Mehmet Görmez, the head of Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİB, better known as Diyanet), on Monday criticized an Israeli proposal that, if approved, would restrict the adhan, the Islamic call to worship, from being transmitted through loudspeakers.
Görmez, meeting with the Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey Faed Mustafa in Ankara, said: "If you ban muadhdhins [from making] the call to prayer, every Palestinian will become a muadhdhin and make the call."
"We would be [similarly] upset if the call was restricted in Istanbul," he said.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian ambassador affirmed that regardless of the bill, they would work for peace and said, "We will do our best to establish a free and independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."
On Sunday, the Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved a revised version of a bill to ban adhan from being called through loudspeakers between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. An earlier draft of the bill was met with opposition from ultra-Orthodox Jewish lawmakers, over concerns that it might also affect their religious practices. Palestinians have criticized the measure, claiming it would violate Muslims' freedom of religion.
