Ghana Asks Mosques to Turn Down Noise and Use Whatsapp. If it is up to the authorities of the Ghanaian capital Accra, it will soon be done with noisy prayer calls from mosques. Instead, imams should now call their followers through WhatsApp for prayer.

The reason for the remarkable proposal is the reduction of noise pollution in Accra, a city with more than two million inhabitants, posted by CNN News. It is often noisy. This is due, for example, to chaotic traffic, street vendors and musicians, but Islamic prayer calls are also considered annoying.

Controversial Measure
WhatsApp could be the solution, says a Ghanaian driver against the German news site DW. “It may be a controversial measure, but at least it is something we need to think about, and I think this measure will help to reduce noise pollution.”

The Islamic community is less enthusiastic about the idea, although an imam acknowledges that it could sometimes be a bit less. Another indicates that Christian churches also use megaphones to call their followers for prayer. “And there’s nothing wrong with that,” he says.

Minority
The majority of the inhabitants of Ghana (almost three quarters) are Christian. Muslims are a minority in the African country. About one in six Ghanaians is Islamic.