Turkey has strongly criticized the Israeli bill which would ban the use of loudspeakers in mosques in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Spokesman for the Turkish government Numan Kurtulmus considered the bill as “totally unacceptable.”
The bill was contrary to religious freedoms and went against Jerusalem’s historic multi-religious culture he said.
“Bringing the restrictions on the call to prayer at al-Aqsa and other mosques on the agenda is in no way acceptable” according to his statements.
He pointed out that the Israeli bill would raise concerns over religious liberty and ignite protests around the world.
Last week the Israeli Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved the draft legislation which calls for barring the use of loudspeakers during the Adhan moving it to the Knesset where it is expected to go through several readings before making it into law.
However Israeli Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman appealed the bill effectively postponing Knesset consideration of the draft legislation until further notice.
Litzman argued that the current phrasing of the bill would not only affect the use of loudspeakers for the Muslim call to prayer but also the use of sirens on Friday evenings to announce the Jewish holy day of Shabbat.
