Adil Najam
This is a painful post to write.
Ideally I would have preferred not to have had to write this post. But I have over 300 messages in my in-box of people fussing over the so-called “Draw Muhammad Day” page on the social networking site Facebook and now the Lahore High Court’s decision calling for a ban on Facebook has forced the issue. And that is what pains me.
I hope that Facebook administration will remove the page. Not because of any “banning” movement and not because of the Lahore High Court. Just because the page and the idea behind the page is inflammatory and offensive. Regardless of what your belief or religion might be, to throw out offensive and hateful vitriolic for the simple and primary purpose of hurting someone else’s feelings – when you know that (a) those feelings will be hurt and (b) when hurting those feelings is really the only purpose of doing what you are doing – is inhuman, cruel, and clearly offensive. If Facebook does not recognize that, then it knows nothing either about “social” or about “networking” and certainly not about “community.”
But at one level, that matters little now. Whether Facebook removes the offensive page or not. The page and its creators have already fulfilled their purpose, met their goals. And it is we ourselves who have helped them do so. And that is what pains me.
I have not visited the offensive page in question and do not intend to. I had also not intended to help publicizing that offensive page, but by having to write this post that is exactly what I am doing. And that pains me. I am offended by the idea that page purports and the goals it seeks to achieve. So, why should I dignify it by a visit? Why should I publicize it? Why should I give it the attention it was created to seek. Yet, all of us (now me included, which is why writing this is uncomfortable) are doing exactly that.And that is what pains me.
Many of the emails I have received give me the link to that page and invite me to visit it so that ‘I can see for myself how offensive it is.’ I do not need to do that. Yet, that is exactly what we have been doing. We have been acting exactly as the creators of that page intended us to. Acting as the promoters and publicists of that page. And now having turned it into an international legal matter giving the attention seekers behind the page the exact thing they wanted: Attention.
But we have done more than that. With the Lahore High Court decision we have allowed the PTA and authorities another precedent and excuse to aggressively “manage” the internet; something that can and will be misused in the future.
I have not been receiving emails from the proponents of that page. The only ones who seem to be noticing us is us Muslims (and for some reason Pakistani Muslims more than any other). If we too had ignored the offensive page – as it deserves to be ignored – it would have gone the exact same way to oblivion as thousands of other sophomoric attempts at cheap attention seeking on the Internet. Instead we have now turned it into an international incident and given it far more limelight than it ever deserved.
Let’s think about it, what did the creators of the offensive page want to do when they set it up? First, they sought attention, and hits, and notoriety in a world where attention is too easily confused with fame. Second, they wanted to ridicule Muslims by the reaction they excepted from this. If you think of it, irrespective of whether Facebook removes the site or keeps it, the organizers of the page have achieved their goal. Well beyond what they expected. Now every other Islamophobic nutcase will get new ideas about how to have his little 10 minutes of fame spewing bigotry and hatred against Muslims.
But more importantly, they simply could not have done this without us. The only people who have turned this from nothingness into a huge issue is us. I am sure that those who set up the page are jumping up and down and thanking us for making their page such a huge success! And that is what pains me.
I am also pained by the sacrilege of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that this entire drama signifies. As pained as anyone else, and as pained as I would have been at the sacrilege of any other Prophet or religion. But unlike for many others, that pain is neither reduced nor resolved by protesting against Facebook. For me, the antidote to that pain is in the teaching of the Prophet (PBUH) themselves. What would the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have done in such a situation.
The one thing I am absolutely positive of, is that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would not have done what we are doing now: making an international public spectacle of ourselves. Most likely he would have just walked away and ignored (the ‘look the other way when someone throws garbage at you’ model), he might have negotiated with Facebook on the basis of their own stated rules (the Hudabia model), he might have reasoned with detractors (the discourse and discussion model). Nearly certainly Muhammad (PBUH) would have handled it with grace, with composure, and maybe even with a touch of good humor. Most importantly, the Prophet (PBUH) would have kept focusing on his own actions and proving his point with his own deeds rather than with slogans, banners and naara-baazi.
Muslims can’t be cowards because we believe that everything is in ALLAH’s hand
well..Jo Allah se nahi darta wo sab se darta hay.
Anyways, Adil is a professor hence naturally he would talk about theoretical matters rather practical one. I have no right to do badgumani about what all he advised because “ideally” it should be like that but one thing i would like to know why did he even refer Muhammad or His life for this particular incident.
