back to article 'Draw Mohammed' page removed from Facebook

The Facebook page that encouraged users to post images of Islam's Prophet Mohammed was taken down globally on Friday, following an order by a Pakistani court for ISPs in that country to block the social networking site. Facebook officials tell the Associated Press they played no role in the removal of the "Everybody Draw …

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  1. Squirrel
    Paris Hilton

    <- Muhammed

    disguised as paris hilton.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Horns

    Is it a bird, is it a plane, no it's the prophet Mohamed!

    Why does Mohamed need to travel incognito? It's like some kind of David Niven film where he's trying to hide his identity.

    If people want to draw insulting images, then I understand. Like those photoshopped T-Shirts that say the Pope smokes dope. But just drawing him in any way what-so-ever is a bit like conspiring to protect the identity of the outlaw The Scarlet Pimpernel.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      AIUI it's the same in Christianity

      All those effigies of Christ, the Virgin Mary, Apostles etc are false idols People worship the image rather than the teachings. I think the Muslim rule of "No pics of old Mo', ta much" is to try and stop the same thing happening.

      Of course, you cannot (and should not) stop people drawings pictures of whatever they damn well choose.

      Nor should any such drawings result in threats.

      Finally, religion (responsible for more pain and suffering that any other human invention) is nothing more than a method of control and an attempt to curb critical thinking. There is no god. Get over it. Move on.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Thumb Up

        @AC re: AIUI...

        I would agree with the last paragraph, all except for the comment about god. You can't declare there is no god, that's impossible to know. All you can say (and be accurate) is that "I don't know if there is a god." You can say that the people who believe there is one are wrong, but that's all. Saying there isn't is just as wrong as saying there is.

        Oh, and I agree with the rest of your post - well said!

        1. Mark Adamson
          Happy

          @AC re:@AC re: AIUI...

          Hmm... I don't agree.

          I think we can probably go as far as "there is almost certainly no God".

          I don't know that there are no fairies in my garden, but I don't feel the need to buy fairy repellent spray, because, on balance, I don't think there are.

          As a result saying that there isn't a God is orders of magnitude less wrong than saying there is, but you're right, it's not strictly prudent to say "there is no God".

  3. Stuart Morrison
    Unhappy

    Sad

    Sad Mohammed smiley is sad that he will cause the Register to be removed from the Internets.

  4. n3td3v
    Thumb Up

    Person who created page deleted it

    It seems the person who created the page realised how serious it had got and that people shouldn't draw Mohammed afterall.

  5. Gumby 1
    FAIL

    its not gone its just blocked

    Still alive in Australia ( Shhhh) . Seems its only blocked in that country so tuff .

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    The knitting needle may well be mightier than the sword

    Or at least more cost efficient. The mind boggles; I wonder if the Indian intel guys at RAW are paying attention to all this. You don't need an army or nukes to destroy 'the old enemy'; if a well placed facebook page with only 100,000 members can cut the country off from the world and generate civil unrest, just imagine what utter chaos and self-immolation a properly planned 'false flag' campaign of diss Mohammed events might produce.

    A few strongly worded suggestions of support for freedom of speech at various web 2.0 sites, womens institutes and christian associations, and you can sit back and watch it all kick off. India can nod sagely and sympathise with it's neighbour as the flags of every western nation are burned on the streets of Pakistan, along with the offices of ISPs and the more traditional targets for Pakistani national outrage, such as shopping centres, buses, schools, power stations and government buildings. By the time the WI's "Knit a Prophet" week gets into full swing, the Pakistan government will be in exile, everyone will be very tired and irritable, and wishing perhaps they'd skipped out on torching the Bollywood movie rental stores, and the whole place south of the North West Frontier will be ripe for a peaceful takeover without a shot being fired across the border.

    Congress could claim the credit on behalf of Gandhian non-violence, the national defence budget could be diverted to welfare + health, thus guaranteeing the BJP become obsolete and LK Advani never gets to be PM, although there might be a brief global crisis in the supply of footballs and cricket balls.

  7. Alan W. Rateliff, II
    Paris Hilton

    Using a free site for marketing

    Everything else aside, I take great issue with companies who use free social sites for marketing purposes. Boiled down to the simplest argument, you get what you pay for, and free is not worth the paper on which it is printed.

    So when a Facefeck, MySpace, Twitter, or whatever outage seriously hurts your business... really.

    Paris, really...

  8. john fisher 1

    with freedom comes responsibility

    I enjoy a good fart joke as much as anybody and remember seeing a hilarious South Park episode several years ago where everyone ran about farting madly. However, for the most part, having watched several episodes I found South Park to be a tasteless and vulgar experience and do not watch the show.

