Blasphemers must be killed

The BBC ponders if censorship of Muslim views might be the way forward. Remember – you pay for this!

Paki PM: Blasphemy “unpardonable sin,” international orgs should eliminate all blasphemous content

The Express Tribune reported on March 8 that blasphemous “pages were being removed with the help of the Facebook officials.” That may be one reason why referrals from Facebook to Jihad Watch are down upwards of 10,000 a day since February 10. But Facebook isn’t enough: Sharif wants “international organizations” to work to eliminate “all blasphemous content.” And doubtless many will be all too willing to implement this aspect of Sharia, and willingly surrender the freedom of speech.

“Blasphemy is an unpardonable offence: PM,” Express Tribune, March 14, 2017: (more from JW below the fold)

Pakistan asks Facebook and Twitter to help identify blasphemers

Pakistan has asked Facebook and Twitter to help identify Pakistanis suspected of blasphemy so it can prosecute them or pursue their extradition.

Under the country’s strict blasphemy laws, anyone found to have insulted Islam or the prophet Muhammad can be sentenced to death.

The interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, said an official in Pakistan’s Washington embassy had approached the two social media companies in an effort to identify Pakistanis, either within the country or abroad, who recently shared material deemed offensive to Islam.

He said Pakistani authorities had identified 11 people for questioning over alleged blasphemy and would seek the extradition of anyone living abroad.

THEGUARDIAN.COM

Texas teacher ‘not backing down’ from anti-Islam stance: ‘I’m a free American man’

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Houston teacher James A. Bretney makes no bones about his distaste for Islam.

“This is the problem that our politicians and even our church members won’t acknowledge,” he told KTRK-TV. “We are in a spiritual conflict with Islam. We are in a clash of civilizations with Islam.” …

Dave Urbanski

Facebook said it reviews all government requests carefully, “with the goal of protecting the privacy and rights of our users”.

“We disclose information about accounts solely in accordance with our terms of service and applicable law. A mutual legal assistance treaty or other formal request may be required for international requests, and we include these in our government requests report,” which is publicised each year, it said in a statement.

Facebook has often struggled to deal with the varying cultural norms around censorship in the hundred-plus countries where it operates. In a sprawling manifesto released in February, the company’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, described one possible solution to the difficulty: “combine creating a large-scale democratic process to determine standards with AI to help enforce them”.

In that plan, Zuckerberg said, Facebook would ask users all over the world to vote on what sort of content they found acceptable to see on their social media feeds. Content which breached those personal and national standards would then be automatically flagged by an artificial intelligence, and removed without the need for human intervention.

Twitter declined to comment.

Blasphemy Continued:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that blasphemy is an ‘unpardonable sin’ and ordered authorities concerned to nab those responsible for posting such content on social media.

“Law enforcers should search for the people spreading blasphemous material and prosecute them under the law,” a statement quoted him as saying on Tuesday.

The prime minister also ordered stringent measures to be taken to stop blasphemous content from making rounds on social media.

“Love for Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the most valued asset for the believers,” he said, directing authorities to nab those involved in disseminating blasphemous material.

He ordered daily reports on the matter, saying international organisations should be contacted for the elimination of all blasphemous content. The Foreign Office, he added, should play its role in the regard, Radio Pakistan reported….