Law Students

My Thoughts on Pakistan?s Response to ?Everybody Draw Muhammad Day?

By atharkhan

I can’t remember the last time I wrote anything remotely political (I usually focus on technology and the law) but I am making an exception here.

I don’t care whether someone draws Mohammad.  What truly offends and frightens me is that  the Lahore High Court ordered the Department of Communications to block Facebook through the end of May.  And, now it appears that Pakistan has also blocked access to YouTube.  Businessweek reports that approximately 450 sites are similarly blocked. It wasn’t long ago that Pakistan blocked access to YouTube over a similar issue.  This trend is alarming.

That some are not only accepting this censorship, but applauding it, is beyond my comprehension.  In my view, these misguided souls are failing to realize is that censorship and restriction of a free flow of information inevitably leads to totalitarianism.

In the near term, the protests, and the outcry only serve as confirmation that Pakistanis are a volatile people who cannot be  trusted to maintain their composure through something as inane and inconsequential as this.  In the long run, this does not speak well of the future of Pakistan.  If the people of Pakistan continue to accept censorship in the name of religion, they will find themselves in conditions far more oppressive and suffocating than today.

Therefore, rather than directing their anger at websites, I suggest that the people of Pakistan refuse to accept censorship, and vote their local politicians out of office.

Full post as published by Atharkhan on May 20, 2010 (boomark / email).