What happened: Mohammed Ashfaq Kazi, the chief preacher of Mumbai’s largest mosque had to turn down the volume of the speaker by a few decibels. More than 900 mosques in India had to do the same, following threats from a local Hindu lawmaker, Raj Thackeray who said that if they don’t follow ‘noise regulations,’ his party members will chant Hindu prayers outside mosques in protest, “If religion is a personal matter, why are Muslims permitted to use loudspeakers every day of the year?” This is what Thackery said in April. Details: Thackeray, whose party only has one seat in the state’s 288-member parliament, said he was only demanding for the noise-level court orders to be followed. The action, which coincided with the holy festival of Eid, is seen by India’s 200 million Muslims as yet another attempt by extreme Hindus to undermine their rights to free worship and religious expression, with the tacit approval of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Why it matters: Kazi said he agreed to Thackeray’s request to decrease the chance of violence between Muslims and Hindus. “We (Muslims) have to keep calm and peace” while radical Hindu leaders seek to discredit Islam, Kazi remarked. The proposal, according to a senior official from Thackeray’s party, was not intended to target Muslims specifically, but rather to eliminate “noise pollution” generated by all places of worship.