Is Banning Facebook the right decision?
The government of Pakistan blocked Facebook days ago because of anti-religious photos and activities on the largest social networking platform in the world. The most recent news is, the government of Bangladesh has done the same this evening, but not because of the same reason. According to bdnews24.com, the largest online newspaper in Bangladesh, the site has been blocked in Bangladesh following the incident of arresting a guy from the capital who was alleged to have shared caricatures of the prime minister and the opposition leader. [Source]
The newspapers also report that the guy was a hacker who used several fake identities on the virtual world to commit cyber crimes and other evil deeds. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) officials anonymously told news agenices that Facebook is blocked mainly for the reason that anti-religious contents were shared on the website across the globe. I have no idea why the government thinks that banning will result in something good. I’m also confused why the ban is imposed right after the arrest of the guy who uploaded funny cartoons of the political leaders if the reason to block Facebook was that the site contains pornographic and anti-religious contents, as said by BTRC officials.
Well, that’s the part newspapers are talking about. But the main fact that I want to talk about is different. And I am going to focus on some important things today on the ban of Facebook. I will not talk about the way the government is walking through for digitalizing (?) our country. I will just try to analyze if banning is the right decision, and will express reaction to the fact.
Should be banned?
The first question is, is banning the website a solution? Although the BTRC is saying that the site has been blocked for hosting anti-religious and pornographic contents, I feel that the site is blocked mainly for the reason that caricatures of two political leaders were shared on the site. The government could take necessary steps to remove those contents. Instead they are blocking us for their own interest and trying to make us understand that the reason is something else (anti-religious stuffs). Don’t they know that there are over hundreds of proxies such as hidemyass.com, redfish.tk (giving you the links so that you can still access the network) to gain access to Facebook? So, why ban Facebook? Banning Facebook does not block people’s access to the site. It’s like a showdown that we have banned Facebook on grounds of being abused. If the site is being abused, then you should find out the abusers and take necessary actions. Facebook was not created to be abused. Facebook was not created for such contents to be hosted. It’s just a social networking platform. So, why do you block access to the site across the country just because some people abused it?
[Almost] Everything can be used in a right and a wrong way. A cell phone can be useful for establishing connection between two or more people staying far from each other. The same stuff can also be used to threaten somebody. So, considering the latter use of cell phone, should you ban cell phone in the country? Another thing is knife or such sharp tools. It is necessary to slaughter our domestic animals — say a sheep, for example. At the same time it can be used to kill somebody. So, considering the latter use, will our government ban knives across the country?
If you say no, then why is Facebook banned? We are not abusers; we just use the site to stay in touch with friends, and some people use it to promote their blogs or websites, just like me. But you see that we too are not able to access the site. Does that sound fair to you?
Using proxies, you will need confirm your identy through security checks.
What should have done?
Some parties have urged immediate and permanent ban on Facebook since objectionable contents against Islam and the prophet Muhammed (SM) were shared on the site. Those include hateful pages, groups, discussions and images against Islam. I couldn’t really understand what will happen if the site is banned in the countries like Bangladesh or Pakistan. The contents are still there. It’s like others are attacking our religion and we are escaping from the field.
What I believe is we should instead fight against that and keep reporting those contents and emailing the Facebook authorities to remove those objectionable contents which hurt the religion, Islam. If we keep doing it, Facebook will remove those contents. Because those violate Facebook’s Terms of Service. According to the Facebook Terms:
You will not post content that: is hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence. [Facebook Terms, Paragraph: 3, Safety; bullet point no. 7]
Facebook is a really, really big network. So, the authorities are unable to monitor everything that is being done across the site. If we keep reporting and urging Facebook authorities to remove those contents (such as Pages, Groups, or Images), it will happen.
M Lutful Kabir, chairman of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology’s information, communication and technology, gave bdnews24.com his initial reaction as a user. “If Facebook affects any group or individual or causes any social problem then the Facebook authority should be contacted right away to remove the content causing the problem.”
But what are we doing? We are blocking ourselves, instead. What a bloody idea!
Positive View
Religious parties are urging ban of Facebook across the country, Bangladesh. If that happens in some more countries, Facebook may pay more attention to the fact and may become serious about removing such contents from the network. That’s the only positive side I have figured out so far which is lame. Would Facebook really care if the site is banned in Bangladesh? Or to be more specific, do they have to care? People from Bangladesh are still accessing Facebook from over hundreds of proxy sites. So, this one and only positive view is too lame to last.
