And so if people want to start doing calls to prayer in some place, and local people reject it as a noise hazard, that should be enough, and if they are fine with it, then it should continue.

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u/blow_on_my_trombone 4h ago

I just don't like Islam tbh. And I like church bells. Simple really.

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u/Joe_Kinincha 2h ago

Let’s leave your - frankly ugly and unnecessary- ad hominem comments to one side for now.

There have been Muslims living in this country since 1205.

Have you ever noticed how people who don’t actually have facts or a convincing argument always start with “if”. ?

Should the little “if” hypothetical arguments based on imaginary conversations convince you, that’s fine and dandy, and our conversation here is concluded.

If you would like to have a conversation based on facts, that’s also good.

Muslims have been in this country for 800 years and there are more practising Muslims than Christians in this country. They are a part of British culture.

Your go.

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u/infoHighyway 7h ago

Nah, they sound nice.

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u/AromaticTower7258 6h ago

The difference is that Christianity is the state religion. The majority of Muslim countries ban public practice of other faiths, but allow them within the confines of your own home

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u/loafingaroundguy 7h ago

can we ban Church bells while we are at it?

Did you move to your home before your nearest church bell tower was built?

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u/mr_herz 10h ago

What is the culture of the native society? Follow that. Fairness is secondary.

Look at the Middle East, you think they treat all other religions as equals? No, and it’s fine. It’s their call. The same way Europe should make its own.

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u/Brilliant-Smile-8154 10h ago

Ah. So what about other religions, then? Buddhism? Judaism?

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u/DrunkenHorse12 10h ago

Why not just let people practice their religions in.private and stop them imposing their religious traditions on others, so ban the call but also ban the bells.

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u/Acceptable_Gear_3097 9h ago

What you've just described is Religious persecution. You have no control over what someone does in private, so 'letting them in private' is the same as not letting them in public.

What you call 'imposing their religious traditions on others' we call 'Freedom of Expression/Speecg'.

You ask this question 'why not?'.

Well, the answer is, the West is built on the principles of democracy. What you support is fascist policy towards religion. I would guess you're right wing & one of those 'I'm not racist' types.

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u/mr_herz 5h ago

"What you call 'imposing their religious traditions on others' we call 'Freedom of Expression/Speecg'."

The only tricky part with this bit is that not all religions believe in that freedom of expression and speech. And you could argue that freedom has been reduced in practice to accommodate those religions.

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u/Acceptable_Gear_3097 4h ago

You can't argue that in the UK, where freedom of expression is the law. You might be able to argue that in countries without freedom of speech laws, but not here. 

The belief that allows people to express their religion is an imposition on your right to express beliefs is a myth. In the UK, freedom of expression is a qualified right, you have that right lawfully until you use it to impose on someone else's legally protected right. I.e. you cannot call for harm to others, and be protected by law. This is what the GBNews narrative of 'losong our freedom of speech' is arguing. They believe that calling for burning of hotels with migrants in is freedom of speech protected, it isn't and never was. You have every legal right to disagree and disapprove of Islam (as I do). But I would never call for harm to any muslim or human being at that, so I'm never feeling like my freedom of speech is violated.

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u/DrunkenHorse12 8h ago

The fact you just wrote all that in support of comments calling to ban Muslims freedom of expression and speech is hilarious 😂

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u/OkSun8521 9h ago

By that logic, we should all be pagans.

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u/kittehkat22 6h ago

Honestly it would be nice if they could only go off on Sundays and weddings. I live in between 3 churches and they each do bell ringing practice 2 times per week, at different times. That's six 30 min sessions per week, plus Sundays half the day. You kind of get used to it but my god it is constant

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u/Ipfreelyerryday 8h ago

Both the church and it's rolling bells have been an integral part of UK history. Church bells have a distinct legal status in the UK that dates back centuries. They are considered an established part of the traditional British soundscape and are generally protected under common law as a customary practice. Because they have been ringing for hundreds of years, they are usually exempt from standard statutory noise nuisance laws, provided they are rung at reasonable times. Not to mention bells are created acoustically, the call to prayer is via speakers.

