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Pakistani court has ordered the authorities to block access to nine websites including Google, Yahoo and YouTube

Judge Mazhar Iqbal ordered Pakistan’s Telecommunications Authority to block the websites due to “material against the fundamental principals of Islam and its preaching,” according to a copy of the judgement obtained by AFP.

Pakistan shut off Facebook for nearly two weeks last month in a storm of controversy about a competition to draw the Prophet Mohammad and has restricted access to hundreds of online links because of blasphemy.

Iqbal announced a short version of the order in the eastern city of Bahawalpur on Tuesday and released a written detailed order on Wednesday, lawyer Latif ur-Rehman who brought the petition for the ban, told AFP.

But while the PTA quickly implemented the earlier ban against Facebook in May, regulators told AFP on Thursday that they had yet to receive the latest order.

“We have not yet received any directives from the ministry of information technology. The ministry is the decision-making authority,” Khurram Mehran, a PTA spokesman, told AFP.

The ministry was not immediately reachable for comment.

Iqbal called on the PTA and information technology ministry to submit detailed reports to the court next Monday.

Retired civil servant Siddique Mohammad had petitioned the court through Rehman for the ban on nine websites — Google, Yahoo, Amazon, MSN, Hotmail, YouTube, Islam Exposed, In The Name of Allah and Bing.

A spokesman for the Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan warned that the order could strangle Internet access for millions.

“If implemented the decision will choke Internet users. It will seriously impact millions of Internet users in Pakistan who use search engines for email, education, business and other productive purposes,” said Wahaj-us-Siraj.

“Courts are not a competent jurisdiction to handle technical issues. The issue should have been handled by the PTA,” he said.

Islam strictly prohibits the depiction of any prophet as blasphemous and the row sparked comparison with protests across the Muslim world at the publication of satirical cartoons of Mohammed in European newspapers in 2006.

When a Facebook user decided to organise an “Everyone Draw Mohammed Day” competition to promote “freedom of expression”, it sparked a major backlash among Islamic activists in the South Asian country of 170 million.

TUESDAY was “Quit Facebook” day around the world but especially in Canada. The attempt to scuttle the famous — or infamous — social networking site was, after all, the initiative of two Canadians. Why they became so determined to do in Facebook is not entirely clear, at least to anyone who doesn’t actually use it or any of the other social networking sites — people like myself.

The phrase social networking, in fact, seems to be a bit of an oxymoron. The more addicted to sites like Facebook people become, often the less social they actually are. They may have a thousand Facebook friends but no one to talk to outside of the web. As one faithful Facebook aficionado lamented recently, she had been trying to find someone to talk to for 45 minutes without any luck. This must mean, she concluded, that she had no friends, and she may well have been right. Talking through the ether seems to me to be not much more friendly than passing gas in a crowded elevator.

But none of that seems to be the reason for Quit Facebook day. Its users don’t seem to mind that, for the most part, it is not much more than one huge, collective intellectual fart where people tell total strangers what they had for dinner and what colour underwear they were wearing while they ate.

There are serious issues surrounding Facebook and similar social networks. In Pakistan, Facebook was banned recently because a user urged others to post cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, which to Muslims is blasphemy. A Pakistani court this week overturned that ban, saying the government could not limit freedom of speech and then went on to say that freedom did not include contradicting Islam. Facebook has had trouble in other countries as well — its only merit, as nearly as this low-tech Luddite can figure out — is that it is a conduit for free speech, no matter how fatuous most of that speech might be.

Rather, the reason that quitting Facebook was the talk of Twitter this week appears to be the company’s questionable collection of personal and private information from its users that it then sells to anyone who pays. Even that knowledge wasn’t enough to make Facebook users quit on Tuesday — the company won’t say how many did, but the estimate is about 40,000 pledges out 400 million users — and, with the threat of American legislation hanging over its head, Facebook has announced that it is tightening its privacy controls. That’s a step in the right direction, both for Facebook and for keeping government regulators out of the Internet, but it remains a jungle. Go ahead, talk your face off on the Internet if you want, but before you tell the world what you really did last night, give your life a reality check. No one has 1,000 friends.

Western hacks reacting to Muslim sensibilities see a rejection of free expression, but not the oppression of the West, cast in the mould of freedom, writes Ramzy Baroud.

“Any depictions of the prophet are considered blasphemous by Muslims,” readily reported Aljazeera.net English. The above statement is meant to fully summarise the reason behind the outrage that arises in Pakistan and other parts of the Muslim world whenever some provocative “artist” decides to express his freedom of expression and “expose” Muslims as anti-democratic.

Such a simplistic interpretation of such an intricate issue.

