Minneapolis allows Islamic call to prayer

Minneapolis has become the first large city in United States to allow the Islamic call to prayer, or adhan, to be broadcast publicly by its two dozen masajid

The chant in Arabic blasted from rooftop loudspeakers and dozens of men in fashionably ripped jeans or impeccably ironed kameez tunics rushed toward the Dar Al-Hijrah masjid.

Teens clutched smartphones and some of the older devout shuffled in with the aid of walkers from the high-rise complex across the street where thousands of Somalis live.

Yusuf Abdulle, who directs Islamic Association of North America said that when he arrived in United States two decades ago the first thing he missed was the adhan.

The adhan declares that God is great and proclaims the Prophet Muhammad as his messenger.