Austrian Fined for Yodeling During Muslim Prayer

An elderly Austrian yodeler has been fined $1,000 for ridiculing his Muslim neighbors' religious beliefs—by yodeling. The court was told that the 63-year-old Austrian, described by neighbors as a "grumpy old man," attempted to mock the Muslim call to prayer and always started his yodeling when his neighbors began to pray, the Telegraph reports.

Police were called one day when the man both yodeled and mowed his lawn as his neighbors prayed. He was charged with "disparagement of religious symbols" and hindering religious practice. "It was not my intention to imitate or insult them. I simply started to yodel a few tunes because I was in such a good mood," the man told reporters, but he decided to pay the fine to avoid further legal proceedings. (More Austria stories.)