Palestinian Authority Orders Mosques to Reduce Loudspeaker Use

The Palestinian Authority has ordered mosques across its territory to cut back on the loudspeaker noise used by muezzins, according to an official document circulated Monday by Palestinian Endowments Minister Mohammed Mustafa Njeim. The directive seeks to standardize the call to prayer and says outdoor loudspeakers may be used only for the prayer call itself.

The instruction also bans broadcasting Qur'an verses before prayers over external loudspeakers, limiting those recitations to indoor speakers. In Palestinian communities near settlements, the document goes further and forbids using outdoor loudspeakers for the call to prayer at all, allowing the call only over internal speakers.

The report says the issue has become part of a wider public battle over noise in shared space, with repeated clashes between Muslims and Jews. According to the article, Arabs have increased mosque volume to “demonstrate presence,” while Jews have at times responded with large loudspeakers blasting “Shema Yisrael” toward Palestinian villages.

The backdrop also includes the so-called “muezzin law” promoted by MK Tzvika Foghel, which would ban mosque loudspeakers. The article says a coalition against that bill has formed, with Arab lawmakers opposing it over fears for mosques and ultra-Orthodox lawmakers opposing it over fears it could affect Sabbath loudspeakers. Muslim prayers are held five times a day, starting before dawn, and the article says settlers would see a major improvement in quality of life if the new directive is enforced.