Ramallah: The Israeli government plans to present an amended version of its controversial bill banning the use of loudspeakers for the Islamic call to prayer, to the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) on Wednesday.
According to the Israeli media, the bill has been amended to include a new section which makes an exception for synagogue sirens, stipulating that prohibition on loudspeakers would only apply to night-time use. Jewish synagogues usually sound their sirens on Friday before sunset to announce the beginning of the Sabbath.
The bill, which passed its preliminary reading at the Knesset after it passed the Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs unanimously, was blocked last week by Orthodox Jewish parties amid fears the ban could also affect the Sabbath announcements.
Israeli media reported on Monday that Jews were fearful the Israeli Attorney General would not be able to defend the government and the Knesset before the Israeli Higher Court of Justice.
“A law that would permit discrimination and would damage freedom of religion and worship would be unconstitutional,” a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying.
With the addition of the new section to the bill, Israeli Minister of Health, Yaakov Litzman, of the United Torah Judaism party, will lift the appeal which he had earlier filed blocking the bill. This will pave the way for the bill to reach the plenum of the Knesset.
Israeli Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Ze’ev Elkin, insisted that a vote be taken on the law — a move that was supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who green-lighted the cabinet vote.
On the other hand, Israel’s Deputy Attorney General, Avi Licht, suggested that there was no need for this controversial bill in the first place. “There is already a law on the books regarding noise violations, and enforcing that law would be sufficient.”
Last Thursday, based on those noise regulations, the municipality in the Israeli-held city of Lod, under mayor Yair Revivo, ordered Shaikh Mahmoud Al Farr, the muezzin and Imam of Al Da’awah Mosque in the Shannir neighbourhood, to pay a fine of 730 Shekels (Dh692) after being accused of using a loudspeaker for the Fajr (Dawn) prayers.
The Lod City Popular Committee held a meeting at the beginning of this week, and harshly condemned the municipality’s order against the Shaikh, branding it as unethical and illegal.
“In terms of the law, the Shaikh should have received an initial warning before being issued with a fine. The Shaikh was not given the chance to appeal the fine, which was final, nor was he given the chance to even sign the fine slip,” the committee said in a statement. “This municipal decision against Al Farr was meant only to spread chaos, make political gains and terrify the muezzins and imams of the mosques to stop calling the faithful to prayers with the use of loudspeakers.”
The committee vowed to take tough and practical steps on the ground in response to this order.
For its part, the Lod municipality said in a statement that it had been actively working for the past three years to find a way to reduce the noise from the calls to prayer, which it claimed severely impacted the quality of life for the residents.
“Imposing fines on muezzins who use loudspeakers for the Islamic calls to prayer is the only way to deter and curb the noise coming from the mosques,” they said.
