Tunisian mosque Azhar al-Jarboui – Tunis An imam and a muezzin have filed a report against a musician and composer for smashing mosque megaphone to express his irritation at the sound of the call to prayer, police sources said. Tunisian musician Samir al-Aqrabi attacked the mosque accompanied by one of his sons directly after morning prayers. They reportedly cut the cables connecting the megaphone to the power source and smashed the megaphone, sources said.
The muezzin also said that al-Aqrabi demanded they stop the call for prayer and made various threats against them.
Despite the amusing strangeness of the incident, it reflects the current debate over freedom and its limits and the perceived threat of chaos.
Samir al-Aqrabi composed songs for several Tunisian artists, such as Amina Fakhit, Nagat Atteya, Sophia Sadeq and Shukry Bouzian. He was originally famous for performing Tunisian folklore shows “Al-Nuba” and “Al-Hadhara.”
Among his musical achievements is composing the music for the Arab Maghreb Union. He also won an award in the 2010 Arab Song Festival.