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Critics of Facebook Ban Face Nasty Battle

By Farieha Aziz 21 May 2010 39 Comments
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I sat in my car at a distance from the main gate of the Karachi Press Club, thinking of what to do. I was already late by half an hour to the May 20th press conference called to discuss the ban on Facebook. Those who had called the press conference were of the view that the ban should be revoked: just because some pages contained objectionable content didn’t mean the whole domain should be blocked. But what made me particularly uncomfortable was the idea of crossing a crowd that had gathered outside the club gate protesting against an attack on “namoos-e-risalat” while everyone gathered on the street was probably aware of what was taking place inside. How would they react to me crossing from amongst them to attend something they obviously were against? Besides, I certainly did not look like I was there to support them. Nor was there any other woman in sight.

I finally managed to gather up the courage. I approached the police mobile parked close to the crowd and asked whether I could enter the press club. Getting the go-ahead, I quickly steered through the procession. I was in pursuit of Awab Alvi, or Teeth Maestro as he is known in cyberspace, one of the organisers of the conference. I arrived to find that the conference had ended so I stood and waited my turn to have a quick word with him.

While I waited I was informed by someone who attended that the conference wasn’t well received. He pointed to a group sitting in the garden of the press club and told me how they had vehemently opposed Awab’s stance; some even questioned whether he was Muslim. And then one thing led to another.

Members of the procession outside got the scoop on what had taken place inside. For them Awab’s stance was as blasphemous as the Facebook page itself. And by the time we found out what a stir it had caused on the street and were directed to exit from the side gate, it was too late. Angry protesters had already made their way inside the club and caught hold of Awab, telling him to come outside and speak his mind to the crowd. Upon his refusal, they threatened to forcibly take him. More than once, different groups caught hold of him and pushed and shoved him around, lashing out at Awab for voicing his opinions.

As for me, I suppose I was deemed guilty by association. And even though several fellow journalists reassured me that because I was from the media the crowd wouldn’t do anything to me, I wasn’t convinced.

Because our cars were parked out front where the procession stood, leaving was impossible. We were like sitting ducks. So Awab and I found ourselves in the Press Club office, hidden from the public eye, waiting for things to subside and the protesters to disperse.

We sat in the office, immobile and answered numerous phone calls, updating everyone on the mess we were in and waiting for someone to deliver us from it. It took a couple of hours for us to get out safely. The SHO escorted Awab out the back, where he was made to jump on a motorcycle with one of the club employees who escorted him to his office. I was made to sit a while longer till the press club officials could arrange for my car to be brought inside the club’s parking lot so I could make my exit.

So this is what happens in Pakistan when you disagree with public opinion. While we were protected from the lynch mob and cannot be thankful enough to the press club officials for taking speedy action, there were many people within the press club, journalists, who were disgusted with us and told us (more than once) to get out of the press club, even before the actual showdown with the protesters took place. What to say of these journalists and our media? Several TV channels were there when Awab was being shoved around – one man against so many others – but was that news worthy? Did any channel air footage of that? No.

But why not? Awab was hounded by them after the press conference, followed around and caught on tape while he was being manhandled, but what of it?

Isn’t the lynching of a man for voicing an opinion different from that of the majority something worthy of airtime? Why were the two of us left to ring up people to get the word around of the situation we were in and to help us get out of it while the media men conveniently disappeared after getting their slice of the pie?

This is what I foresee following in the days to come. People who want to discuss the ban on Facebook will be called non-believers and labelled as foreign agents working on a western agenda – I caught snippets of such nattering several times while the pushing and shoving took place. There will be a cry to use the blasphemy law against people who are against the ban on Facebook (and now the blockage of YouTube, Wikipedia, etc). Notwithstanding the countrywide protests that have already gained momentum with the government being ordered by men on the streets to take effective action or be prepared to face consequences, more and more lynch mobs will appear, eager to tear to pieces anybody with a different opinion.

