Yaqut Compares Azan To Dog Voices, UN: How Come The Minister Is Like That

Afriansyah Noor/Photo: VOI

JAKARTA - Secretary General of the Crescent Star Party Afriansyah Noor spoke in response to a statement by the Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil who compared mosque loudspeakers (toa) with the barking of dogs.

Afriansyah emphasized that it is not good to compare the sound of the call to prayer from the mosque's loudspeakers with the barking of dogs.

According to him, the barking of dogs is very different from the sound of the call to prayer from the mosque's loudspeakers. In fact, he said, the sound of the call to prayer has proven to lead many people to convert to Islam and become converts.

"Bang Yaqut, you're a minister, how come you can say the analogy of the call to prayer with the sound of a dog barking. It's a very different sound. Many of you are converts because they hear the call to prayer," said the secretary general who is familiarly called Ferry through a press release, Thursday, February 24.

Ferry explained, quoting from Hadith narrated by Al Bukhari and Muslim from Abu Hurairah RA, when the call to prayer is sounded, the devil will run away while farting so that the devil does not hear the call to prayer.

"Satan runs when he hears the call to prayer, why can't we hear the call to prayer. That means we are demons. The call to prayer is a sign for us to pray," he said.

Ferry hopes that the Minister of Religion of Yaqut has miscommunicated or wrongly set an example. Officials certainly know to communicate problems correctly and proportionally.

"Especially with regard to religion, knowing yourself can be sensitive. The sound of the call to prayer and prayer is beautiful and full of meaning. It is not appropriate to exemplify the sound of a dog. Hopefully, the Minister will immediately introspect and apologize to all Muslims in Indonesia for comparing the melodious strains of the call to prayer with the barking of dogs," he said.