Yes, I did worry when I wrote it, but I stand by it nevertheless. I do think adding a new and different cultural tradition into the mix will draw attention to the ones already there.

I see no specific reference to the volume, only to the tri-directional speakers, but I know that Oxford is pretty small, having lived there. And I know that the wind blows, and that sound carries, and that speech-sounds in particular are cognitively intrusive. As I have said. I also know that lots of students live in Cowley, and Iffley, and Headingly and the rest.

The poor chap who suggested this was clearly not very bright. Like the homophobes who blew up the admiral duncan and inadvertently got homophobia a rather bad name. This chap’s done the same for multi-culturalism, I’d say.

It is also a slippery slope, as well as a contradiction in terms, if “tradition” is used as a reason to introduce things that negatively affect people who don’t share the tradition in question. It’s a few short steps away from claiming “god’s will” as an excuse to do anything one damn well pleases to other people, however abhorrent. I don’t buy that type of thing.

Oxford has a tradition of being relatively quiet and tranquil. The reason for this tradition is because Oxford also has a tradition of some of the finest academic work in the land. Do you think the two are unrelated?

As I have said, but no-one wanted to notice, amplified speech sounds (especially those which sound as though they have an emotional content) will disrupt this tradition, which I think is deeply unfair and disrespectful to the academics and students who are trying to study in peace, and not disturbing anyone, especially when the majority of residents do not share the proposed tradition. It is an empirical fact that speech sounds are cognitively intrusive, whatever language they are in, in a way that other sounds, such as bells, are not. No-one’s bothered to think about that, have they, in their rush to prove their liberal credentials?

In Islamic countries, I am sure that Muslim academics are glad to work around their religious observances. I just don’t see why non-Muslim academics should be forced to do so, whether they like it or not, in a non-Islamic country, which is exactly what this suggestion would entail. That just doesn’t seem fair to me. You really would be hard-pushed, I think, to choose a less appropriate place to introduce this.

I don’t really see why this is a debate at all, and generally agree with what Robert says.

However, I do feel like I should call you up on this, Robert:

“If anything, a new sound in the mix causes us to notice and appreciate the others already there. In this sense, the muzezzin’s call is a piece of genuine Eastern spice.”

Eastern spice? How would Edward Said respond to that sentiment?!

Is there a referendum somewhere to show a majority of Oxford residents oppose this? It isn’t necessarily about a minority vs the majority – it is about a compromise. Surely that is what a democracy is about? Or should the majority always dictate to a minority rather than negotiate? The 12th century reference has nothing to do with anything. We have Roman Catholic traditions in this country that go back further.

Jock’s link is actually quite amusing and worth highlighting.

What about the tradition of Oxford to NOT have a call to prayer? It IS a conflict of traditions, pure and simple. If Oxford’s traditions can change for a minority, why shouldn’t the Mosque’s change for the sake of the majority? And in any case, if traditions are so mutable, one could argue that the Mosque already has a tradition of no call to prayer. And, why should a “tradition” which is dependent on electricity and modern technology trump one which dates back to the 12th century, or whenever? That can’t be right, can it?

On top of which, amplified speech sounds are just too intrusive. If the suggestion was bells or music, that’s one thing, but is well-known that speech sounds in any language automatically commandeer the attention. It is impossible not to attend to them. In one of England’s oldest and finest seats of learning, I do not think forcing a high-volume thrice-daily distraction upon the brains of academics and students who are trying to concentrate is really desirable, whatever its multi-cultural credentials.