Pakistan: Mark Zuckerberg Must Die, Maybe

 

Can you kill an Internet meme, or at least the folks who facilitate it? Pakistan’s going to find out. In a case that pits religious strictures against the wide-open, freewheelin’ cyber-world of social media groups, state authorities are mulling formal charges against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and some of his colleagues for allegedly insulting the Muslim prophet. It’s a charge whose punishment ranges from a small fine to the death penalty.

Thing is, the allegations aren’t about anything Zuckerburg and Co. did; they’re about what Facebook didn’t do–namely, put the kibosh on a springtime Muslim-baiting meme. Back in April, when Comedy Central decided to censor a not-so-flattering rendering of the prophet Muhammad on South Park, the blogosphere lit up in response. A spate of Facebook groups sprouted up to express solidarity with the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, by promoting an “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” (graphic depictions of Muhammad are verboten according to Islam’s hadith, the traditions and sayings of the prophet).

Of particular interest to angered Pakistani Muslims was a Facebook user identified as “Andy” (apparently a German woman), who launched the “Draw Mohammed” contest ostensibly as a means of “spreading…peace, freedom of speech, and human rights.” However, the group had the opposite effect and triggered an Internet debate over the entire campaign’s propriety. That’s when this speech issue became a legal one. Pakistan recognizes Islamic Sharia law: Penal code 295-C states, “Whoever…by visible representation or by any imputation…defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to a fine.”

A flurry of Pakistani court rulings in May put Facebook under the microscope. That all came to a head in Punjab province, where authorities filed an application for a “First Information Report,” the initial step in a criminal investigation against Zuckerberg, two other Facebook employees, and “Andy.” If prosecuted and convicted, Zuckerberg and the others will become wanted felons in Pakistan, though it’s unlikely they’d be extradited.

The fallout doesn’t end there. YouTube received a similar ban the day after Facebook’s, “in view of growing sacrilegious contents.” A draft of new censorship guidelines issued by the Pakastani government proposes the creation of “an effective mechanism to continuously monitor and control the objectionable/obnoxious content over internet [sic] in Pakistan.” And the country’s UN representative has requested that the issue be brought to the General Assembly for Facebook and YouTube’s alleged violation of international communication standards.

Another hearing is scheduled for July 12th. In the meantime, Zuckerberg will most likely not be making any trips to Pakistan; he may need to save up to pay that fine, after all.

 

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate