Egypt's Parliament will consider proposals next week to stop the use of microphone loudspeakers during Islamic sermons on Fridays. The ban, if adopted, would represent a radical shift in governmental policies.
Sources from the People’s Assembly said Thursday that the parliament’s Social and Religious Committee will debate on Sunday a proposal made by a National Democratic Party MP that would have the Ministry of Religious Endowments prevent imams from delivering sermons using loudspeakers. Instead, they would have to use internal speakers at the mosques.
“The ministry said three years ago that it will limit the use of amplifiers at mosques, in addition to unifying call for prayer across Cairo mosques. However, no real action was taken in this concern,” the proposal read.
The ministry took a number of steps last year to unify prayer calls by linking all mosques with one station that would broadcast them simultaneously. The project stumbled as mou’azzins (those who perform calls to prayer) failed to respond to the project, which operated in specific areas only.
The ministry dominates some 100,000 mosques in Egypt by designating imams and mou’azzins, some of whom help spread Salafi ideology via sermons and religious lessons.
