Rwanda has banned the use of loudspeakers by mosques in the capital Kigali, meant to call worshippers to prayer.
Authorities say the calls, made five times each day, have been disturbing residents of the Nyarugenge district, home to the capital’s biggest mosques.
Muslim officials have however criticized the move to ban the loudspeakers, saying they could instead keep the volume down.
The move comes barely a month after around 700 churches were closed for not complying with the East African country’s building regulations and noise pollution.
Majority of Rwandans are Christians, with Muslims making up around 5 per cent of the population.
The government says the Muslim community has complied with the ban.
“I have found that they have begun to respect it and it has not stopped their followers from going to pray according to their praying time,” BBC quotes Havuguziga Charles, a local official from Nyarugenge.
On the ban imposed on churches, the government said some preachers “deceive their congregation with misleading sermons”, AFP reports.
Some preachers have however accused the government of trying to control their message to congregants.