    Concerning the latest South Park flap, it seems the writers suffer from a malady that affects more and more citizens of the “free world”. To wit: with freedom comes responsibility. A famous example often cited is that free speech does not give someone the right to cry “fire” in a crowded theater when no fire exists. Or, to put it another way just because you CAN do something does not mean that you SHOULD do it.

    It is not hard to argue that the leadership of the vast majority of “organized” religions has become corrupt and morally bankrupt. It is also not hard to argue that the religious extremism practiced by all too many followers of Christ, Mohammad, et al is a vile and despicable thing.

    Therefore, it would seem a natural response to ridicule and demean the religious icons and symbols of these corrupt religions. However, there are many decent folk practicing the various faiths that would be greatly offended by depicting their most respected inspirational figures in such a disrespectful manner. And, as we have seen, it gives extremists a great excuse to either retaliate or pour flames on the fire out of hatred. How does that benefit us as a whole?

    Personally, I am offended by the depiction of the prophet (Mohammed) in a bear suit, Jesus watching porn and Buddha snorting cocaine. This does nothing to start a discussion on the real problems of blind or misguided religious belief but only stirs up the worst aspects of the human condition through insult and innuendo.

    Would I wish it censored? No. Would I wish to see the ratings plummet for several weeks after such episodes? Yes.

    1. neverSteady

      Funny but...

      They didn't censor Muhammad at all in a 2005 episode (I believe). It was the Super Friends episode or something.

      But that was before the Danish cartoonist incident.

      So why the uproar again?

    2. Tom 13

      Just for the record

      I have been to a Penn and Teller show where Penn took great pride in yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Grrr....

    I'm tired of the West bowing down to the wishes of these idiots. It's OK for them to bash Christianity, Buddism, the Holocaust, etc but if you offend them you had better watch your back! When will we grow some balls and stand up for what we believe in? Oh wait I forgot, we lost those after we stomped Hitler, now we use the appeasement philosophy, though I remember we tried that on a dictator last century and it only made the problem worse. Striving to please everyone will please noone.

    //End rant before I get fatwa issued for my head on a plate.

    1. kissingthecarpet
      FAIL

      Grow some balls

      At least use a nick, AC (note the last word of your adopted name)

    2. irish donkey
      Go

      ehhh Isn't that why were are in IRAQ

      or did you really believe we went there looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction?

      Of course YOU will be the first to grow some balls and take the fight directly to them.

      Although I do think you have a point just not one worth going to war over

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        The problem with fighting wars for principles...

        .. is that those with the strong principles are invariably well to the rear of those sent to fight...

  10. Rob 5

    This story makes no sense!

    Tell the people!!!!

    Or, if I can stop channelling Mr Teenie for a moment:

    1: Court in PK orders PK ISPs to block Facebook.

    2: The "offending" page is removed worldwide.

    3: But Facebook had no part in its removal.

    4: ???

    5: Prophet?

  11. Winkypop Silver badge
    Grenade

    I'm waiting for....

    ..."everyone say Jehovah day".

    or

    ..."everyone point and laugh at Thor day".

    or

    ...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      or maybe

      an "everybody claim the earth is round" day, you could get bonus points for claiming it circles the sun too.

      In the past, claiming both of these woud have resulted in you being tortured to death by the christian church.

      However, the world has progressed a tad over the last few hundred years. Threats and outrage over something so petty as this, just shows the world that Islam, as a religion, is stuck in the past. It need to either adapt to the modern world, or die out.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Headmaster

      Actually...

      ...today is Moon Day....

  12. Walking Turtle
    Joke

    So draw Walking Turtle instead.

    Show the World+Self+Dog what a John 8:32 Bizness Suit looks like.

    Depictions that include tall, budding, five- or seven-leafed Stringy Green Vegetables in the background shall be awarded Extra Points. Depictions that include the Bible in any form (paper+ink or digital samesame) must also include a comparable image of every other Holy Book of every other Genuine Truth-Respecting Discipline all the world around or be disqualified from the competition.

    Depictions that do the job right albeit sans any such images of Ancient Wisdom Tomes etc are gladly accepted so long as they remain true to the spirit of the event. (This includes Playmobil depictions.)

    Boolean Truth Tables are explicitly encouraged. Kindly post (and do not 'submit') all such depictions to http://dev/null. Walking Turtle does not do FaceBook. 0{:-)o<

  13. jake Silver badge

    Care to show me where the Koran says that?

    "The page ignited the fury of many Muslims because Islam considers depictions of the prophet to be blasphemy."

    Religion, noun;

    The art of people in power keeping the uneducated in line.

