All schools in the blockaded Gaza Strip recited Adhan (Muslim call to prayer) via school loudspeakers on Wednesday in response to the Israeli Adhan ban bid.
International and Public Relations Director at the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education Mootassem al-Minawi said Gaza schools performed the call to prayer in the morning and afternoon shifts.
“Adhan bears witness to the inherently Islamic identity of Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories” noted al-Minawi.
He added that the move makes part of an awareness-raising initiative aimed to mobilize the Muslim nation and the international community to speak up against the Israeli aggressions on the Islamic holy sites and the hate-fueled violations of Muslims’ right to the freedom of worship.
The prayer calls traditionally announced through minarets five times have been a frequent target of Israeli ire with many claiming they are a loud nuisance that echoes in Jewish towns and neighborhoods.
Adhan is an Islamic ritual recited five times a day to invite Muslims to perform their religious prayers. It was first chanted by Bilal the Companion of Prophet Mohamed (Peace Be Upon Him) some 1400 years ago.
The text of Adhan reads literally as follows: “ALLAH is Most Great. I testify that there is no god except ALLAH. I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of ALLAH. Come to prayer. Come to success. Prayer is better than sleep. ALLAH is Most Great. There is no god except ALLAH.”
