The Islamic soundscape: debating noise nuisance of azan in Indonesia
摘要
As of current, debates regarding the sonancy of loudspeakers used for azan (call to prayer) still persist in several countries, including Indonesia. This study explores debates and discussions about azan and its associated sonancy issues in Indonesia. Primary data in this qualitative research were obtained from results of sharp debates and discourses relating to the noise of loudspeakers for azan on social media news coverage and opinions from subject-matter experts. Meanwhile, secondary data were collected from relevant literary sources. The data were then analyzed by using ethical soundscapes. Data are presented in a historic-anthropological manner. There are three areas of debates on azan and its noise issues in Indonesia, namely, regulation, surrounding environment, and culture. The finding in the current research is that the Islamic soundscape serves as an alternative solution to the problem at hand. Implementation of the Islamic soundscape in Indonesia requires three roles, i.e., the role of regulation–ethicscape (the role of the government in implementing regulation on the guideline for using loudspeakers for azan), environment–landscape (repositioning the location and role of mosques and musallas as propagators of Islamic glory in both public and private spaces), and culture–socialscape (the role of religious figures, community figures, and customary/cultural figures). This research finding may have implications on comprehensively addressing issues found in the debates about azan in Indonesia.