Pakistan to Ban VPNs…but not XXXs
In a move to monitor and restrict all web traffic to and from Pakistan, the authorities have decided to ban virtual private networks (VPNs), according to major news outlets . A legal notice sent to all internet providers (ISPs) by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority orders the ISPs to inform authorities of any VPN use for web browsing. Pakistan’s 20 million internet users have previously been banned from popular social networks, such as Facebook, because of blasphemous material about the prophet Muhammad. All internet traffic in the country travels through the Pakistan Internet Exchange, which can be intercepted by the military and civil intelligence agencies. Recently the regulator made it impossible for Pakistanis to access the website of Rolling Stone magazine, after it published an article on the high proportion of the national budget in Pakistan that goes on its military. [1].
While the reasons may be partially benevolent or even understandable, this does bring out another question which is seldom raised in Pakistan: the unrestricted availability of internet pornography [2]. While it is “officially” banned in Pakistan, it is not difficult to find smalltime booksellers displaying lad mags on handcarts or at some kerbs, movie rentals renting out skin flicks, CD/DVD shops vending “top-shelf” stuff or indeed the all pervasive dot com smut [4]. However, online porn is the most freely available and easily accessible variety (i.e. without the need to conceal glossy mags, video cassettes, CDs or other tangibles). Indeed, Fox has also rated the “Islamic” Republic as the most porn-googling nation [3]. While the method of the survey was questionable (read the comment section at [3]), the Pakistani net-goers’ porn-addiction is not made out of thin air.
The question is that if youtube, facebook and VPNs can be banned on moral grounds, why can’t the government enforce a ban on pornographic websites, at least the well known ones, like Saudi Arabia, China or Gaza does [5, 6, 7]? The most common objection raised by citizens or net-goers is that it is not possible to ban every single x-rated site. This is indeed, sadly, true, but it is also true that all most all pornographic websites are owned by less than a hundred companies and hence it is easy to target the bulk of online porn. Therefore, the government should do as much as it can by:
1) Banning the pornographic websites already banned by other countries.
2) Launching a community based effort, where members of the net community can report such sites. For example, Saudi Arabia provides its net users with an online form here for blocking/unblocking websites based on their perceptions.
Another common objection is that viewing porn is a personal freedom and hurts no one. Firstly, Islam [the state religion] prohibits any form of nudity or immorality whether practiced or observed:
”Say (O Muhammad SAW): “(But) the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are AlFawâhish (great evil sins, every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) whether committed openly or secretly, sins (of all kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship) with Allâh for which He has given no authority, and saying things about Allâh of which you have no knowledge.” [Al-Qur'aan 7:33]
Secondly, even non Muslim experts testify that viewing pornography leads to break up of marriages, or at least difficult relationships with spouses and other social problems [ 8 , 9]. Even though Pakistan has made half-hearted attempts at banning online smut before [10,11], it is high time that civil activists should join forces to get this disease banned or at least restricted from entering and destroying our homes. There is already a court case pending [12], which is a good first step. What is needed is concerted and serious online and offline activism.
Children as Human Sheilds, Tailhooking…All in a Day’s Work
By: Bilal A. Siddiqui
Well, a picture is worth a thousand words after all. Despite all the smoke and mirrors behind “Enduring Freedom”, “Infinite Justice”…. it seems that the most powerful military on Earth is using Afghan children as human shields. This photograph appeared in the Telegraph today (without a comment on the photo, of course).
Afghan Child used as Human Shield
Oh, but must we not believe the USAF that it is the Taliban who use them as “low tech air defense” [1]? Of course, that is why it is kosher for them to mow down a thousand [2] of these shields in a single calendar year to get a few “rag-heads”. That is, when they get time off from “tailhooking“, making lewd videos….
2010 in review
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,600 times in 2010. That’s about 9 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 34 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 34 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 1mb. That’s about 3 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was March 16th with 146 views. The most popular post that day was Zaid Hamid – Here and After.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were forums.islamicawakening.com, digg.com, mail.yahoo.com, facebook.com, and slashingtongue.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for tajzia wordpress, tajzia, battering ram in middle east, urdu tajzia, and “salman ahmad” imran khan.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Zaid Hamid – Here and After March 2010
13 comments
Afia-Caust Deniers and Revisionists February 2010
13 comments
Realising the Terrorist Threat March 2010
2 comments
NF Paracha – A Square All-Rounder March 2010
6 comments
Tax Protest, 9/11 Style February 2010
Imperial Avarice….Its Worth It Now!