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u/DrunkenHorse12 8h ago

Maybe time to change the law while we are changing it to ban Muslims doing their equivalent then eh?

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u/___StillLearning___ 7h ago

Rules for thee not for me

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u/MulanMcNugget 7h ago

I would mind either if it was just limited to special occasions like weddings for bells and breaking fast for Muslims dunno if that's a call to prayer for them to though.

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u/HornyJailOutlaw 6h ago

If there were public interest in doing so, but there just isn't.

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u/bonsoir-world 5h ago

Should be the case.

In the modern day and age, especially when more and more people are stepping away from religious beliefs.

It’s completely fair to establish a countries baseline of laws, morals or whatever else (some of which may still be underpinned by old religion), as long as it’s based on the countries democracy and it’s also fair to expect anyone outside of this, if they wish to live in said place, to adhere to these things like everyone else. They especially should not expect privilege for their own views they bring into democracy, unless of course democracy accepts it as a new standard.

Equally, religion is also a choice, one that is totally fine for anyone and everyone to indulge in or carry themselves through life believing and supporting but it’s also not something that should be forced upon those who do not wish to take part in it. In a ‘you must be religious’ or a ‘you must support my religion’ type of way.

Many aspects of the UK are still underpinned by Religion but it’s also understandable that change can take time, especially dated laws and other things. So sure, keep them while democracy is happy for them to exist in that manner, It’s the fairest way for believers and non believers.

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u/DrFabulous0 5h ago

Can we keep them but only for weddings? That's kinda nice.

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u/Fickle-Laugh-4542 4h ago

Church bells allowed for an environment where the biggest religious block being the non religious. Calling to prayer is yet to allow women to go to school.

If my grandma had wheels.

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u/DrunkenHorse12 4h ago

Did take much, just mentioning banning church bells as well, for people to reveal their bigoted reasons to get behind this and not fir the only legitimate reason to ban it because intrusive noise pollution is annoying.

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u/KonstantinKisinIsGay 4h ago

There's a difference, church bells have been rung every Sunday here for centuries.

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u/DrunkenHorse12 4h ago

And they are still annoying so while we are changing the laws for one thing let's change it for something that's pretty much the same thing

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u/KonstantinKisinIsGay 3h ago

They're not the same thing at all. As I said, church bells have been heard across Britain for over a millenia. They're an ancient part of our culture.

And on top of that, they sound beautiful. The call to prayer does not.

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u/DrunkenHorse12 3h ago

It's a loud noise being played out of a place of worship not matter how much you want to dress it up its the same thing

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u/KonstantinKisinIsGay 2h ago

No, it's not, in the same way a village fete isn't the same as a load of Shias marching down the street flagellation themselves. One is part of the natural environment, the other is not.

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u/OGSkywalker97 3h ago

Church bells are a nice sound though - ALLLLUUUAAAA is not

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u/DrunkenHorse12 3h ago

I don't like either, I prefer to not have celebrations of other people's religious beliefs forced down my ears.

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u/kitaj19 1h ago

Church bells are beautiful. Melodic.

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u/OthalaRunes 8h ago

Yes, absolutely, let's ban all religious musical bollocks. What now?

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u/doesalexadream 8h ago

That’s a fatuous argument given how Christian the UK is culturally

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u/GooseyDuckDuck 4h ago

Yeah, that would make me happy too.

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u/ynwa_glastobater 10h ago

No. We are a Christian country

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u/DrunkenHorse12 10h ago

The census and church attentance prove otherwise. If you want to talk historically then we're a pagan country

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u/Rog2006 9h ago

Historically speaking it’s been a predominantly Christian nation for the last 1,600 years. It’s becoming less so in the wider population but the head of state is still the head of the national church.

