Arab village in Israel to lower volume of call to prayer

Galilee mosque may be the first of many where several smaller speakers replace the boom box

JERUSALEM (AP) — Mosque loudspeakers calling the faithful to pre-dawn prayers can irritate non-Muslims being jerked from their slumber — particularly in Israel, where Muslims, Jews and Christians live near each other.

Now the Arab village of Manshiya Zabda in the Galilee is testing a simple solution in a pilot project in response to complaints from Jewish neighbors.

It’s replaced the boom box atop the local mosque with four smaller loudspeakers installed throughout the village, cutting the required volume in half.

The local imam, Ali Saida, said Thursday that senior clerics assured him they have no problem with the government-funded experiment.

The head of the regional council, Eyal Betser, says smaller speakers will be installed in other villages before the project goes national.