Khaberni - The Supreme Fatwa Council in Palestine today, Sunday, rejected a new Israeli bill aimed at banning the amplification of the Azaan through loudspeakers in mosques within the occupied Palestinian territories, considering it a direct assault on religious rituals, and a racist step that violates international laws and religious and humanitarian norms.
The Council's stance came after the announcement by the far-right "Otzma Yehudit" party, led by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, of a new legislative proposal to ban the use of loudspeakers in mosques within what is known as the "Green Line".
According to Channel 14 of Israel, the bill stipulates that "no loudspeaker system shall be established or operated in a mosque without prior permission", with strengthened monitoring and imposing hefty fines on violators.
Occupational Racism
In a strongly worded statement, the council described the proposed law to be discussed in the Israeli Knesset as "racist and contrary to laws, norms, and divine commandments".
It added that "the occupation's measures target mosques in general, and particularly the Al-Aqsa and Ibrahimi mosques, in a new crime that falls within the policy of Israeli oppression and repression, and blatant interference in worship affairs and an assault on religious rituals throughout the Palestinian territories".
The Council considered the bill as a new link in the chain of crimes committed by the occupation authorities and extremist settlers against Islamic sanctities, pointing to what it described as "settlers' rampage in Palestinian provinces, including the burning and desecration of mosques".
The council emphasized that "the call issued from the minarets will not be silenced regardless of how much the occupation authorities try to impose fines and penalties", affirming that the Azaan "is linked to creed and faith, and it is among the inherited Islamic rituals, and not as the occupation portrays it as a source of disturbance".
The statement continued, "The thinking of the occupation authorities is perverse and sterile, coming in the context of an aggressive attempt to erase Islamic history, and to impose a forged Judaic character on the region", warning that such policies could lead to "igniting a religious war in the entire region".
The Palestinian Fatwa Council called upon the international community for urgent intervention to stop the attacks on mosques in all Palestinian territories and to prevent Israeli authorities from interfering in Muslim worship and rituals, considering it as a "religiously guaranteed right for Muslims in Palestine and around the world".
The Bill
In response, Channel 7 of Israel quoted Ben Gvir saying that "the sound of the muezzin in many places is considered unreasonable noise that harms the quality of life and the health of Jewish residents", deeming such a phenomenon "unacceptable".
Ben Gvir confirmed that the Israeli police will act firmly in enforcing the law if it is passed.
According to Yisrael Hayom newspaper, the bill imposes a fine of 50,000 Israeli shekels (about 15.7 thousand dollars) on anyone who installs or operates loudspeakers without a license, and a fine of 10,000 shekels (about 3.14 thousand dollars) in the case of operating the speakers contrary to license conditions.
In March 2017, the Israeli Knesset approved a similar bill in a preliminary reading proposed by the far-right to ban the Azaan during the night hours in the mosques of occupied Jerusalem and Arab towns within the "Green Line", but it was not finally approved at that time, following widespread protests in Arab cities and towns, according to the Times of Israel.
