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Photo illustration: Several officers carry out surveillance at the Grand Mosque before Friday prayers, April 16, 2021.
Islamic Affairs Minister Abdullatif al-Sheikh said the move was in response to complaints from the public.
But the move sparked various reactions on social media.
Hashtags calling for loud music to be banned in restaurants and cafes are starting to trend.
Sheikh said the complaints were among the parents who claimed that the loudspeakers from the mosque disturbed the children’s sleep.
Speaking in a video broadcast by state television, Sheikh said that those wishing to pray did not need to wait for the call to prayer.
He called those who criticized the policy online as “enemies of the kingdom” and claimed they “wanted to stir public opinion”.
The regulation to limit the volume of mosque speakers comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continues efforts to make Saudi Arabia more liberal and reduce the role of religion in public life.
Social distancing policies have been relaxed, such as ending the ban on women drivers.
But the crown prince is also cracking down on freedom of expression in the country.
Thousands of critics have been arrested and jailed.
Places of worship are starting to open under strict supervision
Meanwhile, some of the most important sites in the Islamic world have reopened two months after the coronavirus pandemic forced them to close.
This opening allows the worshipers to enter it with strict rules.
Hundreds of Muslims poured into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, the third holiest site for Muslims, for dawn prayers on Sunday.