Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – A Muslim resident of Banda Aceh says he has received death threats since he made a series of requests that local mosques turn down the volume of their loudspeakers.

Sayed Hasan said that the loudspeakers might be used as a form of bullying by mosques and certainly had disrupted his daily prayers. "I feel very uncomfortable with the volume they set," Sayed Hasan told The Jakarta Post recently. "My illness just makes it even worse."

Sayed had asked representatives of the Al Muchsinin Mosque, the Banda Aceh city administration, the Islamic Syariah Agency and the Aceh Ulema Consultation Council to asks local mosques to turn down the volume of their loudspeakers.

Al Muchisinin Mosque caretaker Didik said that he had been surprised by Sayed's request. "Of dozens of people who live in the area, why is it only he who feels disrupted by the sound?" he said. "Local residents need the loud noise to tell them the time to do their daily prayers."

Sayed, who said he had been forced to retract his complaints, vowed to find a way to make himself heard by the authorizes, citing the example of Malaysia, where mosques could be required to tone down their loudspeakers. (dic)