Islamic prayer call echoes N.M.'s growing religious diversity.(Religion)

Byline: Deborah Baker The Associated Press

ABIQUIU On a plateau across the Rio Chama from this 250-year-old Hispanic village, the stillness of the afternoon is pierced by a man's chanting voice.

It is the call to prayer heard five times a day by hundreds of millions the world over, the signal for Muslims to drop what they are doing and turn their attention to God.

In this pocket of rural northern New Mexico, it draws a small group of worshippers from the blindingly bright sunshine into the cool darkness of a domed-roof, adobe mosque.

They slip off their shoes, splash water on their hands, feet and faces in a tiled anteroom, then enter the main mosque. Facing east, toward Mecca, they pray: "Praise be to Allah, Creator of the worlds . . . "

An increasing number of the world's religions have become part of this fabric of faith in largely Roman Catholic New Mexico. Besides Islamic mosques, there are Sikh …