Therefore, the government has no positive reaction or comments on the recent decision on banning Facebook.
Bottom Line
Since I know that I’m not a big guy nor is my site a popular one that will make changes in the government’s decision on banning Facebook, I’m not going to urge for it. But I’m damn sure that Bangladesh blocked Facebook not because of anti-religious contents, but the images of the leaders of both ruling and opposing parties. Just because of this, millions of Facebook users in Bangladesh are blocked to access Facebook in a straight way.
At this point, all I can say is we need a well-educated, perfectly brilliant, capable and no selfish people in the government body, unlike who currently we have. Otherwise, no development is to take place in our country, no matter how much they talk about “Digital Bangladesh” (do they even know what is ‘digital’?). It’s painful and freakin’ funny at the same time to see how the government reacts to incidents . At least to develop IT sector in Bangladesh, we need better people there. Or else, we will be facing problems made by such ridiculous and thoughtless decisions of the government.
Did you find this article useful? Did this help you anyway? Is it worth rewarding me for it? Please support me to keep this work up.You may have missed:
Start a blog right away! Already have one? Then make it popular!
If blogging and making money with it has been a long cherished dream of you, and if you believe you have time, patience and a topic of interest to blog about, it's time to kick off your first blog with a perfect domain and reliable hosting. If you already have a blog, make sure you have an outstanding premium theme if you run WordPress. Only content may not bring success; creativity and design matter a lot.
If you're looking for a theme with top quality design and custom options that take no time to change your blog into whatever you like, the best would be WooThemes. If your budget is low, try ThemeForest for great quality WordPress themes at an affordable rate.
On the other hand, if you are more focused and serious in blogging, you should go with some framework. Highly suggested framework is Genesis which is recommended by top class bloggers including Chris Brogan. Headway is another alternative at an affordable price. If you have time to spend for blog development and willing to make it extremely customized, Thesis by DIY themes is also in the list.
If you're looking for more recommendations, check out the Top Services where I compiled a list of services I'm a member of and I found worth using. If you need someone to hand over all the technical stuffs and want to pay attention to content creation only, I'm always at your service. Hit here to find out the services I offer.
I heard the news today morning and it's really bad. You just clear some uncleared question here. Hope this temporary ban lift soon.
An interesting article appeared in the ‘Guardian’ (weekly newspaper of the UK) on Monday, February 6, 2006. Three years ago in April 2003, a Danish illustrator Christopher Zieler submitted a series of unsolicited cartoons dealing with the resurrection of Christ, to Jyllands-Posten. However, the cartoons of Christ were turned down by Jyllands-Posten on the grounds that they could be offensive to readers and were surely not funny.
A British historian David Irving was recently given a three-year sentence on charges stemming from two speeches he gave in Austria in 1989 in which he was accused of denying the Holocaust. (The Times of India, February 24, 2006). The report urges us to contemplate why is “freedom of expression” conveniently forgotten when it comes to topics that may hurt a section of this world?
The punishment for blasphemy in most of the major religions is death. It is stated in the Old Testament of the Bible, which is the authority for both the Jews and the Christians:
And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: [Book of Leviticus 24:16]
Moreover, if we read Manusmriti, the Law book of the Hindus, it says:
“If a man born of a lower class intentionally bothers a priest, the king should punish him physically with various forms of corporal and capital punishment that make men shudder.” [Manusmriti 9:248]
Regarding the punishment for blasphemy in Islam, it is mentioned in the Glorious Qur’an:
“The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter;” [Surah Al-Maidah 5:33]. In Islam, a person who has committed blasphemy can either be killed or crucified, or his opposite hands and feet can be cut off, or he can be exiled from that land. On the other hand, in other religions there is no other option except capital punishment. Islam at least has four options of punishment for an act of blasphemy.
In spite of all the negative propaganda in a section of the western media, ironically Islam still happens to be the fastest growing religion, not just in the west but also across the world. The more people try to suppress Islam, the more it will prevail. Allah (swt) will make His Deen (Islam) to prevail over all the other ways of life irrespective of people mocking and ridiculing His messengers. As Allah says in the Glorious Quran:
“Mocked were (many) Messengers before thee; but the scoffers were hemmed in by the thing that they mocked.” [Surah Al-An’aam 6:10].
more info @
As we all know Pakistan is considered as the super power of Islam & Islamic world and it has a great responsibility to defend Islamic identities by any-mean, even I heard a Muslim businessman in India has announced a 100 million reward for the one who will kill the danish cartoonist, Having said that it may cause to mass destruction again if this news spread to masses of Muslims in Pakistan and would have caused more tense situation in the world.
