Israeli call to prayer 'ban' would 'harm world peace'

By Ali Kemal Akan

KOCAELI, Turkey (AA) - Israel’s proposed restriction on the Muslim call to prayer, or Adhan, would be damaging to world peace, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Wednesday.

A bill to restrict the hours religious buildings can broadcast over loudspeakers is due to be heard by the Israeli parliament.

“The Middle East is the lock of world peace and Palestine is the key,” Kurtulmus told reporters in the western Turkish city of Kocaeli.

He added: “It will be an extremely wrong decision. The current text of the bill could not to be approved. I hope the Israeli parliament will end this carelessness and this bill will not pass through parliament.”

Many Muslims have seen the proposals as being specifically aimed at mosques, even though they would apply to all religious centers between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

“The bill is also against religious freedom,” Kurtulmus said, adding that it would be an “insult of the history of Jerusalem” as the center of Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

An earlier draft of the bill was met with opposition from ultra-orthodox Jewish lawmakers over concerns about how it might affect Jewish religious practices.