Muslim cleric jailed in India over call to prayer from mosque

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A Muslim cleric in India’s Uttar Pradesh state has been arrested and sent to 14 days of judicial custody after police seized a mosque loudspeaker during the Islamic call to prayer, without disclosing any sound measurements establishing that noise regulations had been violated.

Mohammad Faizan, who serves as the muezzin at Najib-ud-Daula Mosque in Bijnor district, was arrested Saturday after a senior police officer heard the midday call to prayer while traveling through Najibabad town.

According to Indian media, the arrest followed an intervention by Bijnor Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar Bishnoi, who directed officers to inspect the mosque after hearing the call to prayer from the road.

The incident occurred around 12:40 p.m. during the Zuhr prayer call at the mosque, located near Government Inter College in Najibabad’s Makbara neighborhood.

Police subsequently entered the mosque, confiscated a loudspeaker and accused Faizan of broadcasting the call to prayer above legally permitted noise levels.

However, authorities did not disclose any recorded decibel reading or establish whether officers had used a sound-level meter before taking action against the cleric.

Sub-Inspector Saurabh Singh filed a complaint against Faizan, who was subsequently produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.

The police complaint claimed that the loudspeaker had been concealed inside the mosque and that its volume posed health risks to elderly residents, children and people suffering from illnesses.

It also claimed that the broadcast had generated public resentment, although the available account did not identify any residents who had complained.

The arrest has raised questions about the severity of police action against a Muslim religious functionary over an alleged noise violation for which no measured sound level has been made public.

Afan-ul-Haq, Najibabad’s city Qazi, criticized the decision to imprison Faizan, arguing that police could have resolved the matter through a warning.

He said religious functionaries responsible for the call to prayer should not face imprisonment for violations that could be addressed through instructions to comply with regulations.

Following the arrest, Bishnoi also suspended police officer Lalit Kumar, accusing him of failing to enforce restrictions on loudspeaker use.

The superintendent warned that police personnel could face disciplinary action if religious institutions in their jurisdictions violated noise regulations.

The incident comes amid continued restrictions on loudspeakers at religious institutions in Uttar Pradesh, governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In September, authorities in Bijnor conducted an enforcement campaign targeting loudspeakers at mosques, temples and Sikh gurdwaras, removing equipment they said exceeded permitted limits.

Restrictions on mosque loudspeakers have been a recurring issue in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP government has carried out extensive campaigns regulating religious sound systems.

In 2022, state police reported removing 53,942 unauthorized loudspeakers from religious institutions and reducing the volume of another 60,200.

Indian law regulates the use of loudspeakers under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, which establish different permissible sound levels depending on location and time of day.

In residential areas, the prescribed ambient noise limits are 55 decibels during daytime hours and 45 decibels at night.

The Allahabad High Court ruled in 2020 that the Islamic call to prayer is protected under religious freedom, although broadcasting it through loudspeakers is not an essential religious practice and remains subject to legal restrictions.