Christian Conservative Christian "Independent"

I'm an evangelical Christian, member of the CPC, but presently & unjustly exiled to wander the political wilderness.
All opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Pakistan blocks Facebook over "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day - May 20, 2010" group

In light of Pakistan's move to block Facebook access, may I suggest that you consider supporting this event in response.

NOTE: Just to be clear, I'm not a "fan" of the event, and likely won't participate myself... however, based on the efforts of some Islamic clerics to suppress free speech in Pakistan, I thought I'd offer my readers all the relevant information to do with as they please. More info on this viral event can be found on its own Wiki page.

posted by Christian Conservative @ 12:14 p.m.  

7 Comments:

  • At Wed May 19, 04:44:00 p.m. EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I thought they wanted to be treated "equally", kinda like the Christians and Jews. Guess not. Cheers. FernStAlbert

     

  • At Wed May 19, 05:15:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger Anon1152 said…

    When you say that you are not a "fan" of the event, I assume you mean that you have not signed up as a "fan" on facebook. In other words, the scare quotes are appropriate.

    You do seem to be a fan, that is, someone "who has a strong interest in or admiration for" something-or-other.

    Am I wrong in assuming you would oppose this website/movement if the images were of Jesus or Moses rather than Mohammad? You do censor comments that violate the third of the ten commandments.

    Or is it the second? Have you noticed that in the bible, it isn't always clear where one commandment ends and another begins?

    To be clear: I don't think that's wrong per se. (The Censoring, not the ambiguities in the ten commandments). And it's your blog. And I'm not against blasphemy. Or rather, I don't think it should be illegal, or met with violence.

    I just couldn't help but wonder how you would respond if the shoe was on the other foot. [Or for fan's of the movie Airplane!, if the foot was on the other hand.]

     

  • At Wed May 19, 07:04:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger Christian Conservative said…

    It's hard to say Anon1152... while I agree with many that it's never nice to mock someone else's faith, I do agree with the overarching goal of defending "Freedom of Expression", which is at least the stated goal of the original organizers of the event.

    That being said, I didn't want to give my unqualified support of this group, because invariably it will get hijacked by moronic racists who HATE Muslims... whereas I only disagree with their faith, I don't oppose them personally.

    But you're right... of course I'll defend my faith on my blog by censoring blasphemous content, while I will allow a measure of commentary that opposes other faiths... I have, however, blocked comments in the past that have been particularly hateful towards Muslims or the Islamic faith overall. Just so you know.

     

  • At Wed May 19, 07:40:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger Anon1152 said…

    I've always found your "censorship" admirably consistent, and in the spirit of reasonable dialogue.

    *

    I think the true test of a commitment to free speech, however, is not how willing one is to offend others (others who are the object of hatred, contempt, or indifference); the true test of a commitment to free speech is how willing one is to be offended by others.

    It takes no great moral courage to offend those you don't like or don't care about anyway.

    *

    The Mohammed cartoon issue would, in my opinion, probably be most productive if it was primarily a debate between Muslims. That's not to say that non-Muslims have nothing relevant to say, or that they cannot support one side or the other in the debate. But the whole affair would be more productive if it were between Muslims, rather than between non-Muslims and (if only implicitly) all Muslims.

    For example, France has the largest Muslim population in Europe (or so we are told). Also, apparently, the largest Jewish population. The headscarf issue is in the news periodically, and has been for many years. Their laws and proposals are far more severe than recent proposals in Quebec. But actual relations between the Muslim minority and the majority in France are fairly peaceful/happy. And less than 5% of French Muslims go to the Mosque on Fridays. Only 8-15% attend religious services regularly at all.



    FYI: These numbers come from a book by Christian Joppke, Veil:Mirror of Identity. He does not come across as "pro-muslim". Many of his figures come from this study: http://pewglobal.org/files/pdf/253.pdf.

     

  • At Wed May 19, 09:11:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger Christian Conservative said…

    Comments wigging out on Blogger... trying to post your latest, getting errors. Stay tuned.

     

  • At Wed May 19, 11:28:00 p.m. EDT, Blogger Anon1152 said…

    Looks like it's fixed... I hope. But thank you for the concern... I think I mentioned once that blogger seemed to be deleting my comments randomly...

    Though it's good to have a reminder of the fragility and impermanence of electronically stored information.

    Acid free paper can last 500 years or more.

    Magnetic tape [or even CD ROM's!] lasts only a few short decades... even without magnetic/xray/heat accidents.

    P.S.
    If I'm wrong about this please let me know. The information I convey is from one of my [paper] books... though I know you are more tech-savvy than I am.

     

  • At Thu May 20, 07:59:00 a.m. EDT, Blogger Christian Conservative said…

    Anonymous... this is not a site where you can prosletize on behalf of Islam... I won't be responsible for condemning souls to Hell by posting your comment... COMMENT REJECTED.

    Besides, the passages in the Bible that many try to twist to say refer to Mohammed in fact are referring to the First or Second Comings of the Lord Jesus Christ... The Saviour of the world, The King of Kings, The LORD of Lords, and NOT just a mere "Prophet".

     

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