Did you ever think of “following” Muhammad’s life on other matters of life too. Why there is no mention of Muhammad(saw) and His Hadith which oppose paintings of living and Music? Why there is no mention of Muhammad(saw) when it comes to offer Namaz, do Miswak and keep beard. Why there is no mention of Muhammad(saw) when He said;
No one can be a Muslim who keep Me(saw) dear more than your parents and other loved ones (Bukhari)
Why there is no mentioning and following of Muhammad(saw) when He said in his last sermon,pass it on even if there’s a single verse
It’s funny that you are using Muhammad(saw)’s teaching while in past 3 years you did not even bother to think of mentioning Him and advising others to follow Muhammad(saw)
I myself would not advocate plain ban for already mentioned reasons but why is it irking several psuedo intellectuals if ppl are not willing to use facebook or registering their protest online? Why does it irk if ppl on road protesting about it?
When ppl can chant out about Altaf or Zardari or when can lawyers can make life hell by protesting on roads for their cause then why not those who are against it? You are not a dictator hence can’t dictate anyone. As long as ppl are not harming others, they are free to protest about anything.
Facebook or anyother sites have baisness. The non-Muslims who have been telling us about “evil” of Islam are not aware of the Bible which they have already thrown in dust bin. So when a “Jhon” don’t remember what Jhon The Baptist teaches then how can he even think of lecturing others?
I think the dilemma of Western society is that they are forgetting their own values. The secularism which they feel proud of has vanished in air and now entire society has got radicalized against Islam. I can feel the pain because Islam has been penetrating in presence of all hurdles but let’s not “blame” us for it. Your own elders initiated something which is actually working in reverse. The “Mujahideen” of “Promised Land” who still dream that they are Children of “Israel” hence God is happy with them are not embracing the reality of the religion which was already prophesied in their own Book and trying various excuses to reject what was said in Bible; Be it “Songs of Solomon”,Verses by Moses in Bible or Advise by Jesus(AS) , they are not willing to accept hence their racist mind can’t accept someone who don’t belong to their trible just because He is an “Ishmaelite”. The incident like Gulf wars and other discrimination against Muslims make a “bored with religion” person to get into the religion because when someone attacks a belief other would get hurt or would get curious to read about the stuff which is being opposed.
Should not I be thankful of mr.bush who played the major part in my life to get back to the religion back in 2003 otherwise I was as ignorant and beghairat about religion like many pseudo intellectual here? Allah has his own ways to spread His religion. I was a person who had just finished Quran twice or thrice in 26 years but when I saw online after war that how non-Muslims talked crap about my religion and asked various Questions about my own faith ten i felt dumn as I had no answer. They tried to ridicule my religion by saying ,”your prophet was a pedophile” ,”your prophet could not even read then why did Allah choose him?” and various other questions. In past 7 years I found the answers of what all which naturally disturbed me.
You have 3 ways. 1)either get out of control and hurt you and others by getting involved in harmful activities like blast and others 2) you act up like a beghaira t,become ignorant and believe what non-mUlsims teach you and at times become apostate too 3)believe in Allah(Swt) is perfect and is RIGHT about what Allah has done so far. Thankfully Allah put me in 3rd type and made me to study Islam. I am yet a student and know prolly 0.1% of Islam but whatever I know I feel contented about it. I have no shame to tell others I am Muslim and to tell you honestly, your non-Muslim friends would respect you and often would get curious about your faith. As long as you know what are you following, you are safe otherwise you would turn to a “Liberal” who is neither in “teen mey na tera may”
Very nicely written and well argued. But unfortunately the rationality of the many can be broken by the irrationality of just a few.
Great post. And a very sensible and true Muslim viewpoint. This is the real islamic approach. One that learns from the Prophet [saw] and not from some angry mullah.
@Bilal Ahmed
From where do you get this figure that facebook gets 45% of its revenue from “Muslim” users ? Did Zaid Hamid drop that figure in one of his crazy broadcasts ? Facebook is not Geo News which operates in Pakistan and relies on Pakistani advertising.
I have also seen some other goofy comments on Dawn.com with people praising the ban and claiming it will lead to Pakistanis “inventing new technologies and not relying on West”. LOL!
I think it is OK to protest if the protest is peaceful. Better than government bans.