Two days ago, Duke University reversed an earlier decision to allow Muslims to perform the Adhan or the Muslim call to prayer from their chapel tower. This has been seen as controversial from the Muslims and as discriminatory.
Students from Duke University stood in solidarity with Muslims in opposition to this reversal of their Decision. However, taking a further look into this situation, there should never have been a controversy.
The Muslims should never had requested this in the first place.
The Prophet Muhammad had written a letter to all Christians, far and wide, and throughout all time which served as a covenant for how Muslims should treat their Christian brethren, including not doing anything which displeases Christians. In the letter, a paragraph states that, “Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant until the last Day (end of the world).
This can be seen by the Christians as an indirect act of aggression by the Muslims to take away the sanctity of a Christian Methodist chapel and to Islamize it. Christians are already fearful and distrustful of Muslims intentions and this can be a catalyst for further tensions between Muslims and Christians.
If this displeases Christians, which it will, then the Muslims are breaking this covenant.
A further proof that Muslims are not to pray in churches and to protect the sanctity of churches for Christians is when Hazrat Umar, the second Caliph, was invited by Pope Severinusgave to pray inside of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem but he refused because he feared that Muslims in the future would begin to take over churches and convert them into mosques. Instead he prayed outdoors, but if a mosque would have been around then he would have prayed inside of the mosque.
As we can see by the examples given it is not permissible for Muslims to pray inside of the churches and by extension to do the call of prayer from the churches. This defiles the sanctity of the churches by the Muslims and breaks the covenant of Christians with the Muslims as set forth by the Prophet Muhammad. By insisting to do the call of prayer and making this an issue, these Muslims are in direct disobedience of the Prophet Muhammad.
There are at least ten mosques in the Durham, North Carolina area. It would better serve the Muslims to pray inside of a nearby mosque instead of inside of a church where there will be idols that nullify their prayers such as crosses or statues of Jesus. Leave the churches for the Christians and the mosques for the Muslims. I am a Muslim and I would never even consider praying in a church or doing the call of prayer from a Christian church’s tower.