DUBLIN – A video showing famous singer Sinead O’Connor, who has just converted to Islam, singing the adhan, or Islamic call to prayer, after Jummah at the Islamic Centre of Ireland has triggered mixed reactions on Social Media, with some praising her and others rejecting the behavior.
“When someone first hears the adhan or the Qur’an being recited, it does sound like singing. We are told to recite melodically. So I don’t see any problem with a new convert wanting to ‘sing’ the adhan. She is excited about Islam and this is beautiful,” Tammy Perkins, AboutIslam’s Social Media & Marketing staff, said.
The popular Irish singer-songwriter revealed on Twitter last week that she has ditched Catholicism for Islam and changed her name to Shuhada’ Davitt.
Some comments rejected the singing of the adhan.
“What next? Singing the Quran? This is not acceptable at all,” Fatima Ibrahim commented on Facebook.
“It’s the responsibility of the one who taught her and imam of the masjid but Inshaa-Allah she will learn the right way unless she’s in the Sufism sect,” Malika Kassami added.
While many condemned this act of singing the Islamic call to prayer, others have come to O’Connor’s aid, giving her kudos for showing passion for her new faith, regardless of the juristic maxims and rulings surrounding her action, after all, she is still new to Islam.
“Relax people, she needs more time, right people, proper on going guides and so on. Leave her alone. I am sure she will find her answers as she goes along. Don’t judge her immediately with nonsense comments,” Cassim Ginwala wrote.
“She is a new Muslim and so we shouldn’t be judging her actions. Many people automatically believe as new Muslims, we know all about Islam as soon as we take the shahadah,” Nichola Taylor, AboutIslam staff member added.
“We don’t. She is enthusiastic to show the world the true religion, which we should applaud her for. However, inshAllah she will get the right guidance and knowledge to do it in a way that suits Islamic teachings. We shouldn’t be judging her though.”
“This is not good but it can be overlooked as shes new to the religion. But that Sheikh/scholar that helped her take Shahada is a bit of an uncle tom. She needs to surround herself with more credible scholars. …and whilst at it steer well clear of the muslim feminists and the modern queerlium types,” Nazir Ismael added.
This isn’t the first time the singer has made an attempt to sing the adhan; earlier this month, she posted a video of herself giving this a try.
The video was captioned with: “Here is my 1st attempt at singing the Azan. I got some pronunciation (sic) wrong because emotions took me from my page… but there’ll be hundreds of others onstage to come …,” she wrote.
“When I’ve practiced it 30 times I’m gonna make the world stop turning.”
The Adhan is the call to announce that it is time for a particular obligatory Salah (ritual prayer).
The Adhan is raised five times a day.
It is estimated that Ireland’s Muslim population currently stands at approximately 70,000, of whom 2,000 are said to be doctors.
A 2011 census recorded 49,204 Muslims, including nearly 12,000 school-aged children. The numbers represent a 51 percent increase since 2006.