In a move described as provocative and opens the door to a new escalation against Islamic religious symbols in The Palestinian interior AndJerusalemThe Israeli Environmental Protection Minister, Eidit Silman, sent an official message to the Inspector General of Police, Danny Levy, asking him to take immediate measures to reduce what he called “noise pollution” resulting from the use of loudspeakers in mosques, on top of which is the voice of the call to prayer.
The Minister’s demand is to impose strict control over mosques located in coastal cities (mixed) and Arab neighborhoods inside the lands of 48, such as Jaffa AndLord AndRamla AndHaifa AndBeershebaIn addition to the occupied city of Jerusalem, with a focus on 3 specific mosques: the Al -Sixk Mosque in Jaffa, the Al -Omari Grand Mosque in Lod, and the Ain Silwan Mosque in Jerusalem.
Silman’s message said that her ministry received “frequent complaints” about what she described as the high noise caused by the use of loudspeakers in mosques. She pointed out that the ministry teams conducted audio measurements that revealed “serious abuses” of the permissible legal limits, as she put it.
What is remarkable in the minister’s speech is the escalation of the tone, as it considered that the issue is not only environmental, but also turned into a “issue related to governance and law application.”
She called for “decisive” steps that include activating noise monitoring devices, imposing fines, confiscating loudspeakers, and even opening investigation files against what she described as “violators.”
Restricting and Judaizing
Silman was not satisfied with that, but rather compared the situation in Israel and Arab countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, claiming that these countries “impose clear restrictions on loudspeakers in mosques,” she said, adding that “the legal void” in Israel led to “the exacerbation of the phenomenon.”
Among the targeted mosques, the Ain Silwan Mosque in Jerusalem is a special case, given its sensitive location and its inflamed surroundings due to settlement expansion. This historic mosque, which is one of the oldest alive mosques SolaceFor years, a suffocating siege has been faced by the establishment of settlement foci in its vicinity.
The roads leading to it were also closed from the “Ard Al -Hamra” side, after seizing them by the settlers in late 2022, in a move that angered Jerusalemites.
According to observers, the inclusion of this mosque in Silman’s message is not just a coincidence, but rather it falls within a long path of attempts to Judaize the place and narrow the screws on the Islamic presence in it.
Causes and motives
In a reading of the reasons and motives of the Israeli decision to attack the vote Kamal Al -KhatibThe targeting of the call to prayer reflects the euphoria of the force in the Israeli right in light of the escalation of aggression against the Palestinians, amid international silence and the collusion of some Arab and Islamic regimes, and even their participation in the siege of Gaza.
Al -Khatib explained, to Al -Jazeera Net, that this feeling of excellence and power enhances the Israelis of hatred and the hardship, and nourishes the tendency towards escalation, as it is manifested in the repeated incursions of the Al -Aqsa Mosque and the increasing targeting of Islamic holy sites, and in an attempt to silence the call to prayer as one of the symbols of Islamic identity in the Palestinian interior and Jerusalem.
He pointed out that this Israeli persistence stems from the conviction that the Arab and Islamic world will not respond, and that the absence of any deterrent position encouraged the Israeli establishment to continue to target national and religious symbols of the Palestinian people.
Khatib emphasized that these policies will not pass, and that the voice of the call to prayer will remain, despite all the attempts of his silence, because the Palestinian people adhere to their religious and national identity, and will not be allowed to be absent.
Khatib warned that these decisions only lead to pouring the oil over the fire, as it creates a state of friction and tension in a society that already lives burning conditions.
He added: “Under the influence of the euphoria of strength and the madness of excellence, wisdom is absent and the mind is absent, and the whole region pushes towards more ignition.”
Devoting and blurring
As for the lawyer and human rights lawyer, Khaled Zbarqa, he saw in Silman’s speech, “an attempt to impose an extremist Jewish agenda on the public space,” considering that linking the call to prayer to “noise pollution” is “a deliberate distortion of the essence of the religious ritual that represents an original part of the country’s identity and its indigenous population.”
Zbarqa explained to Al -Jazeera Net that the minister’s policies are consistent with the trends of the currents of religious Zionism and the extreme right, which seeks to devote the concept of “Judaism of the State” through blurring Arab and Islamic symbols, whether in the architectural scene, audio or even cultural.
And Zabarqa went on to say that “the Israeli establishment seeks to prolong the Palestinians, starting with the call to prayer, to the dome of the mosque and its minaret,” warning that passing this decision will pave the way for circulating it over the entire historic lands of Palestine.
In front of this scene, Zbarqa questions the feasibility of any legal action against the decision, accusing the Israeli judiciary of being a “tool in the hands of power”, which does not hesitate to adopt racist policies even if it violates the constitution.
An invitation to break the silence barrier
In light of the weak confidence in the official channels, Zbarqa called on the Palestinian leaders at home to a wide popular action to confront the decision, by breaking the barrier of fear and going out in demonstrations rejecting, especially since the prejudice to the call to prayer affects the essence of the religious and national identity of the Palestinians.
He warned that the implementation of the decision may lead to the explosion of protests at home and Jerusalem, especially since the call to prayer represents one of the most prominent features of their presence in the country, and it symbolically extends to the defense of the Al -Aqsa Mosque and the holy sites in general.
Despite Selman’s attempt to justify its step by “environmental” considerations, the content of its mission and its timing “reveals a systematic Israeli policy targeting the remaining features of the Islamic and Arab identity in the Palestinian cities, it is not a battle of voice, but the battle of existence,” says Zabarqa.