There is no denial — and no shame — in the fact that most Muslims hold their prophet in the highest regard. Despite the continued decrease in the number of faithful in increasingly secularised Western societies, Muslims are clinging even tighter to their faith. However, while the outrage over the latest transgression by some Facebook user and his “Everybody Draw Mohamed Day!” may appear as a straightforward news story (that of Western values versus Muslim “narrow-mindedness”) the true underpinnings of the outrage is suspiciously missing.

The naïve depiction by Western media makes it easy for “freedom of expression” enthusiasts to condemn Muslims for yet again failing the democracy test.

The latest Facebook episode is a remake of the same old story. Some ill-intended “artist”, under the guise of freedom of speech, takes on a confrontational mission, knowing fully the response such an act would generate, and perhaps the lives that would be lost. The Muslim masses, predictably, respond through angry protests, burning flags, denouncing America, Israel, Zionism, Facebook, YouTube and so on. Strangely, the very governments that are considered US allies tend to be on the forefront of condemning the “blasphemous” provocations. The Muslim masses are thus exploited on all fronts: by the media, by anti-Muslims, by rightwing forces in the West, and their own governments. (more…)

A group of six young IT professionals from Lahore launched www.millatfacebook.com last week

Pakistanis outraged with Facebook over “blasphemous” caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed have created a spin-off networking site that they dream can connect the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims.

A group of six young IT professionals from Lahore, the cultural and entertainment capital of Pakistan, launched www.millatfacebook.com on Tuesday for Muslims to interact online and protest against blasphemy.

The private venture came after a Pakistani court ordered a block on Facebook until May 31, following deep offence over an “Everyone Draw Mohammed Day” page considered “blasphemous” and “sacrilegious”.

“Millatfacebook is Pakistan’s very own, first social networking site. A site for Muslims by Muslims where sweet people of other religions are also welcome,” the website tells people interested in signing up.

Dubbed MFB, after Facebook’s moniker FB, its founder says professionals are working around the clock to offer features similar to those pioneered by the wildly popular California-based prototype.

Each member has a “wall” for friends to comment on. The site offers email, photo, video, chat and discussion board facilities.

The Urdu word “Millat” is used by Muslims to refer to their nation. The website claims to have attracted 4,300 members in the last three days — mostly English-speaking Pakistanis in their 20s.

The number of aficionados may be growing, but the community is a drop in the ocean of the 2.5 million Facebook fans in Pakistan and there have been some scathing early reviews of the start-up. (more…)

It was just yesterday that Bangladesh blocked Facebook following Pakistan’s move, which came a few weeks ago. This was followed by a couple of arrests and anti-Facebook protests demanding the site be blocked in Bangladesh-.

Today, Pakistan has unblocked Facebook and it is accessible all throughout Pakistan once again. There are two things that arise from here.

Firstly, Facebook has promised Pakistan and the world that no religiously offensive material will be found accessible from Pakistan on Facebook anymore. Now, to what extent can people really trust Facebook after it took it’s user’s privacy on a roller coaster ride. Seriously speaking, for a website which does not care about its users worldwide, I do not see it holding its end of the deal for only a section of its users. Sooner or later some controversial content is going to creep into Facebook again and it will have some technical jargons to throw at us as the reason for the mishap.

Secondly, in the wake of this situation, a new version of Facebook for Muslims worldwide, Millat Facebook was created which gained popularity. Though, Millat Facebook seriously lacks the features of Facebook and its user’s base. Now that Facebook has made amendments, Muslims worldwide have options to use either Millat Facebook or stick to Facebook itself.

This can either prove as a heavy loss for Facebook or a total failure for Millat Facebook. Only time will tell which of these websites appeals more to Muslims. Facebook sure has a lesson to learn from this and needs to bring in more checks on what is going up on its pages and how it is being served in different parts of the world.

News agencies wrote: “Any depictions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are considered blasphemous by Muslims.”

Friday 21 May, 2010

Hazrat Maulana Mufti Taqi Usmani Sahab Damatbarakatuhum has delivered an extremely important Bayan In view of the current controversy regarding the Blasphemous Facebook Page. Kindly Listen to the complete Bayan and Forward it to as many People as Possible

Please Spread this Message to your Friends so that we can collectively register our peacefull protest against Facebook and show our Love for our Noble Prophet (SAW)

Tafseer Surah Humaza – II (Naamoos e Risalat – Boycott Facebook)(Download)
Friday 21 May, 2010 – Bayan before Namaz e Juma at Jamia Masjid Bait Ul Mukarram by Hazrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani Sahab Damatbarakatuhum

After the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) banned Facebook in Pakistan, with a permanent ban looming over, users of the social networking website have been asking the same question: Why was such a blasphemous page even launched?

Members of religious groups and students from various organisations have been protesting over the last one-week to register their anger against the shameful act.