By: Bilal A. Siddiqui
Of course oil was not the reason for the US to invade Iraq. It was a country waiting to be “freed” from a dictator which the West supported with weapons (yes the very mass destruction variety used against Kurds, not the fairy tale variety never found after the invasion). That a half a million children died in the run up to the invasion was of course “worth it”, to quote two American ambassadors to the UN[1,2] . Of course, the price was worth it since it was paid in blood. Iraqi blood, that is [3].
And make no mistake. If you thought the loss of thousands of human lives in Afghanistan were in vain, you are dead wrong. Not only did Operation Enduring Freedom rid the country of an oppressive regime, so oppressive that it eradicated drug cultivation in areas it ruled [4] and dared to think about giving oil concessions to other than American companies [5]. It’s so good that now that the Taleban are gone, year after year Afghan farmers are experiencing bumper opium crops [4]. But of course the drug money will never fill American coffers, just as it never did, ever [6]. However, now the price of death and destruction in this barbaric, 18th century relic of a country is truly worth it.
The U.S has:
discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials. Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe. An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium.” [7]
Micheal Scheuer, a top ranking former CIA analyst argued that it is West’s “imperial hubris” which is making it lose the war against Islamists. But perhaps it is really something else which makes it initiate and perpetuate these wars: Imperial Avarice.
Here is a chilling reminder from Chris Floyd [8]:
Unfortunately, given the realities of our world, one’s first reaction to such news is not a cheery “How nice for the Afghan people!” but rather a heart-sinking, dread-clammy “Uh oh.” For what this discovery almost certainly portends are many more decades of war, warlordism and foreign intervention, as the forces of greed and power fight like hyenas to tear off the juiciest chunks of this windfall.
It also guarantees many more years of American military occupation (in one guise or another); there is absolutely no chance that our Beltway banditti (and their corporate cronies) are simply going to walk away from a stash like this, not when they’ve already got “boots on the ground” — and billions of dollars in war pork invested in the place. It’s payback time, baby! (Or rather, double-dip time, as most these “investments” are just pass-throughs of public money to private profiteers). And hey, finder’s keepers and all that, right?
Flotilla: Rules of Engagement II (2010)
By: Bilal A. Siddiqui
Rules of Engagement (2000), Paramount Pictures:
The original Rules of Engagement (2000) Hollywood flick featuring Tomme Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. It was widely condemned as one of the most racist and Arab-demonizing mainstream films to date [1,2]. The best synopsis is provided by Dr. Jack Shaheen from his ground-breaking documentary “Reel Bad Arabs – How Hollywood Vilifies a people” [3]:
JACK SHAHEEN: Of all the Department of Defense films, the one that will stand the test of time as being the most racist is Rules of Engagement. The film was written by former Secretary of the Navy (and senator) James Webb. The action takes place in Yemen, a real country in the Middle East. There are violent demonstrations at the American embassy, and the Marines, led by Col. Childers, they’re called in to evacuate the American employees. And as they try to do so, the Marines open fire on the crowd and kill scores of Yemeni, including women and children. And in the investigation that follows, Tommy Lee Jones, the lawyer who represents Col. Childers, goes to Yemen to investigate. The movie leads us to believe what seems obvious, that the Marines committed this atrocity.
[Clip from Rules of Engagement] Armed American Marines, they were shooting at his people. They were just trying to defend themselves.
JACK SHAHEEN: During his investigation, Jones’s character sees a little girl with only one leg. He follows her, comes upon a hospital ward full of civilian victims. He finds an audiotape by the bed of one of the victims. And when the tape gets translated in court, we immediately begin changing our minds about who is responsible for this massacre.
INTERPRETED TAPE: [clip from Rules of Engagement] To kill Americans and their allies, both civil and military, is duty of every Muslim who is everywhere.
JACK SHAHEEN: We discover that the Yemeni civilians aren’t so innocent after all. It turns out they fired on the Marines first. And in a moment that will live in Hollywood infamy, we suddenly learn that the little girl we’ve been sympathizing with, the very girl whose humanity and innocence may have broken down our stereotypes, well, she’s no better than those other Yemeni terrorists. As a result, when Samuel L. Jackson delivers the key line—
COL. CHILDERS: [clip from Rules of Engagement] Waste the motherf*s!
JACK SHAHEEN:—we’re now on his side. Why does this matter? Because in the end, the massacre of even women and children has been justified and applauded. It’s a slaughter, yes, but it’s a righteous slaughter.
