Religious Racket

From USA Today:

"In Jerusalem, an effort to quiet the call to prayer"

Five times a day, loudspeakers at the top of nearly 200 minarets in this holy city call to Muslims to pray. They blare before dawn and the wailing cry of the muezzins, or prayer callers, can be heard for miles. Though it is a Middle East tradition that goes back centuries, some in this ancient city say the practice should give way to modern ordinances against excessive noise. "From the time she was born until she was nearly two, my daughter woke up in a panic every night from the call of the muezzin," says Yael Saltoun who lives in the Jewish neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv in East Jerusalem.

Saltoun says neighborliness means not imposing one's religious practices on others. But in a city holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians, even a hint of disrespect for one's faith can blow up into a major battle. In March, the Jerusalem municipality announced plans to measure the volume of Muslim prayers broadcast via loudspeakers to check whether it exceeds noise pollution standards that the law says all residents must abide by. The pilot study will concentrate on mosques in a part of the city where Muslims and Jews live in close proximity. It was initiated after years of complaints from neighbors who say the prayers, which can be heard across the city's valleys in the early hours of morning, are loud enough to wake them from a sound sleep. The same issue has cropped up elsewhere, such as India, England, Germany, and even a nearly 100% Muslim country like Saudi Arabia has gotten complaints about the muezzins. But in Jerusalem, even the issue of noise is political, and the mere gathering of disparate religious groups can lead to disputes, even violence.

The Jerusalem municipality office says the city is simply trying to enforce existing noise pollution laws, and that it is not singling out mosques. "Jerusalem is a multi-cultural city which values freedom of religion for every faith," said an official statement from the office. "The municipality maintains constant communication with all its communities and, if needed, will provide the technology needed to minimize noise in the capital's neighborhoods." Samantha Knights, a London-based lawyer who deals with cases involving law and religion, said it is not unusual for municipalities to have protections in law against noise nuisances regardless of the source. "And in a democracy the state must consider all the interested parties and balance their respective rights in forming a view as to whether any such noise should be restricted," Knights said.

^ There was once a time when these call to prayers were needed, but in the modern era when everyone has watches or alarms on their cell phones it is no longer needed. I remember hearing them when I was in Kuwait and Dubai and it was pretty annoying (especially so early in the morning.) I understand I was in a Muslim country and so it was to be expected, but in Israel and other countries that are democracies there should be a balance. I wouldn't want to live in my own country and hear any annoying racket 2, 5 or a million times a day. I don't care what it is for. Israel should take this a step further and strive to have more of a separation of Church (or Mosque or Synagogue) and State. There should be civil (rather than solely religious) marriage allowed, etc. That may be harder than thought since other countries have problems with it. I know the US claims to completely keep Church and State separate yet on Election Day many people have to vote in a Church. Our money says: "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance states: "One nation, under God." In the end the call to any prayer is not needed. If people can't tell time by now than maybe they shouldn't be praying. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/05/03/israel-holy-week-noise/7867049/