13 February 2017•Update: 13 February 2017
By Sami Ahmed, By Ola Atallah, Kaamil Ahmed
ISTANBUL/GAZA CITY/JERUSALEM
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned a fresh Israeli attempt to ban the Muslim call to prayer (Adhan) being broadcast through loudspeakers.
On Sunday, the Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved a revised version of the bill, which will go to a preliminary vote in the parliament, according to daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
The new bill calls for banning the Muslim call to prayer being broadcast through loudspeakers from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
“This is a brazen violation of international treaties that guarantee free worship and the right to practice religious rituals,” the OIC said in a statement Monday.
OIC Secretary-General Yousef Al-Othaimeen, for his part, warned that the Israeli bill risks to fuel extremism, according to the statement.
He called on the international community to pressure Israel to abide by international law and treaties and “halt these violations and assaults that threaten security and stability in the region”.
An earlier draft of the bill was met with opposition from Ultra-Orthodox Jewish lawmakers over concerns about how it might also affect Jewish religious practices.
Palestinians have rejected the law claiming it deprives Muslims of their right to freedom of religion.
Palestinian resistance group Hamas has decried the revised bill to
“The bill is part of Israel’s racist policies against the Palestinian people,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasim said in a statement.
He said the draft aims to “efface the Arab and Islamic identity of the Palestinians by banning them from practicing their religious rituals”.