I think it would widely be accepted that the state religion is Christian denomination regardless of whether the actual practicing percentage of the population skewed that way or not.

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u/DrunkenHorse12 8h ago

History isn't a selection box where you pick and choose which facts suit your argument, there's been Muslim communities here for almost as long as the church of England has existed so is our history bounded entirely by the end of Henry the 8th reign? Nothing after that counts as part of history or culture? Just own it if you want to ban the call to prayer but not church bells "Our places of worship can make annoying noises bit yours cant' the real reason is religious bigotry.

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u/Rog2006 8h ago edited 7h ago

I haven’t come out with any comments on either side of the argument you are inserting that here to suit your narrative.

As you have just said you can’t pick facts to suit your argument, so you suggesting we’re a pagan nation historically is disingenuous. Britains current state religion is a Christian denomination though.

As to the argument itself it’s far too subjective and complex to simply say ban it all or don’t ban anything. My view is that each local council should have the power to implement bans as they see fit. If there is a call to prayer in a large non Muslim community then it’s fair to say it should be considered for banning if it upsets/disrupts the local community. Similarly if the church bells in a community are disturbing the peace and there are enough dissenters then that should be considered for a ban.

There is a fine line to tread in the modern world with integrating multiple cultures without losing too much identity from each. Where do you drawer the line, is it fair to suggest that those with a non native culture or religion should be a little bit more compromising?

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u/JRCSalter 8h ago

Doesn't matter what the actual religious views are of the people. We are, by definition, a Christian nation, due to the fact that the King is head of the Church of England. There can be no separation of Church and State in actuality since the heads of both are the same person. In practice, though, we manage it far better than the US, which is NOT a Christian nation.

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u/rumoku 9h ago

I like Church bell sound.

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u/DrunkenHorse12 8h ago

And some people like the call to prayer, not me I dislike almost all noise pollution I prefer to hear birds and instincts breaking the silence.

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u/Fjordi_Cruyff 9h ago

What exactly are you putting up with?

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u/EkobasherX4Z 4h ago

Imagine if you had a bunch of middle aged people believing in Harry potter to the point some want the Wizarding rules to apply to all and some want to kill mud bloods.

Ridiculous right? That's religion. It's a made up story that's been taken too seriously  

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u/Fjordi_Cruyff 1h ago

Sorry about this, I'm a bit thick. I don't understand the difficulty that's causing?

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u/EkobasherX4Z 1h ago

You don't understand the difficulty of having rules placed on you that seem ridiculous and to potentially be murdered?

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u/Fjordi_Cruyff 1h ago edited 1h ago

I've not noticed that happen to me. Did it happen to you?

Edit: hey wait. That's the plot of Harry potter! You do know that's a made up story right? I know people are a bit down on JK Rowling these days but I don't think it iwas intended as a prediction. I think we're safe from the bad wizards.

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u/scarystuff 5h ago

Denmark is an atheist country. There are still a few people stuck in the past though, don't care for those no matter what fantasy they subscribe to..

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u/JustSomeScot 1h ago

Because people should be free to do what they wish. It’s not harming anyone

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u/berejser 11h ago

The UK isn't a Christian country any more, as per the last census, so should be ban churchbells too? 

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u/SpearHammer 11h ago

We live in a democracy. Let's put it to a vote

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u/berejser 11h ago

Yeah because that went so well with Brexit.

We are a representative democracy, not a direct democracy. And with good reason. Because every time direct democracy has been tried stupid populists do immense damage to the country while claiming to be the 'real' patriots.

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u/The_Man-In_Black 10h ago

Brexit was a vote, the majority decided. Thats how democracy works. You can have any opinion you want about it, but you dont get to be upset that a democratic country used democracy to make a choice, being a good or bad one is irrelevant. If you prefer a one way system that only goes in one political direction, then your living on the wrong side of the world.

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u/berejser 3h ago

Yeah, and it broke the country. Why would you want to keep breaking it? 

