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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel moves to mute mosques' call to prayer over loudspeakers |
| 2017-03-09 |
| [YAHOO] A law to muffle mosques' amplified calls to prayer in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem won preliminary approval on Wednesday in a charged parliamentary session where Arab politicians denounced the measure as racist. They had to holler it out back in the days of the prophet, so what's the bitch? Supporters of the bill say it is aimed at improving the quality of life of people living near mosques who have been losing sleep. The calls usually begin sounding a little before 5 A.M. through loudspeakers mounted on minarets Opponents say the legislation, sponsored by right-wing parties, impinges on the religious freedom of Israel's Moslem minority. Arabs make up almost 20 percent of the population and have long complained of discrimination. Two versions of law won initial approval and will go to committee for further discussion before any final vote in parliament, in what could be a lengthy process. "You are committing a racist act," said Ahmed Tibi, an Arab politician, told supporters of the legislation. The proposed law refers in general terms to "houses of worship", but it has been dubbed the "muezzin law" by the Israeli media, referring to the man who chants the Moslem call to prayer. One of the bills would ban a summons to worship via loudspeakers between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. That would effectively mute one of the five daily calls emanating from mosques. The second proposal would bar amplification in residential areas at all hours and impose a 10,000 shekel ($2,700) fine for violations. "This is a social-minded law that aims to protect citizens' sleep, without, God-forbid, harming anyone's religious faith," politician Motti Yogev, one of the bill's sponsors, said during a debate punctuated by shouting matches between the bill's backers and detractors. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Why is this a racist act? I must have missed the memo that made Islam a race. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2017-03-09 20:39 |
| #3 Well, NASCAR did just that in my old home state by killing the fall race at Loudon, NH... |
| Posted by: Raj 2017-03-09 18:03 |
| #2 In other more serious news about noise reduction; NASCAR is studying ways to make the race cars quieter. Mute the Mosques, but not the Mustangs....(and Camaros, and...) |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2017-03-09 16:22 |
| #1 Supporters of the bill say it is aimed at improving the quality of life of people living near mosques who have been losing sleep. The calls usually begin sounding a little before 5 A.M. through loudspeakers mounted on minarets Yet another reason to ban mosques stateside. Note that Muslims are just 20% of Israel's population. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2017-03-09 16:01 |