Israeli Ministerial Committee To Discuss "Mosque Bill" On Sunday

Al-Quds, 11 Safar 1438/11 November 2016 (MINA) – The Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation is scheduled to discuss on Sunday a bill proposing to ban Muslim call for prayer over loudspeakers.

The bill, proposed by MK Motti Yogev (Jewish Home), would prohibit all mosques from using loudspeakers, the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) reported.

“Hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens, in the Galilee, the Negev, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Jaffa and some places in central Israel, suffer routinely and daily from the noise caused by the muezzin calls,” say the explanatory notes to the bill.

“This noise is created by the use of a public address system which disturbs the rest of the citizens several times a day, including early morning and night.”

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MK Yogev claimed that “the bill brings a worldview whereby freedom of religion should not cause harm to the quality of life, and suggests that houses of worship be prohibited from using loudspeakers to call worshipers to prayer or to convey religious or nationalist messages, which sometimes even include incitement.”

Since 2010, similar bills were proposed to the committee, however, they were removed from its agenda before the meeting.

However, the bill has recently won big support among Israeli political figures. (T/P008/R07)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)