I do not condone the cartoons, the Facebook page and also Facebook’s inaction. Had this been an anti-Semitic campaign, the page would have been taken down immediately; and it is not an exaggeration that when it comes to Muslims, a hundred excuses are invented for their voices to be silenced.

So register your protest, deactivate your accounts (if you can access them), or boycott Facebook by all means. But things are not simply black and white. There are issues to discuss and problems to resolve, so why can’t there be a discussion?

Vote in the poll located in the right-hand sidebar: Was banning Facebook the right thing to do?

Farieha Aziz is currently an assistant editor at Newsline and has been with the organisation since 2007. She has a masters in English from the University of Karachi. Farieha was awarded the APNS award for Best Investigative Report (Business/Economic) for the year 2007-2008. Find her on twitter @FariehaAziz.


Find more articles by Farieha Aziz
The opinions expressed in this article and the views shared by readers in the comment forum below do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance or policies of Newsline.

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39 Comments »

  • zakintosh said:

    Since it talks about what happened after the main event, it’s a great article. Few people were as close to it as you were and should begin to understand where these tactics are taking us.

    I do wish facebook had been around so people could continue protesting on it. Now we have other sites closed – including youTube, wikipedia, Twitter, and more. Over a 1000 when I last heard of it on the news. Where will our children (and adults) see such wonderful videos as youTube gives us – lectures, useful vidcams from science, religion, whatever their interests are. What about the instant quick get-together of info (wiki is no worse than any other cyclopaedia … you need to understand what it says and check)?

  • Teeth Maestro said:

    Thank you farieha for the narration – I am glad we made it out safely – Im sad that some rowdy elements did take the arguments differently, we condemned the blasphemous cartoons at all counts, but appealed that PTA should have blocked the particular offending URL’s and NOT the entire domain – as you mentioned some people linked us as defending facebook as being a non-believer. Thats what irked the situation on a misunderstanding

    Thank you yet again for being there

  • Fatima Ajmal said:

    I forwarded the press release inviting supporters to join the movement to my work people, but what I got was an inflamed reply about how I should shut up, tactfully blanketed under the term ‘No Offense’. I work at a highly respected IT services firm which only picks the cream of engineering colleges. What surprised me was that if such educated people do no understand our rights to information and our freedom, then what can we expect from the common man.

  • Raheel said:

    Media is bikao, we know it’s state. They are puppet of advertisers and PTA. I do condone the cartoons, the Facebook page and also Facebook’s inaction. I won’t advice to register your protest, deactivate your accounts or boycott Facebook by all means.

    I agree to>> But things are not simply black and white. There are issues to discuss and problems to resolve, so why can’t there be a discussion? as I have highlighted in my blog as well.

  • Ahmed said:

    These people (that includes everyone from the illiterate masses to the educated middle class) can be manipulated to commit any atrocity in the name of religion. Most of my closest friends are happy to have all their liberties curbed in the name of religion. Expect worse results as things heat up even more.

    Meanwhile, the supporters of the drawing campaign revel in their success. They’ve proven how violent and intolerant the followers of a peaceful religion like Islam really are.

  • The Ban that went Viral « Salma Jafri said:

    [...] ban seems to be that its the islamic thing to do. Anyone not in full blind support is purportedly not a muslim. Right, lets process that argument for a minute. Its like saying that because a big bully is [...]

  • Qaiser Habib said:

    I am glad to have found the minor part of the country’s population which exercises logic! It indeed is extremism to block the whole domain for a single user’s mischief – moreover, the internet is full of such content – does that mean we can go on and ban the whole World Wide Web?

    In my understanding, the leadership which governs the country’s internet has been compromised – the uni-directional people who have longed to get rid of the “evils” (technology in our terms) – finally had their way!

  • Naureen said:

    I agree. Muslims wake up only when something like this happens. What about following the Prophet (saw) in the rest of their lives, following him in his character and practices? And the way they respond is absolutely contrary to that very character. Who gives you the right to question someone’s faith? And to lynch a man who is peacefully voicing his opinion?
    This is what is called ignorance and it is so easily played upon to use people. Very few of these people actually understand what they are doing.

