Israeli leaders want to impose a ban on the Muslim call to prayer, a controversial plan that Christian news site Charisma News said "could propel Israel to fulfill [the] Jeremiah 30 prophecy," a prophecy foretelling a time when God would restore His people to their lands.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already declared his support for the so-called "muezzin bill," which would prohibit the Muslim call to prayer from blasting from loud speakers in the nation's borders, the Jerusalem Post reported. The muezzin is the man who calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret of a mosque.
"Israel is committed to freedom for all religions, but is also responsible for protecting its citizens from noise. That's how it is in cities in Europe. I support similar legislation and enforcement in Israel," Netanyahu said.
The Muslim call to prayer sounds across Israel five times a day, often disturbing sleeping residents, the proponents of the bill say.
"Sometimes the call is really too loud," said Ksenia Svetlova, a Knesset Member for the Zionist Union party.
Member of the Knesset Moti Yogev, the author of the bill, said hundreds of thousands of Israelis "suffer regularly and daily from noise caused by the muezzin's calls from mosques."
"The bill comes from a view that freedom of religion should not harm quality of life," he said.
Yogev also said the muezzins use the loudspeakers to incite violence.
However, opposition Knesset member Ayman Odeh disagrees, saying the bill is racist. "Its whole goal is to create an atmosphere of hatred and incitement towards the Arab public," Odeh said. "There are already noise laws that apply to mosques and it is clear that the whole purpose of the bill is to label mosques as problematic. It is a clear harm to freedom of religion for Muslims and the continuation of the persecution led by the prime minister."
In reporting this development, Charisma News said Jeremiah, called the weeping prophet, foretold of a time when God would restore His people to their lands.