As they said, WE ARE NOT ANGRY….BUT AGGRAVATED!! If You have said something bad to our Mother/Father we will be angry, but you have done something bad with The One whom we love more than our mother or father or anything else in the wOrld and this whole Universe!! EVER!! WE DO NOT ACCEPT INSULTS & YOU SHOULD APOLOGIZE !!
“If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls. . . his forbearance in victory, his ambition, which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire; his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death; all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma was twofold, the unity of God and the immateriality of God; the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with words.
“Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than Muhammad?”
- Lamartine is the author of the book, “HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE” (it means The History of Turkey), Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp. 276-277.
And who are these individuals criticizing and vilifying Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when compared to who Lamartine was?
Facebook & the owners are/were well aware of all this, but they want to declare and wage a theological war with Muslims, Just try to launch a Page against Holocaust, and see the reaction, your page will disappear in few hours.
Solution is not only boycotting. Solution is to bring alternative.
I hope, we are not that incapable that we can't bring some good social websites, with our control, as alternative…
This is best time, if some IT Pro from us come ahead, and launch a social site claiming “Respect for Every One”.
This is the only solution. Bring Alternatives.
Yes i agree with you. And you know that just after six days of the incident Pakistani Muslim students have launched a social website http://www.millatfacebook.com and i hope it will be fair to every one.
I hope that too.
I've carefully read your comment and I have something to reply.
First of all, I do believe that Facebook authority has very little care when hateful content to Islam is published across the site, be it a group, a page, or an offensive image. But whenever a hateful content to Christianity is published, immediate action is taken. I think it's only because Mark Zuckerberg and most of his top-level employees are not Muslims.
Second, being alternative is a great solution. But do you really think that all Muslims across the world can go for alternative sites? Or is it possible? We cannot live alone. We have to keep in touch with people who follow other religions for the sake of our business, job, etc. And Facebook is the most popular way to communicate with the largest portion of them — your worldwide consumers.
Being alternative is the only solution, but this will not work out.
This maybe good only for the people of Pakistan. But with a new site Pakistani people won't be able to connect with the people across the world, just like in Facebook they could. Being alternative is not the best solution at present, instead, we should be strong against these incidents. I've shown that those contents directly go against Facebook's Terms of use. So, we have the right to protest. Instead of leaving, we should protest ban of those users sharing hateful stuffs to any religion.
This is absolutely ridiculous! while at the same time they are doing a a fine job It is good decision to banned face book. Cause our beloved prophet Hazrat Muahmmad (PBH) is very important for us. The ideology, religious concern is very big deal. So this stereotype of facebook is a serious matter,and FaceBook is a silly addiction instead.
This is what we call a democratic digital bangladesh ..??? really ..?? seriously .. we have to talk about this .. bring it up front .. This is not Pakistan .. what happened to AL ..?? the party fighting for the freedom and secularism (well so they claim) trying to stop us from thinking?? .. expressing our thoughts and feelings..?? They should really worry fulfilling the basic need of the people of the nation than going after these small things. Respect is earned not taken by force … If these people in power would control their greed and look forward for a better nation then no one would even post insulting images ..etc ..
I'm sure you haven't read the post entirely. If I'm right, please read the second paragraph of the “Should be banned?” point. Everything can be used in a good and in an evil way. We should not ban the tool just for being abused.
It's true that sarcastic photos of our Prophet Muhammad (SM) is being hosted on Facebook. You're saying that we should leave facebook because of so. That sounds like you're afraid of protesting it. Don't you think it's our religious responsibility to protest this instead of escaping the field? And we have our rights to protest since it is both evil and goes against the Facebook Terms of use.
Second, Facebook is not only a silly addiction. It has a great use for business companies and general mass, except those who are addicted.