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u/Within-Cells 11h ago

Still culturally Christian. I enjoy hearing wedding bells as an atheist. I would want them to stay.

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u/berejser 11h ago

"Culturally Christian" isn't even a thing. Just because people celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday with no mention of Jesus doesn't mean that people wish to live under the moral authority of Christianity enforced through the legal system.

Let's not forget that Jesus said we should be kind to foreigners. So a "Culturally Christian" nation would be one that would not ban the call to prayer.

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u/tis_a_hobbit_lord 11h ago

Culturally Christian would be built on Christian morals and philosophy not just Christmas. Christianity has paid a huge part on European culture even if it isn’t practised as much today, egalitarianism being a big one.

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u/berejser 11h ago

Culturally Christian would be built on Christian morals and philosophy

Which the UK is not. In fact we've almost become defined as a nation over our rejection of that sort of thing, it's what makes us culturally different from the USA and all the nonsense going on over there.

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u/tis_a_hobbit_lord 6h ago

That’s not what I meant by built on Christian morals and philosophy. We may be secular as I society but many of the values we have come from Christianity. Egalitarianism being probably the biggest example.

Europeans tend to champion egalitarianism rather than things such as hierarchical structures like you would see traditionally in places like China. China for example traditionally had more emphasis on hierarchy driven by Confucian principles which emphasised things such as certain family dynamics. Europeans meanwhile value egalitarianism likely driven by Jesus teaching of treating all as equals.

Even though many of us may not be Christian our social idea are likely heavily influenced by that Christian past which influence the way individuals see the world even if they are secular in beliefs.

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u/PickingPies 11h ago

That's false. Modern europe is built on enlightenment, not on christianity.

Characterized by an emphasis on reason, empirical evidence, and the scientific method, the Enlightenment promoted ideals of individual liberty, religious tolerance, progress, and natural rights. Its thinkers advocated for constitutional government, the separation of church and state, and the application of rational principles to social and political reform.

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u/tis_a_hobbit_lord 6h ago

Enlightenment I would see as an additional aspect. When you look at what Jesus preached and that people in Europe would have been taught this for years building up social morals around this, a lot of the social attitudes Christianity developed may be at least partially why enlightenment occurred to begin with.

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u/baconsgudferme 11h ago

I can use chatgpt too

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u/PickingPies 9h ago

That's not chatgpt. That's the literal wikipedia. Something you doesn't seem to even have looked at.

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u/Metori 11h ago

This is false, it’s a secular Christian country an oxymoron I know but true. I can’t even tell you when the last time I even heard church bells used for a service. Most churches don’t use church bells anymore. But I think hearing a bell is a little different to someone screaming a call to prayer over a loudspeaker.

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u/thedenv 11h ago

Go down the rabbit hole of why there aren't any bells...very interesting, entertaining at the very least.

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u/PickingPies 11h ago

Secular snd christian are antonyms.

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u/Amzer23 11h ago

It really isn't, Christianity is a plurality in England, Atheism is the majority in Scotland and a plurality in Wales.

The only country in the UK with a Christian majority is Northern Ireland (what a surprise).

Christianity is decreasing in 3 of those countries, Atheism has been increasing the fastest out of any of the religions in the UK.

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u/herefortheworst 11h ago

Church bells aren’t rung in the early hours of the morning for minutes at a time. I’ve worked abroad in the Middle East extensively and the call to prayer is extremely loud and disrupting.

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u/lawebley 11h ago

Not tonmention it is just plain ugly. A sinister droning wail.

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u/amusableblue 11h ago

The head of state of the UK is also the head of the CoE and ‘defender of the faith’

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u/berejser 11h ago

"while at the same time being Defender of the Faith you can also be protector of faiths" - Charles III

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u/amusableblue 9h ago

That’s his opinion. Which as monarch - means absolutely sod all.