  • arzoo said:

    Last day you were there to Support those who supported Blasphemers “draw Muhammad day” was never possible if facebook had taken action on time but you guys were there supporting them
    then media asked you questions and you guys had no answer
    And all of your post is still against those who were there to support ban on facebook against Blasphemy

  • Teeth Maestro said:

    Arzoo -no where did we say we supported the draw mohammed day – we condemned the cartoons, I said it repeatedly – and I say it again I vehemently condemn the cartoons and any other caricatures of our Prophet – no question at all

    I kept that same line of argument even after the event. those who asked me I told them precisely that – the only debate was HOW much should the ban be, you say all, I say a little – we need the platform to fight these non-Muslims – and the moment you ban the site in Pakistan the 2 million people who were fighting against it were forced to abandon their position – please read this blog post where i was lobbying for another campaign “Honor our Prophet Muhammed [pbuh]” published on my blog

    the debate was more importantly how extensive should the ban be

  • BBC Urdu Interview at Karachi Press Club | Teeth Maestro said:

    [...] A BBC Urdu Interview I had immediately after the Press Conference, shares my genuine point, but near the end of this short you would notice the charged up rally outside which was definitely worrisome [...]

  • deemi said:

    i don’t believe that all ..
    you all are just worried about face book..
    although its not too essential in our daily life..
    then what took you people up to here..

    don’t you have patience about the issue and let it go as its going..
    all of you are well known about our state..
    after few days everything will be as it was..
    and at the moment you just need to wait and watch..

    nothing is going to happen that change your life..
    and one thing.. i must tell you ,, no one of you have logical approach about the issue.. infect it seems none-issue for you.. the issue for you all is that you feel bit disturbed .. no more.

  • Farieha Aziz (author) said:

    Again the same slander. Why are we not open to another person’s point of view, even if it is different. Give them a fair hearing at least and then you are free to to make what you will of their argument. However, nobody has the right to denounce another as a non-believer. What happened at the Press Club was a result of this close-mindedness. One, Awab and the rest were not allowed to sketch out their entire argument and were bombarded with questions and allegations were made against them from the minute go. Secondly, people from the procession outside, who later caught hold of Awab, received a second hand account of what took place inside – and we don’t know what they were told and it could have been anything.

    You cannot kill a person for not agreeing with you, especially when you haven’t even given him/her a chance to explain themselves. Dialogue is of utmost importance at the moment, amongst ourselves and others, and this is what we are saying – that Facebook was one such platform where you could have a discussion and even countered that view. I agree that the Facebook management was informed repeatedly and yet no action was taken against the page, and I have said this in my post as have Awab and others, that we all believe action should have been taken. But the protest against the ban on Facebook (the domain) is a protest against several things and that discussion needs to be allowed and heard, then questioned.

    What one must understand is that there are agitators present amongst us who are trying to blow this out of proportion. And I go back to the Press Club incident. Somebody who attended the press conference went outside to inform the procession of what had been said inside and that ignited them. Is that justifiable, this kind of behaviour? To fuel people with hatred. Isn’t this kind of hate speech exactly what we are protesting against? Didn’t we want action to be taken against the people promoting such hate speech on the Facebook page and injuring the sentiments of so many? Then why is reverse being allowed to prevail here? Why do the agitators have the support, to the extent that people are willing to overlook the physical hurt a person could have been caused had the situation not been controlled. Are we not doing exactly the same thing we are accusing others of?