The only answer to your lots of questions is that our government is thoughtless and has no idea about what they should do and what they shouldn't. That's why I said that we need people who are really intelligent enough to take steps in such situations.
well done bangladesh
its really pathetic how these hypocrites are trying to justify such shameless things facebook needs to be ban forvever …
it was a bad decesion
I completely agree with u and hope the way suggested will work, and government will pay heed to us…
wish all the best to all the real and honest users of Facebook
I like ur blog. Is it necessary to banned the whole site? I don't think so. Just because they are in the position to do so. They should have just reported it to the facebook authority. I'm sure they will take it seriously.
I just cannot understand why the government are so unfair. There are some problems here in bangladesh that needs more actions than this facebook issue. Why not prove themselves worthy by solving the main problems of this country.
I just hope they will lift the ban soon. The sooner the better.
Looks like facebook is up now in Bangladesh. do you have any update?
Lol.. dear Aminul, by banning facebook in the country, we ARE showing our protest.We are not running away. Do you know how much loss it wil cause the owner? And about going on reporting abuse against that page.. lol,, do you even realise how manyyy muslims all around the world have already tried n failed? A tool may be used for good or for bad. But this tool (facebook) is not a necessesity. I wonder how being a muslim, someone can watch people make fun of our Beloved Prophet(S.A.W) and not feel the blood boil inside them.. the fact is your friends and social networking is more important to you than your religion n Prophet. Atleast thru this ban.. I am sure the facebook admins are atleast considering the matter.. Just reporting abuse was not helping in anyway, so this action was necessary.What will you reply to Allah when he asks you on de Last Day,, what did you do when the non muslims made fun of your Prophet?
I had a good opinion about facebook, but after reading what it did to a Pakistani guy who made a similar page about Nazis and Hitler,my opinion has changed. You will not believe, the very next day the page ws closed and even the guy's id was disabled for ever..He got a mail saying he violated their terms and he cannot access his account now no matter what !! just imagine that. And why has the admin of 'Draw Muhammad Day' not received such notice? I ask WHY?? Doesnt it prove that facebook administrators are hypocrites? And u still want to help them make money the people who have no respect for our religion? Where is your Iman I ask the bangladeshis. I feel ashamed to see that most youngsters are holding protests to unblock facebook, but what did u do wen sucha page was created? In pakistan, majority of the people welcomed the ban, because they are aware. For them religion comes before any social networking site. Think about it. If u dont belive the story of that pakistani I just told u. Try making an anti-jew or anti-christian page on Fb, In a day ifyour account does not get disabled, then I wil take back my words
I am happy that atleast there is some one who believes in the cause
Let's say some cartoons or animations of our prophet is being shown in a theater. You have two choice, report to the owner of the theater or simply leave it. Which one do you prefer?
Banning Facebook does not cause huge loss to the owner. And it's technically true. People who have to access facebook are still accessing facebook through technologies such as ultrasurf or tor. It's true that the number of people using facebook has decreased since the ban was imposed, but what makes you think that facebook authority cares if Muslim people leave it?
You said that when a similar page about Nazis and Hitler was created, the page was banned next day. Care knowing why? How many countries did impose ban on Facebook in protest of those pages? None, right? Instead a huge number of people reported the pages and as a result facebook authority was sort of forced to take those pages down. Those users care religion more than social media, that's why they reported insanely. And the Muslims did not make a lot of reports, since the countries have simply banned general mass from accessing facebook. Tell me how are they supposed to report the page since they are banned?
I don't have to create an anti-christian page because I know christian people are way smarter and wiser than us. They will not impose ban on their countries; instead, they will get it to the authority.
I said probably there are no Muslims in top level of facebook authority. So it is our responsibility to draw facebook's attention to such pages. Why would facebook care if we don't report? And such thoughtless bans ban us from reporting those pages. The fact is simple.
Finally, I would like to say that Facebook is a lot of necessity, only if you are in need of it. It may have no necessity to you, doesn't mean it doesn't have any value. Do you know how many millions of people are earning their livelihood that is somehow related to facebook? For example say I [used to] earn money from this blog. As soon as I publish a new post, the first thing I do is share it on Facebook which gets me a lot of immediate traffic. And ultimately, it helps me make money. (Notable that currently my blog is not making any money since I've been busy in my exams)
It's only what you are thinking. It's not what the reality is.
Where can one see these “offending” cartoons of the 2 leaders?
The government of Bangladesh, no matter which party is ruling, always runs
behind silly problems and they don't care big issues such as slow internet
speed, electricity problem, etc. I don't think there will be any real
development in Bangladesh. I don't see any sign.
