New laws- Government control

[harryopal1]

Churches used to be great bell ringers as a call to the faithful to get to church. Gradually that tradition fell away. Years ago I was staying at a place where there was a Greek church and they were playing amplified bells at a very high level so I called the police who went and asked the church to turn the sound down. It seems there was a wedding. Were one to do that here with a mosque it could lead to blasphemy charges and maybe violence.

 

[Hawk256]

Churches used to be great bell ringers as a call to the faithful to get to church. Gradually that tradition fell away. Years ago I was staying at a place where there was a Greek church and they were playing amplified bells at a very high level so I called the police who went and asked the church to turn the sound down. It seems there was a wedding. Were one to do that here with a mosque it could lead to blasphemy charges and maybe violence.

It's funny. Go to Saudi and you can barely hear the calls to prayer directly across from a mosque.

 

[Helpful Herbert]

Indonesia has a very weird interpretation of Islam. Some people might say it is not Islam at all but it is just inspired by Islam, mixed with various local traditions and practices (such as always trying to deafen everybody else in the neighborhood).
Try and tell a mosque to turn the sound down and your house will probably get burnt to the ground.

 

[Balifrog]

North Sulawesi is much more telling. We are complaining about the mosques but quite some family in law say it’s not so different with the churches. Religion is extremely important in this country. And the majority decides what you should do and hear.

I stay well away from any religion.

And the majority can do whatever they want....

 

[jstar]

Staying away does not mean they stay away from you.

 

[Balifrog]

Staying away does not mean they stay away from you.

Well, I am not going to live in the middle of them of course....I live on my own little island.
Even when in the Missus jungle village (South of Banyuwangi) i keep away from it (except for the unavoidable noise..). And I avoid going there during Ramadan or Galungan.

And things were made very clear with the family from day 1.

 

[Hawk256]

Indonesia has a very weird interpretation of Islam. Some people might say it is not Islam at all but it is just inspired by Islam, mixed with various local traditions and practices (such as always trying to deafen everybody else in the neighborhood).
Try and tell a mosque to turn the sound down and your house will probably get burnt to the ground.

I disagree with your statement wholeheartedly and I'm not sure what you are basing it on. How much have you studied Islam and what are the local practices that are different? Other than loud speakers which do seem to exist (at least in some places but oddly enough never where I have been for the past 8 years). Since I have studied Islam for 8 years, I am very interested in hearing your opinion on what Indonesia has wrong.

 

[Pak Tani]

If someone were to say that they have a very strange interpretation of Christianity somewhere because they ring the church bells loudly, everyone would know there's something wrong with that statement.
The number of decibels coming from the loudspeakers of a particular mosque has little to do with the interpretation of Islam, just as the number of decibels coming from the church bells of a particular church has very little to do with the interpretation of Christianity.
It's understandable that many people in the West don't understand much about Islam. But if you've lived in an Islamic country for a while, you should have some knowledge of the religion and know some of the differences between local customs and Islamic rules.

 

[Balifrog]

But if you've lived in an Islamic country for a while, you should have some knowledge of the religion and know some of the differences between local customs and Islamic rules.

Having lived in Saudi, Egypt, Dubai and Malaysia, I agree.
None of those places had the loudspeaker volume competition like in Indonesia.

 

[Helpful Herbert]

If it is an Islamic rule to have a loudspeaker at 120 decibels at 3:00 in the morning, or to use mosque loudspeakers for children to scream through on a Sunday afternoon, can you tell me why in Saudi Arabia they do neither of these things? And that is literally the country where this religion was invented.

To me, both of those are very weird interpretations of that particular religion.

 

[Hawk256]

If it is an Islamic rule to have a loudspeaker at 120 decibels at 3:00 in the morning, or to use mosque loudspeakers for children to scream through on a Sunday afternoon, can you tell me why in Saudi Arabia they do neither of these things? And that is literally the country where this religion was invented.

To me, both of those are very weird interpretations of that particular religion.

Are you back to that highly improbable decibel number again? I thought we had settled that a long time ago. The mosque loud speakers are not 10,000 watt concert PA systems. And to measure 120 DB at the distance you are from the mosque is almost impossible even if they were.

I have lived in Indonesia for 8 years and rarely experience super loud speakers so it appears that it is not universal. As much as I have traveled in Indonesia, you would think I would have heard it by now more than I have if it's that prevalent.

Currently morning prayer is after 4am. If the mosque near you is broadcasting anything a 3 am then they are 100% in the wrong.

I also though it was clear that the other Islamic countries are not doing it so how could it be a religious interpretation?

 

[Hawk256]

Instead of me doing the measurements and explanations let's just let AI handle it. I'm assuming 50 meters, closer and the numbers drop by small amount, further and the numbers go up exponentially.

To get 120 dB SPL at 50 meters, you need an enormous amount of power, likely in the
tens of thousands of watts (kilowatts) or more, depending heavily on speaker efficiency and directivity, as 100 dB SPL might take 100W and 112 dB needs 1600W, showing exponential power growth for loudness, but achieving 120 dB at distance requires huge, specialized sound systems, far beyond typical speakers.
Why it's so much power:

• Decibel Scale is Logarithmic: Every 3 dB increase doubles the sound power, and going from 100 dB to 120 dB (a 20 dB increase) means 100 times more power needed than at 100 dB, roughly.
• Distance (Inverse Square Law): Sound intensity drops dramatically with distance. To get 120 dB at 50m, you need to project massive amounts of power to overcome this loss.