  • sana said:

    well i read wat u all ppl think bt still i would say bannin fb is justified……i dunno y ppl r relatin it to narrow mindedness or broad mindedness??
    i ws one f d active fb users n ws continuously reportin all such pages n stuff …even many pages got hacked b4 19 may….bt sum lobbies took it as a challenge against muslims n i myself saw thousands f such pages sayin “LETS C WAT MUSLIMS CN DO NOW?”….
    in all such circumstances fb developers n organisers were silent…….
    it is fbs policy to remove a page if it is reported by others several tyms bt all dose pages were nt removed though they were reported by thousands f fb users!!!
    even nw there appear no regretys..fb should apologize fr all dis…..otherwise it should b permanently banned!!
    if v wanna show gud image f pakistan n islam then v should make our own social networkin where all religions are respected…y are v so dependent n FACEBOOK????
    FACEBOOK is nt d end…if an organisation is nt respectin our faith,religion n emotions then v also dont give a damn to it!

  • Siliconstani said:

    Thank you for sharing this press release. It will be cross posted to the Internet Censorship Wiki at http://pakistan.wikia.com/wiki/Internet_censorship

  • haris said:

    Are u all Muslims?
    How can be you a Muslim that entire authorities of facebook involving in the Insult of our Prophet MOHAMMAD peace be upon him, this is a responsibility and part of our Iman that we should do any thing to stop it …… Shame on you.

  • Ali said:

    My question to the people who are not only supporting the ban but also equating those against the ban to non-muslims or foreign agents, tell me: does someone OWN Islam? Isn’t it Allah’s religion for all the humans, and as such, nobody owns it? So when you don’t OWN it, who gives you the right to call another person an infidel?

    Have you ever wondered what the beloved Prophet (SAW) would have done in such matters? Do you ever remember his holiness hurling death threats to those who made fun of him? Ever!?

    MashAllah! Prophet Muhammad (SAW) must be so proud of you, no? That you are calling your fellow Muslims as non-Muslims, and you are making death threats!? Follow his path of tolerance, and not the path of violence!

    Thankfully, Awab and co made out safely.

  • sana said:

    d matter f ownin Islam….I OWN ISLAM….I OWN ISLAM AS MY RELIGION…n being a Muslim its my duty to stop all conspiracies against Islam….i would b questioned fr wat i did to SAFEGAURD it…..n in dis situation wen the whole website ws loaded with busive pages….bannin it is d best option!!!!

  • Farieha Aziz (author) said:

    Sana, what about other websites? The filth that existed prior to the ban, against which no action has ever been taken by the authorities. All that content, porn for instance, also defies Islamic injunctions. What is the excuse for not removing it? Are Islamic injunctions to be observed and followed only on certain occasions and not in daily life? Does the spirit of the religion mean nothing to anybody at all?

  • humzah said:

    I just seriously think that we unfortunately happen to live in the most pathetically hypocritical country in the world. other sites, mainly porn sites etc, are not banned. yet a website which helps thousands get in touch with their loved ones is banned due to blasphemy. the govt has nothing better to do and so they decided to ban facebook. they should have first warned facebook about the actions that they were allowing and proceeding with and then they should have decided upon what to do. blasphemy wont go away by just banning the site in a few countries. whoever thought that people with no brain cells can’t rule were wrong: they’re currently running this country.

  • sana said:

    well u r provin my point…..d websites that were nt removed should hv bn removed….bt they were nt cx muslims did nt protest as much as they should hv…now wen pak govt hs taken this initiative then y is there so much unrest??/y arent v proud f d facT DAT IT WS OUR BOYCOTT dat forcee them to remove the page….the other websites were nt banned so those pages still exist!!!
    The concept f bannin ws nt to b ANTI-SOCIAL or EXTREMIST…it ws just meant to make the opinions f muslims count…n it did count…it WS JUST MEANT TO MAKE THE WORLD REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE F MUSLIMS!!!

  • Farieha Aziz (author) said:

    A lot of points people wanted to raise have been mowed over by the uproar. Some of the questions I have asked in my blog post have also not been addressed and, instead, the only point being picked up by those in favour of the ban is ‘how can you be against the ban.’ Some are going to the extent of questioning the faith of those who have voiced a different opinion. It shows that those saying so are completely missing the point. The argument pertains to the manner in which things were done and what followed after. And that discussion is not being allowed to take place. Why?