Deja vu? Fast forward ten years later to 2010, from the US Embassy in Yemen to the Mediterranean coast off Israel/Gaza. And Hollywood’s moment of infamy is replayed in real life.
Rules of Engagement II (2010), IDF Studios:
Featuring the likes of Mark Regev (of Difficult Combat Situation [4] fame), the sequel’s plot is a rather ingenuous rehash of the original. I will slightly reword Dr. Shaheen’s review of the original Rules (2000):
JACK SHAHEEN: Of all the Department of Defense IDF films, the one that will stand the test of time as being the most racist run of the mill is Rules of Engagement II. The film was written by former Secretary of the Navy Commando (and senator Defense Minister) James Webb Ehud Barak. The action takes place in off Yemen Gaza, a real wannabe country in the Middle East. There are violent peaceful demonstrations at the American embassy Peace Flotilla, and the Marines Commandos, led by Col. Childers, they’re called in to evacuate board the American employees Turkish ship. And as they try to do so, the Marines Commandos open fire on the crowd and kill scores of eight Yemeni Turks and one American, injured including women and children. And in the investigation narrative that follows, Tommy Lee Jones Mark Regev, the lawyer spokesman who represents Col. Childers, goes to Yemen to investigate appears on television. The movie leads us to believe what seems obvious, that the Marines Commandos committed this atrocity.
[Clip from Rules of Engagement II] Armed American Marines Israeli Commandos, they were shooting at his people. They were just trying to defend themselves.
JACK SHAHEEN: During his investigation narrative, Jones’s Regev’s character… finds an audiotape by the bed of one of the victims. And when the tape gets translated played in court on TV, we immediately begin changing our minds about who is responsible for this massacre.
INTERPRETED PURPORTED TAPE: [clip from Rules of Engagement] To kill Americans and their allies, both civil and military, is duty of every Muslim who is everywhere. Shut up. Go back to Auschwitz. We’re helping the Arabs go against the US, don’t forget 9/11 guys! [5,6]
JACK SHAHEEN: We discover that the Yemeni international civilians activists aren’t so innocent after all. It turns out they fired on the Marines Commandos first. And in a moment that will live in Hollywood IDF infamy, we suddenly learn that the peace activists and Nobel laureates little girl we’ve been sympathizing with, … well, she’s no better than those other Yemeni Hamas terrorists. As a result, when Samuel L. Jackson delivers the key line—
COL. CHILDERS BIBI: [clip from Rules of Engagement] Waste the motherf*s! This wasn’t a love boat, this was a hate boat. [7]
JACK SHAHEEN:—we’re now on his side. Why does this matter? Because in the end, the massacre of even women and children has been justified and applauded. It’s a slaughter, yes, but it’s a righteous slaughter.
Grotesque as it may sound, Israel expects, with good reason and past experience, that the world (or more precisely its leaders) would swallow this hogwash and look the other way. Robert Fisk did a good job (as usual) of comparing the hypocrisy of the West in turning a blind eye to Israeli terrorism in a couple of excellent articles [8,9]. He wonders why invasion of black skinned Somalis of Western ships is pyracy, but that of a Turkish ship by the Israelis is not? And, why was the Allied airlift of Berlin blockaded by the Russians in 1948 a humanitarian act, but running the Israeli blockade of Gaza is detrimental to the Jewish State’s legitimacy?
Let’s just say there is honor even among the thieves….and Obama is an honorable man.
Democracy….from Battering Rams to Humvees
By Bilal A. Siddiqui
[The post is being updated, as it has been pointed out by a reader that the Republic ended with Julius Caesar. Though the point is valid to a large extent, the basic premise holds i.e. Democracy is not a modern ideology and those accusing the Muslims of wanting to be govern with a seventh century law through the use of violence, are imposing a far more ancient system through not only violence, but underhand means.]
“Delivering democracy out of the back of a Humvee” is how Stefan Halper – a former State Department official who now teaches at Cambridge – disdainfully defined it [1]. But what is this cure-all that must be delivered at the pain of death (of the donor and receptor)? A couple of millenniums ago, the Romans too set the known world on fire in their quest to enlighten the ancient peoples of Carthia, Judea, Gaul and beyond to the “democratic” ideals of the “Republic“. The difference is only skin deep. Replace the republic with the free world, the Senate and Council with the Parliament, battering rams with humvees and the Barbarians with Muslims. Today, as yesterday, the barbarians (or Muslims) must be brought under the banner of Rome, from darkness to civilization (which today, as before, means better roads and corrupt governors). Just as a surgeon must not pay heed to the protests of a patient to attempts at removing the cancer, the Civilization must remain impassive to the uncouth rabble’s moans at being injected with “democracy.”
