The clergyman who runs one of Oxford’s largest and most successful churches has attacked Muslim plans to begin calls to prayer from the city’s Central Mosque.

The Rev Charlie Cleverley, Rector of St Aldate’s, a thriving charismatic evangelical church in the heart of Oxford, claims non-Muslim residents will be driven away by the thrice-daily calls to prayer over the eastern part of the city.

In coming out against the proposals, Mr Cleverley, who previously worked at a church in a Muslim area of Paris, is going against the views of his own bishop.

The Bishop of Oxford, the Right Rev John Pritchard, has backed the plans, to be submitted to the city council by leaders of the mosque later this year.

Although already in use by up to 700 Muslims at a time, the mosque is still being built. Muslim leaders in Oxford want to use a loudspeaker to relay the call to prayer, or azan, so as many Muslims in Oxford can hear it as possible.

The Church of England’s only Asian bishop, the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, has argued that permitting the prayer calls in Britain represents an attempt to “impose an Islamic character” on some areas.

St Aldate’s, parts of which date from the 12th century, is so successful it puts on two Sunday evening services to cope with demand. Hundreds of young Christians worship there, including students from the university and other higher education institutions in Oxford.

Mr Cleverley said the azan was “un-English” and called on senior Muslims to reconsider their planned application.

Addressing his congregation, he compared the call to prayer to the “English” sound of church bells.

“It’s to do with nuisance noise affecting the inhabitants that have to hear it,” he said. “I feel it is un-English and very different from a bell.

“When such an area is subject to such a call to prayer, it may force people to move out and encourage Muslim families to move in.

“You do risk a kind of ghettoisation of the city a few years down the line.