Ben Gvir Pushes Law to Suppress Adhan and Classify it as "Audio Violation"

SadaNews: The "Otzma Yehudit" party, led by the extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, is continuing to push a new bill targeting the call to prayer (adhan) in mosques, through imposing strict restrictions and rigorous enforcement mechanisms, which the party describes as a "dramatic change" in dealing with what it refers to as "the noise emitted by mosques".

Deputy Tzvika Vogel, chairman of the National Security Committee in the Knesset, presented the proposal based on the principle of "prohibition as a general rule and granting special permits", whereby the use of loudspeakers in any mosque is only permitted after obtaining an official permit that considers criteria such as sound power, the location of the mosque, and its proximity to residential areas.

The proposed law grants the Israeli police broad powers, including immediate suspension of operation and confiscation of loudspeakers in case of violation of the conditions, in addition to imposing enormous financial fines of up to 50,000 shekels, which are transferred to what is known as the "confiscation fund".

The party emphasizes that this project differs from previous attempts to restrict the adhan, as it establishes a licensing and organized oversight mechanism, tightening penalties, under the pretext of "protecting the quality of life and the health of the population".

Ben Gvir emphasized in his statement that "the unreasonable noise of the muezzin affects the quality of life", while Vogel considered the issue to be "not religious but rather health-related", calling for confronting what he described as "systematic legal violations" through clear and firm legislation.