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Israel’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party, led by the extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, is continuing to push a new bill that targets the Islamic call to prayer in mosques by imposing strict restrictions and tough enforcement measures.
The party described the proposal as a “dramatic change” in how the authorities deal with what it called “noise coming from mosques”.
In a statement, Ben Gvir said: “The unreasonable noise of the muezzin harms quality of life.”
MK Zvika Fogel said the issue “is not religious but health-related”, calling for firm and clear legislation to address what he described as “systematic legal violations”.
Fogel, who chairs the Knesset’s National Security Committee, submitted the proposal. It is based on the principle of a “general ban with a special permit”, meaning loudspeakers would not be allowed in any mosque unless an official permit is granted. The permit would take into account factors such as volume levels, the mosque’s location, and how close it is to residential areas.
READ: Ben-Gvir flees after being pelted with stones in Palestinian village in Negev
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