“The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is a Jew and this has been done on purpose. It’s not the first time, as previously such blasphemous caricatures have been published in newspapers abroad,” a protesting student, Amna told Daily Times.

She added, “We are ordinary people, we have never intended to harm anyone, yet these people have used a social networking site to hurt the feelings of millions of Muslims, which is totally unacceptable.”

An American cartoonist, Molly Norris from Seattle, drew an irreligious caricature in April to protest against the decision of the US television channel Comedy Central to cancel an episode of the popular show South Park over its blasphemous depiction of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). In her cartoon, Molly satirically proposed May 20 as the day to draw such sketches.

The page quickly turned up on Facebook but Molly, writing on her website, said she had nothing to do with it. The page has been condemned by youngsters, students, the Punjab Union of Journalists, celebrities and musicians alike. They have demanded that the responsible people should apologise for this immoral act.

Decision appreciated: The PTA decision to ban Facebook in Pakistan and its related sites has been appreciated by citizens, but they have made it loud and clear that the people responsible for this act need to apologise.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said the issue of caricatures had already been raised at the Council for Human Rights, the Organisation of Islamic Conference and the United Nations General Assembly. “Now Facebook is being used to do the same thing and it is not acceptable at any level. We are looking forward to bring like-minded countries together on this issue and form a strategy to seek apology from the responsible people,” he said.

A Muslim solution: However, it’s about time that Muslim computer experts came forward and designed a website similar to Facebook so that millions of Muslim users switch to it, he added.

In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalāmu ῾alaykum wa Rahmatullāhi Wabarakātuh

The issue of Facebook and their latest antics against our Beloved Muhammad sallallāhu ῾alayhi wasallam has angered and frustrated the Muslim Ummah. The reaction of the Muslim Ummah in the face of such blasphemy is appreciated. This malevolence is not foreign to Islam and the Muslims. During the time of our beloved Muhammad sallallāhu ῾alayhi wasallam , individuals like Ka’ab Bin Ashraf , Abu Lahab, his wife and others were also guilty of defaming our Prophet sallallāhu ῾alayhi wasallam. Their fate is known to all.
Our responsibility as Muslims and lovers of our beloved Muhammad sallallāhu ῾alayhi wasallam is as follows:

1. To delete Facebook accounts and any other media that deems it acceptable to disrespect our beloved Rasoolullah sallallāhu ῾alayhi wasallam and never to reactivate them again.

2. To inform others of the above as well.

3. Deleting facebook is one form of expressing our love for Rasoolullah sallallāhu ῾alayhi wasallam . However, objective love of Rasoolullah sallallāhu ῾alayhi wasallam is to inculcate his teachings in our life.

4. Make dua for guidance of the involved individuals.

لو كان حبك صادقا لأطعت

إن المحب لمن يحب مطيع

Had your love been true, then you would have surely obeyed him

For indeed, a lover is most obedient to his beloved

Let’s prove our obedience!!!

Wassalāmu ῾alaykum

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Dārul Iftā, Madrasah In῾āmiyyah

The Facebook page that led the Pakistan government to ban the entire site was back online Saturday, at least for some users, after it was inaccessible for about two days.

The page was removed Thursday after one of the moderators had his e-mail and Skype account hacked into, and his personal data revealed, according to a post on the page on Saturday. The moderator then got scared and deleted the page, a blog, and e-mails, according to the post.

“This is another scare tactic from the Islamic extremists,” the post said. “We won’t fall,” it added. The moderator who removed the page has however backed out, according to the post.

The page had over 108,000 fans and over 11,700 photos posted on Saturday. Though the Facebook users who created the page put it back up Saturday, some users in India were able to access it for only a brief time before their access was once again blocked. Meanwhile access to Facebook as a whole continues to be blocked in Pakistan.

The page “Everybody draw Mohammed Day!” invites users to post caricatures of Prophet Mohammed, which led a court in Pakistan to order the site to be blocked.

There were also a large number of protests on the streets of Pakistan on Wednesday and Thursday, objecting to the page.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday ordered operators to block Facebook on Wednesday until further orders. It also ordered YouTube to be blocked on Thursday for displaying “sacrilegious” content. It said it had also blocked over 450 links on the Internet that contained derogatory material.

“Facebook has not taken any action on this page,” a spokeswoman for the company said earlier on Saturday. The company had said on Thursday that it would not rule out making the content that Pakistan objected to inaccessible to users in Pakistan.

When dealing with user-generated content on global Web sites, there are occasions where content that is illegal in one country is not, or may even be protected, in another, Facebook said on Thursday. Most companies, including Facebook, approach this issue by preventing certain content from being shown to users in the countries where it is illegal, it added.

The PTA has said it would welcome contact from Facebook and YouTube to resolve the issue.