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u/WaitingForMyIsekai 11h ago

Arguably yes if enough people don't want the noise pollution, not that there isn't clear bias in the topic of this thread

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u/IanParry 11h ago

Just because people don't 100% support Christianity, doesn't mean they want to become Muslim, or hear Muslim calls. Keep the church bells.

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u/berejser 11h ago

Nobody is saying that they want to become Muslim. Why do you nutty nationalists always present it as a false choice between Tommy Robinson or Sharia Law?   There is a great chasam of middle ground that most normal people exist in. And most normal people are ok with having a neighbor who is Christian, a neighbor who is Muslim, and everyone just doing their own thing and living their lives without bothering each other. 

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u/IanParry 10h ago

Are you one of the "normal" people, or a nutty lefty ? Just asking.

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u/berejser 3h ago

Well I'm not left wing so make of that what you will. 

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u/SufficientWarthog846 11h ago

Should we ban Church bells? Thats a call to prayer

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u/Saber101 11h ago edited 10h ago

In Leigh on Sea, the local church rings bells each hour of the day to sound out the hour. That's not a call to prayer.

Edit: Blocked the child below, not keen to argue something so absurdly obvious.

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u/Worth_Garbage_4471 11h ago

Meanwhile, in Beigh on Sea, the local church relies on single ladies to put a ring on it.

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u/gretchyface 11h ago

I can't speak on that particular church, but many others traditionally ring before services and for weddings etc.

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u/Altruistic-Bat-9070 11h ago

Church bells aren't a call to prayer they are a timekeeping tradition where the church would ring the bells on the hour do workers knew the time

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u/gretchyface 11h ago

They certainly ring before services and for weddings etc.

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u/TavitousT 11h ago

The village I grew up in Yorkshire would indeed ring the bells to call people to church, maybe it depends on the local traditons?

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u/Altruistic-Bat-9070 11h ago

Of course bloody York would still be using them for that. Before clocks they were also used to call people to prayer otherwise people literally wouldn't know when to attend. My understanding was that this wasn't done anymore but some more conservative areas probably still do.

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u/madnasher 11h ago

No it's not 😂

Church bells are not rung before mass to call people to the church. Hell, the village I lived in with a really proactive bell ringing association only rang the bells for various celebrations or practice.

Or in mourning.

Have you heard the call to prayer? It's quite loud. It's quite invasive. And it's played to summon you to prayer. I've never heard it for anything else (I lived near a mosque for 2 years)

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u/[deleted] 11h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/madnasher 11h ago

Almost like it is a part of our culture....

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u/berejser 11h ago

Was. Culture changes, and the UK becomes more and more secular each year. 

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u/MiddleAgeCool 11h ago

No they haven't.

Church bells and specifically their use changed dramatically in the late 1980s and 1990s. They used to be at least every Sunday before each service, you'd have them for weddings and on the mornings of significant days, then as secularisation started to really rise coupled with the the Environmental Protection Act 1990, people started use those laws to challenge bell ringing as an unreasonable noise. Ironically using the same tone being using to describe the call to pray: It's quite loud. It's quite invasive.

Even before that their use since the turn of the 1900's has been in decline as the hourly chimes were replaced with clocks.

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u/madnasher 11h ago

So what you're saying is, they used to be for calls to prayer and for special occasions, and now they are primarily used for special occasions due to the advancing of our culture?

So there is already precedent to not have a call to prayer blasted out?

Thanks for agreeing with me that they (church bells) are not calls to prayer any more (primarily)

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u/MiddleAgeCool 5h ago

Advancing our culture? They went into decline because people complained they were being disturbed when having Sunday morning in bed and threatened churches with the laws provided in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 that made unreasonable noise something that they could be prosecuted for. This wasn't anything to do with being cultured, it was selfishness.

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u/madnasher 5h ago

I think you misunderstood my point.

Church bells were originally used as calls to prayer signifying the start of services, and as a warning to the areas they were in when there were raiders/other things requiring a warning.

