Mosques In Rwanda Banned From Using Loudspeakers During Call To Prayer

There is the issue of putting as much restrictions on religion as possible, noise pollution and simply going down on the minority groups. Islam in Rwanda is subject to such. 

A ban has been placed on mosques in Kigali, Rwanda which produce a lot of noise. Thus mosques have been banned from using loudspeakers during the call to prayer, which is made five times a day. This comes after complaints lodged by the residents in the Nyarugenge district, which is home to some of the biggest mosques in the capital. 

Citing noise pollution, the residents complained they are subjected to a lot of noise from the loudspeakers. But well, one could ask the question, why not just order them to keep their volume down, rather than banning them totally? This is what was echoed by an official from a Muslim association, who said that instead they can just keep their volume down. 

In Rwanda, the majority of the populace adhere to Christianity. Muslims constitute around 5% of the total population. Last month, around 700 churches were closed for not complying with building regulations and noise pollution. But then there is the narrative of sub-standard churches. 

As much as the Muslims comply with the bans, clampdown on Pentecostal churches have also been evident. Among the churches closed for sub-standard practices, many small Pentecostal churches were included. The government says the reason is that some preachers "deceive their congregation with misleading sermons".

But some preachers have accused the government of trying to control their message to congregants in a country accused by human rights groups of stifling free speech.

Image: BBC