Bengaluru: Noted Islamic lyricist Javed Akhtar has called for the azaan call given on loudspeakers to end. 

His views on the issue are as follows: "In India for almost 50 years Azaan on the loud speak was Haraam. Then it became Halaal and so halaal that there is no end to it, but there should be an end to it. Azaan is fine but loud speaker does cause of discomfort for others. I hope that at least this time they will do it themselves.” 

However, as expected, he was bombarded with the question of using loudspeaker in temples. To this, his reply was: "Whether it's a temple or a mosque, if you're using loudspeakers during a festival, it's fine. But it shouldn't be used everyday in either temples or mosques. For more than thousand years Azaan was given without the loud speaker. Azaan is the integral part of your faith, not this gadget.” 

It is interesting to note that the lyricist had also appealed to Muslims not to go to mosques during Ramzan at the time of coronavirus: 

He had said, "I request all the Muslim brothers that now that Ramzan is coming, please say your prayers but make sure that this doesn't cause problems to anyone else. The prayers that you do in the mosque, you can do that at home. According to you, the house, the ground, this all has been made by Him. Then you can do your prayers anywhere."

The appeal can be extended to any sort of crowding up as mitigating the distance between two individuals increases the risk of contracting the virus. 

Social distancing and washing of hands frequently are the only two options available as of now to curb the spread of the virus. The efforts to invent a vaccine for the same is underway by different countries.