Anyway, I'm glad that you liked my blog. You can subscribe to the RSS or
Email newsletter feed so that you may stay updated with all new posts on
this blog.
I still can't access Facebook and I don't have any trusted source that says
Facebook is up.
I think those have been taken down by the facebook authority, as
reported on bdnews24.com earlier today.
10 years back lots of people here in Bangldesh didn't have cell phones. Yet
the life used to go on, right?
Your example about no existence of facebook 5 years back is ridiculous.
After the facebook craze has gone up, millions of people have found an
decent way to promote their business and products. What is wrong with you
for that?
Anyway, thanks for your comments.
Well, facebook is back !
i see no positive result from banning fb. what has come out of it ?? more grudge against the govt.
Does anybody have any experience on http://facebook.com.bd/ ? I didn't register here but it looks like a carbon copy of the original facebook !
I used it and it's a carbon copy of facebook 'not authorized by the real
facebook company'.
“whenever a hateful content to Christianity is published, immediate action is taken.”
false statement. there are hundreds of groups and pages on facebook mocking jesus, moses, and even the holocaust. draw mohammad day drew more attention because a) it was on south park (remember kick a a ginger day? that started on south park as well) if the muslim “community” is outraged then it should also protest groups such as “I hate Islam,” “All muslims are terrorists,” etc. The “draw mohammed” page and resulting Bangladesh and Pakistan ban was merely a publicity stunt that got more attention that it deserved.
Not only one, there are many that agree with you Naz (A large number of them are Bangladeshis. Bangladesh is a Muslim country after all – you can't possibly get a good idea of our people just by visiting a few forums). But unfortunately we are only a minority these days and are voices are almost always left unheard. We can't even express our views without being called fundamentalists, this is very sad. We live in a world full of ignorance and people who don't even know their origins, the youth protesting to every unnecessary causes yet blind to insults thrown directly at our religion. We can hardly even find people who'd understand what we're saying, they are don't even wanna listen to what we've got to say. I can't express how lonely and alienated I feel everyday. This is ridiculous! I can see that people are going in the wrong direction – my friends, my cousins, etc – and yet I cannot stop them. How will I answer my Lord when he'll ask me why I didn't stop them?? But I know that they won't listen to me, or at least not ONLY me. But I can hardly find others to help me! @khan, naz and ahmed: Is there any way I can contact you later, I believe i still know very little about my own religion and all the help from people like you to satisfy my thirst for knowledge. You might wonder why i don't go to an Imam of Mosque and ask him questions – the fact is most of them don't even know what they're saying themselves and I'm too young to differentiate between the good ones and the bad ones. I need educated people to educate me, not blind ignorants.
Yes you are right Sajib, we didn't have mobile phones 10 years ago and now it has become a need for even the poorest of us. Very true…. But have you ever given your analogy a little thought? You can't possibly compare facebook with mobile phones! As for mobile phones we've never had and possibly will never have an alternative for them and mobile phones (pls don't tell me we should use Walkie Talkies!) are way more useful than facebook. And as for facebook, they're more than enough alternatives for people who can't access it. I have myself joined facebook much later, I was a MySpace user before that – so you do have an option. And you should know that facebook authorities do care if a bunch of Muslims do boycott them and the reason might seem very familiar to you – When BD and Pakistan banned facebook they a lost a significant amount of their web traffic and they had to face problems with their advertising clients for that. So you see, are not really running away from the battlefield. And as for reporting to those pages, Naz already wrote what I wanted to – pages against our religion have been active for a months time whereas the pages Naz mentioned have been closed within two days! What makes you believe that we filed less reports in four weeks than they did in two days? Maybe you didn't report to those groups, but we did.
Suppose the government bans Grameenphone for some reason, the people can still use use Aktel (which is now Robi), Blink, Warid or Tel-e-Talk, similarly fb users can switch to other networking sites. Banning Mobile is equivalent to banning the whole internet, so your analogy is not valid, you know…
btw, I do (somewhat) like you site, Sajib. The Interface is really cool!
Well ban is not the only solution….monitoring of content can also solve the issue.
Monitoring the content is the best solution.
I agree that monitoring the content may be the good solution. but in the existing circumstances, it seems to be the “solution in the air” for any government law enforcement agency or any other government supported team. isn't it?