Facebook: Championing Blasphemy Laws

by Judith Bergman • January 15, 2018 at 5:00 am

What is "harmful content" according to the new Facebook guide for Muslims? "Islamophobia, anti-Muslim hatred, far right extremism and terrorist inspired violent extremist content".
The guide does not mention Islamic incitement to violence, which is rampant on social media and -- unlike the other content mentioned -- has deadly and tragic consequences in the real world. Most of those who perpetrate terrorist attacks in the real world are Muslims -- not "Islamophobes," anti-Muslims or right wing extremists.
Lakin v. Facebook is a lawsuit, representing 20,000 Israeli plaintiffs, which aims to stop Facebook from "allowing Palestinian terrorists to incite violent attacks against Israeli citizens and Jews on its internet platform."
Khan convened a special meeting of Muslim ambassadors to discuss how effectively to "raise the voice of the entire Muslim world against the madness unleashed against Islam and holy personalities in the name of freedom of expression". — Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

Facebook, in cooperation with a British Muslim group, recently launched a "guide" developed especially for Muslims: "Keeping Muslims Safe Online: Tackling Hate and Bigotry". Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO, wrote about making Facebook a "safe space" for Muslims. He has made no similar supportive statements in favor of Jews or Christians. Pictured: Parts of the cover of the new guide co-produced by Facebook.

Facebook, in cooperation with a British Muslim group, Faith Associates, recently launched a new "guide" developed especially for Muslims: "Keeping Muslims Safe Online: Tackling Hate and Bigotry".

The launch of the guide was hosted on November 29 at the British Parliament, where Karim Palant, Facebook's UK Public Policy manager, acknowledged "the partnership of Facebook with Faith Associates and said this was a first step in a line of activities being planned to protect the Facebook family". Simon Milner, Head of Policy UK at Facebook, stated:

"We're proud to be supporting Faith Associates in the development of their online safety guide. Facebook welcomes all communities, and there is no place for hate on the platform".

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The Quran Says Jerusalem Belongs to the Jews

by Saied Shoaaib • January 15, 2018 at 4:30 am

Quranic passages clearly illustrate the Jews' imperative to enter the land of Israel.
And [mention, O Muhammad], when Moses said to his people, "O my people, remember the favor of Allah [God] upon you when He appointed among you prophets and made you possessors and gave you that which He had not given anyone among the worlds. O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you and do not turn back and [thus] become losers." — Quran, Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:20-21.
According to verses in the Quran, God punishes the Jews for their sin of refusing to fight the indigenous people in the land, and God is angry that the Jews refused to convert to Islam. Yet the verses are consistent in their assertion that God gave the Jews the Holy Land.

An aerial view of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and much of Jerusalem's Old City. (Image source: Andrew Shiva/Wikipedia)

Following U.S. President Donald Trump's December 6 official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Muslims around the world held angry demonstrations, during which they chanted slogans about Jerusalem "belonging to Muslims." This ought to seem odd to anyone versed in Islamic scripture, since the Quran specifically states that God promised the land of Israel, including Jerusalem, to the Jews.

Although ordinary Muslims who might not actually have read their holy book could be excused for their ignorance about the Jewish roots of and rights to Israel and Jerusalem, the same cannot be said for the leaders of Muslim countries, imams and the heads of illustrious Islamic institutions. Dignitaries and scholars of that caliber should know better. Yet many of them repeat false assertions that contradict the Quran and scholarly interpretations of its verses.

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Iran: Anatomy of a National Revolt

by Amir Taheri • January 15, 2018 at 4:00 am

Anti-regime protestors in Kermanshah, Iran, on December 29, 2017. (Image source: VOA News/Wikimedia Commons)

With its flames declining after days of high blaze, the "events" that shook Iran in December and early January are still attracting a tsunami of comment, speculation and, as always in such cases, misrepresentation.

The first question is what should we call what happened.

The term "events" is too anodyne and the term "revolution" too hyperbolic to do the job. The Khomeinist leadership in Tehran started by using the term "disturbances" ("eghteshashat") as if we were dealing with a stampede in a bazaar or a crowd crash in a Spanish bullfight arena. When it became clear that "disturbances" in some 100 cities couldn't be dismissed in so cavalier a manner, the Khomeinist authorities went for their fallback position of blaming foreign conspirators for the whole thing.

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