Roman Democracy Delivery Van
Modern Democracy Delivery Van
However, the similitude does not end here. Indeed, as the Romans had mastered the art of giving the “people” a false feeling of empowerment, the modern proponents of democracy too deafen us by hollering “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” [2], which is eerily reminiscent of the “Eternal Empire” of Rome. This famous definition of democracy comes from none other than Abe Licoln’s famous speech after the Battle of Gettysburg, which by some coincidence draws heavily from another ancient source [3]. But, then as now, democracy remains a government of the few, for the few and by the few, the rest being about as empowered as workers under communism and serfs under feudalism [It is also hard to miss the fact that the battle was fought between two groups of the new confederation, both of whom believed in democracy, so espousing this definition at that moment leaves one perplexed]. Then as now, the nation’s wealth depends on foreign invasions. Then as now, success on battlefield dictated success in politics (Julius Caesar, Vespasian, Eisenhower, Powell et al were general-politicans while Nero, Honorious, Churchill, Bush et al, were draft dodging war mongers). Real emancipation of people came only grudgingly from both of these democratic dispensations, and that too to the extent with which the “people” could be barely appeased and nipped in the bud by the deaths of non-violent reformists like Tiberius Gracchus and Martin Luther King.
Then as now, the Parliament /Senate remains more of a theater than a serious house with serious business. The recent show of members of the Russian parliament caught in voting fraud [3] is perhaps as ignoble as the ancient world’s bribe-prone Senate. Other shows of theatrics would perhaps even put the ancients to shame:
Moreover, the deviant art of serenading the “people” into thinking how smart and empowered they are, also harks back to the times of Julius Caesar. Rick Shenkman, professor of history at George Mason University and author of Just How Stupid Are We? Facing the Truth About the American Voter says that:
We are used to thinking of the war as the Bush administration’s failure. But it could not have taken place had ordinary Americans not been taken in by the administration’s deceit, chiefly the dropped hint that Saddam Hussein was behind 9-11. One study by the University of Maryland found that nearly 60 percent of Americans were convinced that Saddam was helping al Qaeda when we undertook our invasion. A majority based their support for the war on this flagrant misunderstanding. A near-majority persisted in believing Saddam was responsible for 9-11 even after the 9-11 Commission flat out said he wasn’t. [4]
He also said that one the eve of the Iraq invasion, two in three Americans thought that most of the world supported the invasion, while one in three believed the world was cheering America on for the invasion [5]! Besides, three in five Americans do not know the branches of their own government either [6]. As Jon Stewart joked:
Isn’t the ignorance part of the American Experience? Americans are people defined to be willing to be involved in the pursuit of happiness. And ignorance is bliss. Therefore, the founding fathers have put us on this path. We are pursuing ignorance to get to that happiness. [7]
But let us be more generous. It is not just the American people who are being led a merry dance. Isn’t it the case everywhere everyone has an equal vote on everything? The genius and the idiot, the upright and the convict, the drunkard and the sober, the educated and the unlearned? Is the only merit to make decisions and laws is to fool people into voting for oneself with the agency of a pliant press? And how is it fair to berate the barbarians (Muslims) for trying to enforce their own medieval system of governance and justice, while the West is enforcing a more ancient one on others? While Muslims’ system emancipated and empowered the weak and downtrodden, democracy is yet to prove its worth. But, why is it trying to quash its competition rather than having a fair contest? Old habits die hard…..
Madeleine and Maryam: A Tale of Two Toddlers
By: Fahad Ansari
Justice for Aafia Coalition
On 3 May 2007, just days before her 4th birthday, British girl Madeleine McCann disappeared while on holiday with her parents and twin siblings in the Algarve region of Portugal. Over the subsequent months, the case received international media coverage with daily coverage in Britain, Portugal and across the world. In addition to official investigations by the Portuguese and British police forces, at least five firms of private investigators had been engaged by a British tycoon, a former Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent, US firms and a Portuguese lawyer, to carry out inquiries. Elaborate video reconstructions, televised pleas for assistance and endorsements by celebrities followed. With such global efforts to locate the missing child, it was not surprising that the name Madeleine McCann was the topic of conversation in coffee shops, hairdressers, schools and campuses across the world. Tragically, despite these efforts, Madeleine remains missing today. Read more…
NF Paracha – A Square All-Rounder
By: Syed Aal-e-Imran
Nadeem Farooq Paracha is one of the most widely respected intellectual giants of the country. Throughout his life, he has dedicated himself to contribute towards the betterment of the society on issues of critical importance.
