Cosmic Breath: Global calls to prayer answer rising Islamophobia in London

Tucked away just a stone’s throw from the relentless hum of Oxford Street, a new sonic sanctuary has taken root in central London. Joe Namy, an American-born Lebanese artist and composer whose practice encompasses sound, its history, and its physical impact on the built environment, has brought his multi-channel sound installation, Cosmic Breath, to the UK capital, Anadolu reports. The work is reimagined for Ibraaz’s Musalla, a space dedicated to spiritual practice as both lived experience and creative expression. Composed of recordings of the adhan—the Islamic call to prayer—the installation brings together historical and contemporary calls from different geographies, amplified through horn speakers like those mounted on mosque minarets. Played simultaneously, each speaker softly emits a different adhan recording, inviting […]