ISLAMABAD: Moments before dawn, Noor ul Islam ascends the steps of one of the world’s biggest mosques, enters its cavernous hall and says a private prayer before a faintly buzzing microphone.
Then, the 32-year-old gulps down a deep breath and makes the morning’s call to worship — a forceful yet lilting chant amplified across Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, marking the start of daylight fasting during Ramadan.
“The voice is a gift from God,” Islam told AFP at Faisal Mosque, a towering marble monument to the nation’s devotion to faith.
“If your intentions are genuine, your voice will have the power to touch people’s hearts,” he said.
All across the Muslim world, men like Islam, known as muezzins, broadcast the “adhan” call to prayer, five times a day.
In the month of Ramadan, where prayers mark the start and finish of 14 hours of fasting in Pakistan, the faithful are particularly attuned.
The script and rhythm are the same everywhere.
Intoned in Arabic over minaret loudspeakers, it reminds Muslims: “God is the greatest” and they should “hasten to prayers.”
But there is a quiet hierarchy among muezzins.
A particularly melodic caller can increase the standing of a mosque. House hunters might judge the neighborhood adhan before making an offer. And at prestigious mosques, the job is highly coveted.
The three muezzin roles at Faisal Mosque — a national emblem opened in 1986 with a fabled capacity of 300,000 worshippers — are among the most prized outside the holy sites of Makkah and Medina.
Holy calling
As a teenager visiting Pakistan’s capital from his hometown 105 kilometers (65 miles) away, Islam was captivated by the soulful call from Faisal Mosque’s four spiked towers.
“Every Muslim yearns to say the adhan, lead prayers or give a sermon at a well-known mosque,” he said. “Every pious Muslim has this dream.”
His chance came in 2018, when a single slot opened and he beat 400 other candidates to the post.
When he steps up to the microphone, Islam plugs his ears with his fingers in order to block all sounds apart from his voice.
“The adhan, delivered with a beautiful and precise pronunciation, resonates with people,” said 57-year-old businessman Aziz Ahmed in front of the mosque.
Some of Islam’s fellow muezzins coddle their vocal cords like rock stars and theater performers, drinking honey-laced beverages, and avoiding cold breezes and oil-drenched Pakistani cuisine.
“I am a careless person when it comes to this,” chuckles Islam. “I can’t resist.”
Nonetheless, he treats his vocation with humble reverence.
“The fundamental purpose of the adhan is to invite people toward God. You can only accomplish this effectively when you possess a pure heart,” he said.
“Any delay or lack of sincerity in performing the adhan could potentially erode our faith.”
A sub-par adhan is treated as a “formality” by muezzins who create “fake voices.”
A good recital can “strike me straight in the heart,” Islam said.
But the position does come with a hint of celebrity.
Devotees travel for miles to hear the call at Faisal Mosque, peer through the windows to watch Islam at work and ask for selfies afterwards.
Back home in the town of Swabi, he is considered a local hero.
Now Islam aspires to secure a further promotion to muezzin at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah.
“I can’t explain these feelings,” he said. “Every Muslim should try to make this bond between him and God.”
“There is peace in this.”
Pakistan mega-mosque muezzin summons the faithful in Ramadan
https://arab.news/g5ffj
Pakistan mega-mosque muezzin summons the faithful in Ramadan
- Three muezzin roles at Islamabad’s Faisal Mosque are among the most prized outside the holy sites of Makkah and Madina
- Devotees travel for miles to hear the call at Faisal Mosque, peer through the windows to watch Islam at work and ask for selfies afterwards
Pakistan combing for perpetrators after deadly Balochistan attacks
- Pakistan has been battling a Baloch separatist insurgency for decades, with frequent armed attacks on security forces, foreign nationals and non-locals
- Militants stormed banks, jails, police stations and military installations, killing 31 civilians and 17 security personnel, the Balochistan chief minister says
QUETTA: Pakistan forces were hunting on Sunday for the separatists behind a string of coordinated attacks in restive Balochistan province, with the government vowing to retaliate after more than 190 people were killed in two days.
Around a dozen sites remained sealed off, with troops combing the area a day after militants stormed banks, jails, police stations and military installations, killing at least 31 civilians and 17 security personnel, according to the chief minister of Balochistan province.
At least 145 attackers were also killed, he added, while an official told AFP that a deputy district commissioner had been abducted.
That figure includes more than 40 militants that security forces said were killed on Friday.
Mobile internet service across the province has been jammed for more than 24 hours, while road traffic is disrupted and train services suspended.
After being rocked by explosions, typically bustling Quetta lay quiet on Sunday, with major roads and businesses deserted, and people staying indoors out of fear.
Shattered metal fragments and mangled vehicles litter some roads.
"Anyone who leaves home has no certainty of returning safe and sound. There is constant fear over whether they will come back unharmed," Hamdullah, a 39-year-old shopkeeper who goes by one name, told AFP in Quetta.
The chief minister, Sarfraz Bugti, told a press conference in Quetta that all the districts under attack were cleared on Sunday.
"We are chasing them, we will not let them go so easily," he said.
"Our blood is not that cheap. We will chase them until their hideouts."
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the province's most active militant separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement sent to AFP.
The group, which the United States has designated a terrorist organisation, said it had targeted military installations as well as police and civil administration officials in gun attacks and suicide bombings.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who flew to Quetta late Saturday to join funerals, claimed without offering any evidence that the attackers were supported by India.
"We will not spare a single terrorist involved in these incidents," he said.
In a press conference on Sunday, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif likewise claimed the attackers enjoyed links to India and pledged to "completely eliminate these terrorists".
India denied any involvement.
"We categorically reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan, which are nothing but its usual tactics to deflect attention from its own internal failings," said foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal on Sunday.
'BROAD DAYLIGHT'
Pakistan has been battling a Baloch separatist insurgency for decades, with frequent armed attacks on security forces, foreign nationals and non-local Pakistanis in the mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
Saturday's attacks came a day after the military said it killed 41 insurgents in two separate operations in the province.
The insurgents released a video showing group leader Bashir Zaib leading armed units on motorcycles during the attack.
Another clip claimed to show the abducted senior official from Nushki district.
In another district, militants freed at least 30 inmates from a district jail, while seizing firearms and ammunition. They also ransacked a police station and took ammunition with them.
"It was one of the most audacious attacks in the region in recent years, as unlike other attacks, it took place in broad daylight," Abdul Basit at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore told AFP.
"It is alarming that militants, with coordinated manpower and strategic acumen, have now reached the provincial capital," he added.
Several of the BLA's videos featured women insurgents, while Defence Minister Asif said at least one of the suicide bombers was a young woman.
"They continue to showcase women strategically in high-visibility attacks," Basit said.
Pakistan's poorest province and largest by landmass, Balochistan lags behind the rest of the country in almost every index, including education, employment and economic development.
Baloch separatists accuse Pakistan's government of exploiting the province's natural gas and abundant mineral resources, without benefiting the local population. The government denies this.
The BLA has intensified attacks on Pakistanis from other provinces working in the region in recent years, as well as foreign energy firms.
Last year, the separatists attacked a train with 450 passengers on board, sparking a deadly two-day siege.
