Lauren Booth – Allah’s Call Shakes Non Muslims

			In 2008, I was sitting in a cafe just like this one in Istanbul. And I was led to hosts who invited
me to make a documentary about a man who turned out to be a cult leader. I didn't know it at the
time. Medical Ethics, thank you, the chicken lair I should say.
		

			And I remember sitting in the cafe when the van went, not being Muslim, I wasn't drinking coffee at
the time I was having wine and just enjoying the whole vibrancy of Istanbul as I thought of as a
European city. And then the event went
		

			and something strange happened.
		

			I could have sworn
		

			that heard my name being called from the minarets
		

			and I listened again. And it was saying Lauren booth Lauren booth. What? And it seems to be coming
from the minaret? No, that's impossible. Okay, because then you name it's called from the minaret is
Allah and then his prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, but something in that beautiful,
incredible sound, hit my heart, and made it clear that I was somehow being called being cooled. I
was terrified. I was really terrified. I wrote in my diary that night, am I being Am I getting the
call? You've got to be kidding me. So when the guys came back, they sat down and I was a little bit
shaky, because the whole thing had been after that it just got more and more beautiful. I mean, it's
		

			almost painful to listen to it. The beauty, the longing, the yearning, Jettas, unique call to
prayer.
		

			What timing
		

			from every direction to six mosque in one square kilometer.
		

			Coding for 1400 years.
		

			Oh, it's beautiful.
		

			And it is the same word from the time of the Prophet
		

			closing shops, and everybody's going to pray
		

			it's such an incredible sight and sound that I find myself completely overcome
		

			I feel quite moved.
		

			All the the serial sound of it that isn't made anywhere else. I mean, you can hear sirens everywhere
you go. Right. But you don't get to hear that beautiful aching sound of the call to prayer. So when
the guys came back,
		

			I looked at them and I said, How have a funny? How did you get so quickly to your mask? Get your
shoes off? Do the stuff I know that Muslims do like wash yourself, grab the mic off, whoever does
the that sound and say Lauren booth. And they looked at me and said
		

			did you hear your name being called to go to the mosque? No, no, no. They knew and I knew the power
of the event. And then when I was
		

			taken to them Istanbul the call to prayer the Muslim call to prayer starts at like five o'clock in
the morning. So it's an extraordinary sound. Wow. So the first week it was like
		

			second week, it was kind of quite nice. But the third week I was totally captivated. Loved it.
		

			Stan, I thought maybe Islam was the answer. So, so many converts to Islam. I know I have a story
about the event. And let's see it for what it is. It's not music. It's not it's not melody. It's a
call. Thanks, Peter. Allah all praises to Him. May we take notice of that code is on Saudi playing.
And I remember it was just so loud and opposite blue masks. There's another mass I know being
between these two massive masks and the Azzam thing so loud. It sounded amazing. And I was just
stopping in the street and just listening.
		

			I didn't say kondalilla because I wasn't Muslim at the time. But I was missing. I got back to the
hostel. And I picked up English translation of the Quran that was in the hostel. And I started
reading it. I guess everything went from there really? People from all walks of life can just hear
it and be struck.
		

			Okay
		

			so I want us to take a moment to really listen to it
		

			and to reflect about what's being said to us as human beings