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Muezzin Law sparks war talk
The Israeli Knesset approved in a preliminary reading a bill known as the 'Muezzin Law' to restrict the call to prayer via loudspeakers in mosques in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, with the ban described as a move that would deprive the adhan of its content as a means to inform Muslims of prayer times.
The Jerusalem Governorate warned that the Knesset’s preliminary approval amounts to a "declaration of religious war" and a "direct assault on freedom of worship and Islamic rites," saying it targets mosques including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque.
WAFA said the Governorate described the measure as "legislative terrorism" aimed at erasing the Arab identity and warned that such policies could ignite a religious war across the entire region.
The bill’s opponents framed the issue as interference with worship, while Israeli media coverage described the Knesset vote as a step toward tightening law enforcement against what it called "mosque noise."
Knesset vote and penalties
Israeli outlets said the Knesset plenum passed the 'muezzin bill' in a preliminary reading by a 50–36 vote out of 120 Knesset members, and that it would require three more readings before becoming enforceable law.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the bill would restrict mosque loudspeaker systems by requiring permits for their operation and imposing fines for noise violations, and it said sponsor MK Zvika Fogel argued the proposal was "not a political issue."
The Jerusalem Post also quoted Tel Aviv-Yafo Deputy Mayor Amir Bedran calling the advancement "a worrying and dangerous move that directly harms freedom of religion and the fabric of shared life in Israel."
The bill’s enforcement provisions, as described by Al Arabiya, would allow police to demand an immediate halt to noise and seize a mosque’s audio system if violations persisted, with fines set at 50,000 shekels for operating without a permit and 10,000 shekels for operating in violation of permit conditions.
Religious leaders and war framing
Sheikh Akram Sabri, the preacher of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, warned that a new Israeli attempt to prevent the adhan in Jerusalem and the 1948 territories had taken a "dangerous turn" by legitimizing banning the call to prayer.
Sabri said the bill would empower police to order an immediate cessation of the adhan and to seize loudspeakers, while he argued that the occupation authorities have no right to alter the status quo of the occupied land.
In the same framing, cath.ch reported that Jewish settlers complained about the noise in the Schufat and Ras el-Khamees neighborhoods and that in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, Jews also complained about noise from churches in addition to the muezzin's call.
Telquel.ma described the Knesset’s March green light to study two legislative texts to lower the volume of religious chants, including banning calls to prayer during the night so muezzins would have to abandon their microphone for the Al Fajr prayer.