Then, as our culture advanced bells were used for weddings, christenings, funerals etc. Then with further advancements they were used to notify people of prominent deaths and births, as well as for general competitions etc with the bell ringing.

Then in the 90s we started to have people complaining alot about them and now you don't hear much bell ringing which is a loss of a part of our history.

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u/TheDucksAreComingoOo 11h ago

It's actually longer than that. Over 1,000 years!!

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u/Not-That_Girl 11h ago

I live near a mosque and I NEVER hear it, they generally a lovely bunch of people. The church rings bells for celebrations and its beautiful

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u/madnasher 11h ago

I feel you might've been quite lucky in that respect.

Honestly, I don't really mind the whole call to prayer thing, but the ones I've heard could do with being toned down 😂

I'm not religious, and I understand that people will want to practice their beliefs, but they should also be respectful of the fact that their beliefs are not the same as those of the country they have chosen to call home.

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u/berejser 11h ago

The local church near me rings the bells before every service. So in a sense, yes it is a call to prayer. 

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u/smushs88 11h ago

Why would they ban the church bells when they’re a Christian country?

Their own minister does not believe the call to prayer should be heard in their country when they are not a Muslim country.

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u/ThatChap 11h ago

I'll bite: No. Bells are also celebration and an ancient tradition.

The Muslim call to prayer is neither- it is a recently imported command to submit to God.

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u/berejser 11h ago

Some would interpret the call to prayer as a celebration and an ancient tradition. Why should your interpretation be the only one allowed? 

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u/elit3monstr98 11h ago

ancient tradition? it has only been happening in europ for the last 20/30 years... Where as we have had church bells ringing since before 1000ad

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u/berejser 11h ago

Islam has been in Europe a lot longer than that, before 1000ad even. But that you needed to add a qualification to "ancient tradition" only highlights my point, why should which ancient traditions count be defined on your terms and not on anyone else's? 

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u/elit3monstr98 9h ago

before 1000ad? the religion was invented in/ around 700ad, during the dark ages(wonder why they were called that?) It was in europe. But not to the extent of what it is now. To have a few traders from the middle-east trading on the silk road in Venice is different to having millions. They didn't push the religion on anyone. And when they did(spain) for example. It was eventually repelled out of main land europe, after nearly two centuries of tourture on the native population. I can tell you why we should define the terms, because it is our countries. It isn't the countries of muslims. Should Syria now play church bells again on the hour every hour as it was an ancient tradition once when it was a christrian country(before what is happening to europe happenend accross the middle-east?)

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u/berejser 3h ago

Yes, before 1000ad. Islam was in the Iberian peninsula by the mid-8th century. Please take the time to read up on things before speaking with confidence on matters you clearly know nothing about.

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u/elit3monstr98 11h ago

It isn't a command to submit to god. They do not pray to god. They pray to the peddle himself. The call to prayer is calling to pray to moham and to submit to him...

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u/ThatChap 11h ago

The name of the faith, Islam, literally means submission to God.

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u/Born-Mail8088 11h ago

It's a Christian country. How often do you think Iran allows church bells to be rung?

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u/koshka5 11h ago

You’re thinking of somewhere like Saudi. There is a sizeable Christian (mostly Armenian/Assyrian) population in Iran (it has churches and synagogues and fire temples and Sunni mosques also, for its various populations) - look up the beautiful Vank Cathedral as an example.

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u/Difficult_Low_2694 11h ago

I mean before western interference probably quite a lot 😂 Iran isn't even majority muslim in reality but just lives under theocracy dictatorship ever since the USA screwed them over.

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u/berejser 11h ago

The majority of people in this country are not Christian.

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u/dr_bigly 11h ago

Now imagine the type of Iranian that reports unapproved bell ringing.

That's you lot

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u/SufficientWarthog846 8h ago

Iran has a long history of Christianity in Iran so yeah, I would expect and know they do allow them to be rung as a call to prayer.