    I just want to know, is it justified to try and beat or kill somebody over a difference of opinion?

  • sana said:

    abusing anyone or hurting anyone’s emotions is nt a decent way f expressin ur opinion!!!!
    those ppl r merely doin it to challenge Muslims…..n in dat case some extremisrt cn go to any extent…even takin the life f a person who challenged them…we should take all circumstances n account,nt just blaming the extremists!!!!!

  • Farieha Aziz (author) said:

    I’m not talking about ‘those’ people. I ask about the incident at the press club specifically. The conference was not held to injure sentiments, it was to raise issues. I’m not even asking about extremists because I am also in no position to second guess their thoughts on the matter. I am asking for your own view.

    Is it justifiable for any individual to challenge a fellow Muslim’s belief or beat or kill them for not agreeing with them wholly on an issue?

  • sana said:

    well in dat case i support ur point….bt u c dis is Pakistani nation…… full of emotions …..if u trigger them they simply burst up…sum even cross the limits….its kinda inherited tradition…n d only solution possible is tio educatwe d new generations n create broadness in their minds!!!!!!

  • Farieha Aziz (author) said:

    Exactly Sana, and I’m with you on that one. This is what we are trying to do.

  • Saad Khan: Understanding the Motives Behind the Internet Bans in Pakistan | What's hot right now.... said:

    [...] this ban, a crowd gathered outside the venue and threatened the organizers of this event. It all ended in mayhem with the bloggers holed up inside the building to avoid being thrashed by the angry …. They had to use the back door with police escort to ensure safe [...]

  • rija said:

    You know this might sound strange but my friend and I were actually talking about the exact same thing that there should be a discussion over this. My friend told me that its pointless since there are very few that have the courage to voice their difference of opinion.
    We are merely adding fuel to the fire and giving such people what they want.
    Its scary to see people enraged and filled with hatred to the extent that a young teenage student could say that he would like to see the facebook managers beheaded.
    I mean if someone has a different opinion why are we hounded and beaten down because of it?
    Its funny how no one thought about what Islam teaches us other than violence. When the Holy prophet was beaten with his clothes and shoes covered in blood because of the non islamic believer throwing stones at him, he could have waged war, killed them, but he did not. He preached tolerance.
    Aside from that the downside is social media and our connection to the outside world is completely shutdown merely because of the harassment of a community. This is really not the way. If this continues the worst times are upon us.

  • There is so much I want to write … | Tea Break said:

    [...] And why the nasty & disgusting threats [...]

  • Mahira Chishty said:

    Thanks for sharing Farieha.
    I also think otherization of the “non-muslims” and selective banning is not the solution. Its the same as banning everything. You cant sit on a fence – you have to choose a side. I personally think NOTHING should have been banned and we (muslims) are to be blamed for those caricatures, because we really don’t know how to hold anything in dignity, including the Prophet’s tradition of patience and virtue. I think we deserve whats happening to us and its about time we stopped blaming the hindu-zionists or jews or American imperialist.

  • Muslim said:

