‘What surprised me most was the natural attitude of the muezzins’

Brameshuber first heard the adhan -- the Muslim call to prayer -- in the background of hip-hop tracks. The first time he heard the adhan coming from its traditional place of origin, the minaret of a mosque, was in 1999, when he had traveled to Jerusalem for a basketball game. When he learned that a one-of-a-kind adhan-calling competition was being held in Turkey, he took his camera and traveled initially to İstanbul, listening to muezzins everywhere from Zincirlikuyu to Pendik, Fatih and Edirne. He spoke with the first-place winner of the previous year’s competition, muezzins preparing for the upcoming competition, the juries that evaluated the recitations, muezzins’ families, everyone; he says he observed a surprising naturalness when speaking with these people. Brameshuber answered some questions from Today’s Zaman with that same comfortable air about which he spoke.

When you first heard the sound of the adhan, what was attractive about it to you?

I first heard it in the background of hip-hop albums as a voice, as a musical motif. A group named Divine Styler had done this. And the adhan was intriguing to me because it’s said that music is a universal language, that everybody understands music, so the adhan was very interesting. The adhan itself is actually an announcement that calls believers to worship. … In Arab countries, what is being said in the adhan is also understood, but for example, somewhere in Turkey or Europe, even if you don’t understand the words, you know what it is. Religion is something that requires “being understood,” and as part of this, there are different “signs.” Even if the words of the adhan aren’t known, the fact that it’s understood as a call to prayer is one of these signs, in my opinion. The sound of the adhan meets the requirements for this understanding in a way that doesn’t leave a need for anything else.

You did quite a bit of preparation before shooting the film. Despite this, were there any things that surprised you during shooting?

Well if you actually look at it, I can say the relatively easy progress of our work and the small, virtually microcosmic lives of the society that I focused on surprised me. The way they are in their real lives, in their homes, while with their families, while doing their jobs and when they are sitting across from the camera -- they were the same. This is something I didn’t expect because even if only a little bit, when people get in front of the camera, they act a little different. But these people were very sincere. Honestly, I didn’t expect the Directorate of Religious Affairs and the mufti’s office to be this open. At the end of the day, we were a young, inexperienced team of foreigners with many questions. This was very important because from the very beginning I wanted to make a film not about a “topic” but about “people.”

As the film centers around a contest, we always see the characters in a state of competition. This may be a new thing for viewers. What’s your take on it?

Turkish culture is a culture of competition. This is something that exists in the structure of the society of Turkey and maybe even Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures. And so it follows, of course, that behaviors are shaped in accordance with this. As for muezzins, there is competition not just amongst the participants in the competition but also the muezzins of neighboring mosques. Ultimately, their only chance to set themselves apart is their voices and how they use their voices. If it’s considered that they undergo a test, virtually speaking, five times a day then they’re not in the wrong at all. Most of them are proud of their voices, artistic reading and knowledge of modes. And those who don’t know much are pushed to learn more.

What reactions has your film received at previous festivals you’ve participated in and in İstanbul?

It was shown at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and in Bosnia. The director of the film “Uzak İhtimal” (unlikely possibilty) was also present at one of my showings. And alongside him were young Turkish directors. Hearing him say that they liked [my film] was a wonderful thing, of course! At Karlovy Vary, the entire theater and the stairs were full, and there was a group of youth there as well. There were naturally more questions about the words of the adhan. But certainly for me, the most important of these showings was the one in İstanbul. I’ve been very pleased with the level of interest here. Again there were many youth present, and they asked questions.

There was a campaign to prohibit the adhan in Switzerland. There are varying views on this topic in Europe. As the director of this film, how do you evaluate these debates?