During the 1990s, when The News ran its ‘Vibes’ section in its weekend supplement, NFP, as he is affectionately known, made priceless contribution by highlighting some of the most critical issues relevant to the masses some of which are as follows:
- Top Ten Songs of All-Time in Pakistani Pop Music (revisited and updated at least thrice with Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar by Strings always coming out on top)
- Top Ten Albums of All-Time in Pakistani Pop Music (again, revisited and updated a number of times Vital Signs Vol. 2 featuring Junaid Junaid Pakistan was always up there)
- Precursors of Psychedelic Rock
- The Earth, Wind, Fire and Water in Rock Music
- The fact that Pepsi destroyed Vital Signs and other bands
- Perils of Bubblegum Pop
- Musicians and why they had no right to have sponsorships
- Dinosaur Acts
- Aatish Raj and how to sit and mindlessly roll a coke bottle on guitar strings and record it noise and release it as music
- Several literary masterpieces that should have been acted out – they were proper dramas with heroes such as ‘Junaid Junaid Pakistan’
Thereafter, he disappeared till a millennium went away and another came our way.
He then resurfaced and started writing for Dawn and has increasingly become more focused on politics. Such has been his dedication that he exposes Jamaat-e-Islami, Maududi and at times, Tableeghi Jamaat as well, everytime he writes. Imran Khan too always gets the limelight he deserves. There are occasional references to Read more…
Biggest, Tallest, Largest….but not the Best
By: Bilal A. Siddiqui
Yet another mega project in the Arabian Gulf. The world’s largest all women institute is being constructed near Riyadh [1]. A very positive development for women to be educated in all female environment, as not only is it an Islamic requirement [2], but girls actually perform better in all girls schools [3]. However, two points stand out. Why is somehow the emphasis primarily on “largest”. Largest, biggest and tallest do not necessarily translate to best. Already there is the “biggest endowment” university, KAUST, near Jeddah, the “tallest” tower in Dubai [soon to be outdone by another "taller" Mile High Tower in Jeddah (4)], the “largest” shopping mall [5], besides six other “biggest” paraphernalia [6] in Dubai. Oh, and not to mention the world’s “biggest” cricket bat in Pakistan [7] for the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
The emphasis should be on quality, not quantity. Pakistan actually lost the ’96 world cup miserably and the bat is still there, awaiting Pakistan’s team victory in a World Cup so that this bat can be given to the national team in a colorful ceremony! And Dubai has suffered its predictable demise [due to defiance of Divine Laws] despite its seven wonders.
The other point is, more apt names could be suggested for the university. How about naming it after ‘Aishah Bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them), the teacher of so many thousands of scholars. Or Karimah, the narrator of Sahih Al-Bukhari: ladies who had a lasting impact impact on world education and enlightenment!
Zaid Hamid – Here and After
Very good analysis. Reproduced without comment.
___________________________
Abdud-Daiyan said on
Assalamu-alaikum,
Jazakallah Khair brothers and sisters for finally setting up this website. May Allah (SWT) bless all those at the Khatam-e-Nabuwat organisation for the strong stand they have taken on this issue and on those in the past. May Allah (SWT) bless and reward all who work for the Islamic cause in Pakistan and around the Ummah Inshallah.
I was dubious about Zaid Hamid (ZH) from the beginning because (just to cite a very few examples):
1. From the first episode of his TV program I saw there was a contradiction because how can someone be talking about Islamic issues when the young lady sitting opposite to him is be-Hijaab i.e not wearing Islamic dress. A person talks about changing Pakistan, if not the world but he cannot see to it that a young lady sitting in front of him wears the Islamic dress according to Sunnah. (By the way this was deliberate to entrap and entice viewers -particularly the youth).
2. This person (ZH) was from day one mixing up Sufi ideas and doctrines as well as “mysticism” and “spiritual” matters with his talks on Islamic issues and Pakistan’s destiny. Anyone who knows anything about basic Islamic aqeedah (beliefs) could tell you that there were a lot of problems with the type of Islam ZH was extolling. Furthermore, they were being presented to an unsuspecting and ignorant public (particularly the youth – who are desperate for change in their lives and country) as if they were in accordance with the authentic teachings of Islam. Read more…