    مانا کے پاکستان میں شوشل نیٹورکنگ کے حوالے سے ابھی بڑے پیمانے پر کام نہیں ہوا ہے اور نا ہی شاید کوئی سنجیدگی سے اس پر سوچنے پر غور کر رہا ہے پھر بھی جن چیزوں سے مسلم کمیونیٹی کے دلی جزبات کو تھیس پہنچتی ہو اور اس کی بندش کا بار بار وہ پر زور الفاظ میں مطالبہ بھی کر چکے ہوں پھر بھی یہ یہود و نصاریٰ دل کھول کر ایسے کام کریں بلکہ بڑھ چڑھ کر اس جان بوجھ کر تو پھر مسلم اقوام کا بھی حق ہے وہ ان کا بائیکاٹ کریں-
    اس موضوع پر تو 2 ہی رائے ہیں مسلمانوں کی یا تو تشدد پر آجائیں یا بائیکاٹ کر دیں تشدد سے مراد ان کی ان ویب کو ہیک کرنا جن سے ان کو نقصان ہو اور وہ پے در پے کو ہیک ہوتی رہیں یہاں تک کہ وہ خود مذاکرات کرنے پر مجبور نا ہو جائیں پھر یہ قانون بنایا جائے کہ ایسا ایونٹ اب نہ ہو
    یہ ایک بچکانہ سی سوچ ہے ایسا نہ تو کوئی کر سکتا ہے نا ہی ایسا ہو سکتا ہے
    اب رہی دوسری بات بائیکاٹ کی تو اس میں مسئلہ بس یہی ہے کے ہماری شوشل لائف ڈسٹرب ہوتی ہے
    اب کیا ہماری شوشل لائف اتنی ضروری ہے کے ہم اپنے مذہبی افکار مذہبی شخصیات کی توہین بھی برداشت کریں
    کم از کم ابھی بائیکاٹ کا آپشن مسلمان کے ہاتھ ہے اس کا استعمال کیوں نہ کریں؟
    کیا اس وقت کا انتظار کرین کہ جب یاہو گوگل اور ہاٹ میل بھی ایسے ایونٹ باقائدگی سے منعقد کریں؟
    ان کو علم ہو جانا چاہیئے فیس بک کو اور یوٹیوب کو اتنا نقصان اٹھانا پڑا ہے تو ان کی ہمت نہ ہوگی کہ وہ اتنا بڑا نقصان برداشت کریں
    اب رہی بات مسلم افراد کی اپنے ہی مسلم بھائیوں پر حملے تشدد اور شدت پسندی کی
    کہا جاتا ہے جب لوہا گرم ہو تو اس کو جس سانچے میں ڈھال سکتے ہو ڈھال لو
    یہی بات وہ لوگ بھی جانتے ہین جو اپنی سیاست چمکانے میں ہر وقت مستعد رہتے ہیں
    کون معصوم ہے اور کون ریا کار کس کے دل میں اچھائی ہے اور کس کے من میں برائی یہ اللہ ہی جانے
    \ٹیلی پیتھی جاننے والا بھی اتنا آگے نہیں جا سکتا وہ بس اسی وقت کی سوچ کو پڑھ سکتا ہے\
    ایجنسیاں بھی ایسے احتجاج منعقد کرواتی ہیں اور پھر ہنگامے بھی وہی کرواتی ہین تا کہ ملک کا امن برباد ہو
    میں تمام احتجاج کی نہیں زیادہ تر احتجاج کی بات کر رہا ہوں
    اس بار سننے میں آیا ہے اندرون سندھ میں قادیانیوں نے بھی احتجاج منایا اور پھر توڑ پھوڑ‌ مچا دی تا کہ مسلم قوم بدنام ہو
    پھر بھی میں احتجاج اور بائیکاٹ کے حق میں ہوں
    ڈاکٹر عواب علوی صاحب کی سوچ اپنی جگہ ٹھیک رہی ہو گی پر ہم بھی غلط نہیں ہیں

  • Smci said:

    Farieha, thanks for your reporting on this incident.

    I was for the ban originally as it was my impression that the LHC acted within its constitutionally mandated purview to issue rulings on ‘blasphemy.’

    This in addition to the fact that circumstantially this ruling took a step forward for the nation, as I would prefer the people expressing their values and sentiments through civil procedures and courts, rather than burning embassies and effigies for the whole world to marvel at on their evening news. In short, the ruling represented progress in Pakistan.

    But then I went back and actually read section 295C of the Civil Code, and it became clear that the LHC completely overstepped its judicial purview. The language of 295C CLEARLY only refers to individual violaters of the blasphemy law, and the prescribed sentences bear this reading out. Nowhere does our Constitution grant any court in Pakistan the right to ban the product of a foreign-based Corporation.

