Amidst the tempest caused by the Ministry of Awqaf's [Religious Endowment's] plan to unify the Azan in the Greater Cairo, Dr. Zaqzouq, the Minister, was the target of fervent attacks. He was accused of being involved in a plot to ruin Islam. Those who attacked the Minister backed their attacks with the minister's claim that noise pollution is linked to his plan to unify the Azan. The Minister defended himself saying that he did not mean that the noise pollution is caused by the nice words of the Azan but meant that the noise is produced by the loudspeakers through which the Azan is transmitted.