Estimating (Roughly):

• If 100W gives ~100dB (closer up), 1600W gives ~112dB (still close), then 120dB at 50m is extremely far, suggesting many thousands of watts are needed for onespeaker, and often large arrays are used.

Factors Affecting This:

• Speaker Efficiency (Sensitivity): A very efficient speaker (e.g., 100 dB SPL @ 1W/1m) needs far less power than an inefficient one.
• Directivity (Coverage Angle): How focused the sound is matters; a narrow beam concentrates power.
• Reference Point: Is the 120 dB measured at the speaker (1m) or at 50m? The question implies 50m.

In Practice:

• Achieving 120 dB at 50 meters usually involves large concert sound systems (line arrays) using hundreds or thousands of watts per speaker in the array, summing to many kilowatts total, not a single speaker from a home stereo.

 

[Helpful Herbert]

The official maximum limit is 100Db.
100 dB: Equivalent to a hand drill, a motorcycle engine nearby, or a loud music concert.
However very few of them stick to that limit and they are definitely in the range of 110db-115db, I need to stand outside one of them one day and measure it. One of our local mosques has 23 outside speakers. Definitely haram.
They break rules all the time and everybody is too scared to complain because of the corrupt elites that run these so-called religious buildings.
I used to live next to one that was on for over an hour at 3am-4am. It was over a decade ago but I will never forget.

 

[Pak Tani]

... everybody is too scared to complain because of the corrupt elites that run these so-called religious buildings.

Our local ta'mir masjid—the person who manages the mosque—sells elpiji gas, the subsidized 3kg gas cylinders. If you call him, he'll deliver them to your door. He can carry up to 10 cylinders on his motorbike. He doesn't seem to be high up in the Pertamina hierarchy, but who knows? I haven't tried to bribe him, so I hesitate to say he's corrupt.

 

[Hawk256]

The official maximum limit is 100Db.
100 dB: Equivalent to a hand drill, a motorcycle engine nearby, or a loud music concert.
However very few of them stick to that limit and they are definitely in the range of 110db-115db, I need to stand outside one of them one day and measure it. One of our local mosques has 23 outside speakers. Definitely haram.
They break rules all the time and everybody is too scared to complain because of the corrupt elites that run these so-called religious buildings.
I used to live next to one that was on for over an hour at 3am-4am. It was over a decade ago but I will never forget.

How are you going to get an accurate measurement? Using an Android cell phone is the same as using a potato. A good, accurate DB meter is several thousand dollars. How many meters is the official max limit supposed to be measured? 100 db at at how many meters? Just like example earlier from AI, you are not putting out even 110 or 115 db at 50 meters with any sound equipment they have in the mosques. Unless you live right up against the mosque I would be very surprised to find a reading over 90 db and the would be very surprising, I would lean closer to 85 db max. If you would not cry wolf about the levels and times, more people might actually believe your story and feel sorry for your strife. Right now you sound like the old man screaming for the kids to get off his lawn. One mosque over decade ago is not every or even most mosques. Don't know what they had going on but they were wrong. Never, ever heard of that before. I'm sure I have said this before but with your beliefs, Indonesia just doesn't sound like a match with you.

 

[gemima]

If it is an Islamic rule to have a loudspeaker at 120 decibels at 3:00 in the morning, or to use mosque loudspeakers for children to scream through on a Sunday afternoon, can you tell me why in Saudi Arabia they do neither of these things? And that is literally the country where this religion was invented.

To me, both of those are very weird interpretations of that particular religion.

I dont think its unusual that local practices blend in with the religion. Doesn't this happen everywhere with all the religions?
Indonesians are generally noisy. Noise "blind". Love blasting out loud music etc. So it seems totally normal to me that their masjids here are noisier than ones in other countries.

 

[Balifrog]

Indonesians are generally noisy. Noise "blind"

Exactly my original thought as well.
Shouting from one house to another at 04:00 am without consideration for anybody who might still be sleeping.
Put 5 Indo kids in the swimming pool, it's madness. And the parents consider it normal.
So, I am sure the noise from the speakers doesn't disturb them.

 

[centurion]

Exactly my original thought as well.
Shouting from one house to another at 04:00 am without consideration for anybody who might still be sleeping.
Put 5 Indo kids in the swimming pool, it's madness. And the parents consider it normal.
So, I am sure the noise from the speakers doesn't disturb them.

Must be because of US imperialism.

 

[Balifrog]

Must be because of US imperialism.

No, not that one. Local "simplicity" ....

 

[Helpful Herbert]

I dont think its unusual that local practices blend in with the religion. Doesn't this happen everywhere with all the religions?
Indonesians are generally noisy. Noise "blind". Love blasting out loud music etc. So it seems totally normal to me that their masjids here are noisier than ones in other countries.

I guess I'm cursed to have very sensitive hearing, and to be living in a country where half the population seem to be clinically deaf (whether it is mosque loudspeakers, motorbikes or PA systems in general, it seems that locals can't hear anything unless it is turned up to 11)