Sound of Mosque Minarets Not to Be Silenced: Palestine Fatwa Council
An Israeli bill seeks to limit the call to prayer from mosques throughout occupied Palestine.
The council in a statement strongly condemned the bill, according to al-Quds newspaper.
The sound of the call to prayer that rises from the minarets of mosques will not be silenced, no matter how much effort, fines and punishments the occupying authorities impose, the council said in a statement.
It described the bill, which is to be submitted to the Israeli Knesset, as “racist and contrary to divine laws, norms, and commandments,” adding, “The actions of the occupiers target mosques in general and the Al-Aqsa and Ibrahimi Mosques in particular, and this act is a new crime that is taking place within the framework of the Zionist regime’s policy of repression and blatant interference in matters of worship and attacks on religious rituals throughout the Palestinian territories.”
The council considered the draft law a new link in the chain of crimes committed by the occupying authorities and extremist settlers against Islamic holy sites, and the settlers’ onslaught in the Palestinian governorates, including arson and desecration of mosques.
The council further stressed that the call to prayer is linked to faith and belief and is one of the inherited Islamic rituals, not as portrayed by the occupiers.
“The thinking of the occupying authorities is perverted and futile, and is part of an aggressive attempt to erase the history of Islam and impose a false and Jewish image on the region.”
The council also warned that these policies could lead to “igniting a religious war in the entire region.”
It called on the international community to intervene immediately to stop attacks on mosques across the Palestinian territories and prevent Israeli authorities from interfering in Muslim worship and rituals, as it is a guaranteed religious right for Muslims in Palestine and around the world.
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is backing the bill that would restrict the Islamic call to prayer, claiming it “disturbs” Jewish residents.
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The proposed legislation, introduced by Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party, would effectively ban the call to prayer unless mosques receive state approval, based on volume levels, noise-reduction measures, location, and proximity to residential areas.
Palestinian citizens have condemned the move, saying it once again targets their identity and incites against their faith.
Under the draft law, police would be authorized to immediately shut down loudspeakers or confiscate equipment later on.
The penalties are steep: Installing or operating loudspeakers without a permit would carry a fine of 50,000 shekels ($15,660), while breaching permit conditions would result in a 10,000-shekel ($3,100) fine.
A similar proposal to restrict the call to prayer passed in the Israeli regime’s parliament in 2017 but was never implemented.
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