    As for the particular incident which took place at the KPC. I’d beg of you not to project the actions and sentiments of a few riled up losers on to the whole body of people that support the ban. There are plenty of people who favor the ruling, but still believe it is the sovereign right of any Pakistani to speak up about their different ideas on what the proper response should be.

    You have to realize that in a nation where largely ignorant Mullahs are teaching [read: brainwashing] people, including those that go on to become reporters, resorting to thuggish intimidation when someone more dear to you than your own family is insulted, is bound to insue. That’s just a fact of life.

    Now, I have also observed that to-date, Pakistani Liberals have failed to find an effective, diplomatic way of handling sensative situations and explaining their positions to a deeply conservative majority.

    That the Prophet (s) was insulted isn’t disputed;

    That facebook failed to address multiple complaints isn’t disputed;

    That something should be done to show the discontent of Muslims isn’t disputed;

    What IS disputed is the wisest, most effective way to make Facebook a ‘namoona’ for social networking sites in the future, so that this vile act is prevented to the best of everyone’s ability;

    What IS disputed is whether a ban on an entire site is the best course of action;

    What IS disputed is whether the court ruling paid sufficient attention to the implications such a ban would have on certain Constitutionally guaranteed rights available to every Pakistani Citizen.

    That said, I’d like to hear Mr. Alvi’s actual address to the reporters, and see if he could have been more effective in representing his views.

  • Khanseena said:

    Dear Fareiha and Awab

    I am glad u r safe and were not lynched. There is mass hysteria present in Pakistan which is propagated by religious parties and a amoral media. The Facebook cartoons are to be condemned in the strongest WORDS. The bans are futile as they only add to the popularity of the instigators (cartoonist) propaganda. However if we insist on being emotional instead of rational then our over zealous LHC and our govt should do the following:

    1) Ban Internet and email(serves the Govt agenda). This should take us firmly back to the stone ages

    2) Ban Electricity (afterall the filthy internet comes via modems via electricity). This should solve the electricity crisis in Pakistan.

  • The Dawn Blog » Blog Archive » Pakistan unplugged said:

    [...] others as if it is theirs to judge – and in others it is physical. Here’s what happened at a press conference to explain to mediapersons why putting government levers on the internet curtails civil liberties. [...]

  • Facebook – even Saudi Arabia did not ban it, but I guess Mullahocracy is being challenged there « Mohammed Abbasi said:

    [...] others as if it is theirs to judge – and in others it is physical. Here’s what happened at a press conference to explain to mediapersons why putting government levers on the internet curtails civil liberties. [...]

  • While you were banned… : Kaukab Jhumra Smith said:

    [...] the winners: Awab Alvi, also known as Teeth Maestro, for best political blog. Alvi was the guy roughed up by anti-Facebook protesters outside the Karachi Press Club during the [...]

  • Usman said:

    What you people need to understand is that the pakistani masses suffer from Escape-ism… This whole uprising was just a shortcut for them to prove that they are good Muslims.. Not following Islam in your daily life and jumping up to fight in the name of islam is their way of trying to get their sins washed away. What they do not understand is that why do you even expect a westerner to respect your religeous people? What they need to understand is that everybody will be judged for their own actions…! So if you want to ban facebook then be my guest and deactivate your account but you have no right to force this on others… According to Islam if you see a wrongdoing then your first action should be to stop it but we obviously cannot do it because we have no such power in our hands to FORCE facebook into deleting the page, so our second action should be to voice our opinion that what is happening is wrong and we most certainly did that and if we hadent even done that then our last option should have been too look away and know in our hearts that what is happening is wrong! But never is a Muslim allowed to force another Muslim into following Islam because everybody will have to acount for his own deeds…! Not that of the other Muslims around him.

  • Newsline » Blog Archive » Newsline’s Most Popular Posts of 2010 said:

    [...] 3. Critics of Facebook Ban Face Nasty Battle By Farieha Aziz [...]