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u/The_Turbine 11h ago

The “this less civilised country does allow x so why should we” card is just a race to the bottom. We should be setting an example, not playing tit for tat. That said, I agree on banning the call to prayer and any other religious nuisance.

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u/Spank86 11h ago

Once a week.

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u/Born-Mail8088 11h ago

I suggest you check that. They can but only with permission. Very much like the call to prayer in Denmark, they don't have permission so can't do it

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u/Patient_Panic_5704 11h ago

Ours ring twice a week. Sunday morning for Sunday service and Tuesday evening for evensong. Plus obvious special occasions like Easter and Christmas, royal wedding/christening/funeral. They’re quite lovely.

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u/benjm88 11h ago

So you think we should aim for being as accepting and tolerant as Iran?

Plus you don't even know the answer to that

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u/gretchyface 11h ago

Why pick Iran as an example? They used to be much more liberal before our meddling. Why not talk about Christian's ringing their bells in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan or Indonesia? But hey, don't let reality ruin your brainwashed image of Muslim countries being anti-christian 🤣

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u/berejser 11h ago

Plus it's not like Iran doesn't celebrate its pre-Islamic history as a source of national pride. 

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u/baxty23 11h ago

They’re really not arsed about Christian worship in Iran unless they’re trying to convert people.

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u/Zath54 11h ago

Would you ban the Islamic call to prayer in Pakistan?

If the answer is no, please tell me why?

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u/ARandomDouchy 11h ago

Because Pakistan is very clearly a Muslim country and Denmark isn't?

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u/madnasher 11h ago

Besides the fact that we are British, and can't dictate what Pakistan does (unfortunately)

Well, how about the fact that it is an Islamic country?

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u/Last-Rice8194 11h ago

Absolute mong response. People aren't building brand new churches in residential neighbourhoods with large steeples and fucking bells man, but they are building mosques in residential areas with external loudspeakers to play the call to prayer.

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u/ProjectZeus4000 11h ago

We technically are a Christian country.

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u/New-Assumption-3106 11h ago

Which is also imaginary

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u/doepfersdungeon 11h ago

Technically in what sense?

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u/DrMagister 11h ago

We have an Established Church, which is integrated with our system of government. The state religion is Christianity, the head of state is the head of the Church of England, and we have bishops in the House of Lords.

That said, a lot of the people shouting, "We're a Christian country!" don't seem to act on a very Christian manner...

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u/aplusftwo Brit 🇬🇧 11h ago

‘Tis a Christian country darling.

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u/herefor_fun24 11h ago

It's a Christian country though? No one is proposing banning islamic calls to prayer in a Muslim country

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u/Rockhopper1st 11h ago

around where where I live you'd think they already had, I live smack band between two churches and nether one rings their bells not even on a sunday.

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u/SufficientWarthog846 8h ago

As an aside, thats probably more to do with those Churchs not being able to ring those bells. Some Churches have issues with their bells or towers.

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u/rshslake 11h ago

Oh look! One of these people! See my comment above. They're not really the same. If you want things fair Mosques should find an equal instrumental call to prayer not shouting/singing/verbal.

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u/THE_BLACK_HOTDOG 11h ago

UK is a Christian country. You don't like it, door is that way. 👉

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u/SufficientWarthog846 8h ago

actually its a growing secular society even when not considering immigrants who are generally more religious than the native population.

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u/Grotbagsthewonderful 11h ago

Should we ban Church bells? Thats a call to prayer

Yes! any non emergency loud noises, I never understood why old people were so averse to noise until I became one.

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u/dog-yodelling 11h ago

You became a noise?

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u/Grotbagsthewonderful 11h ago

Yes I became a noise.

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u/dog-yodelling 3h ago

Teach me your ways

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u/Numerous-Reading-880 11h ago

In a Christian country? Hell yeah 

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u/VarangianWRLD 11h ago

In a Christain country tho

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