  14. IdrewMohammadToo
    Go

    The Success of May 20th

    This event was rough around the edges so to speak, but the intent behind it was sincere. Always stand up to the bullies on the playground. They need to be ‘taught’ how to behave by the rest of us.

    Sometimes you have to respond in a manner that the other side can take notice of regardless of how banal and crude other people think it may have been. They took notice that people were standing up to their tyrannical antisocial expectations put upon the rest of us by them.

    The first page received up to 100,000 supporters prior to being removed, the 2nd page was up to 14,500 supporters before it was also removed.

    The ‘protest’ was a huge success, no one had acid splashed into their faces, no one had their hands cut off with swords, and no one was bombed by a homicide bomber.

    We [atheists, Pagans, Xians, Hindus, & Buddhists] all exercised our right to freedom of expression in the face of “Hate Speech Mongers” who masquerade as a “Religion of Peace”.

    So what if it may not have been done as some would have wished it to have been. It was done. That is what was important.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    if people are going to hold ridiculous beliefs

    they should expect to be ridiculed

  16. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Code Monkey

      Where they came from

      The family of Muslims that live next door to me come from Birmingham.

      1. Lionel Baden
        Joke

        thats ok

        Throw them back there punishment enough !!

    2. The BigYin

      Send the Christians with them!

      Yeah, send them all home. We don't need their monotheistic doctrines here! We have a local religion for local people! Down with these foreign belief systems! And while we are deporting all this nasty, foreign stuff; anyone with a French suname; OUT! Back to frogland you go. Angles too. Go on, sod off. Saxons, on yer bike. Every man-jack of you invader spawn. Britain for the British! Which, given racial mixing etc., will turn out to be one bloke and his goat or something.

      The bigoted reactionaries on all sides really need to get a grip.

  17. David 45

    Crawlers

    Sounds like a bit of toadying and grovelling to the Pakistani government to me. They've won.

  18. Alpha Tony

    For what it's worth..

    ..I always find religeous extremists (of every flavour) utterly arrogant.

    They believe that someone is doing something that they perceive God/Allah won't like, so they appoint themselves as proxy to sort it out. Seems to me any surpeme being worth it's salt would be able to fight it's own battles and wouldn't need their help.

    In fact I would go so far as to say that an imperfect human assuming they completely understand the mind of a god and appointing themselves judge, jury and executioner in his name would seem significantly MORE blasphemous than drawing a picture of a prophet, But maybe that's just me.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      All religions...

      ...boil down to a few basic rules:

      1) To be Good you must do as God tells you.

      2) Don't worry if you don't know what God wants you to do - I've been specially and magically chosen by that same God to advice you of his wishes.

      3) Therefore, to be Good, you must do as *I* tell you.

      4) Beats the hell of of standing for election.

  19. VinceH
    Joke

    Oh, it was 'Draw Mohammed Day'

    I got confused, and drew 'Mu, Ham and Meds'

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Religion!

    Fuck, I hate all religions - dreamt up and run by complete bastards, believed by complete brainless tosspots, caused more wars than... etc. etc.

    Awaits flames....

    !bleh!

  21. Steven Cuthbertson
    Megaphone

    Aww, diddums is upset.. AGAIN!

    Religion needs to get a grip on reality (I know, oxymoron...) If religions kept to themselves, live and let live, and stopped trying to force their worldview on me via too many means then I would be much happier. People have a right to free speech. People do NOT have a right not to be offended. If Muslims find it offensive to draw an image of their prophet, then fine. They do NOT have the right to tell me, as a non-muslim, that I can't draw the same image. "But it upsets them" - so what? I don't have to 'respect' their religion insofar as it infringes on my rights of free expression.

    Keep your religion yours. I don't want anything to do with it!

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    When we're not free to offend....

    ...we're not free at all...

    And when it comes to religion, it's almost impossible not to offend people who spend their lives diligently determined to be offended. They demand respect but have none for others. They abandon their own critical faculties, then begrudge the rest of us ours.

    Facebook should be ashamed.

  23. frymaster

    Quite right

    while the right of people in the US to draw these pictures is protected free speech, there's nothing that says facebook has to host them

    the whole idea of "let's intentionally mock, insult and abuse an entire culture because some pretty shitty people self-label themselves as representatives of that culture day" idea never appealed to me

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Its...

    ... back again...

  25. Keith T
    Pint

    The day occurred

    The day occurred.

    But if you forgot to draw Mohammed on that day, remember you can draw him any day.

  26. Paul Lee 1

    Not quite true

    The administrators of the Facebook page have announced that the page was removed after one of the admin's passwords was hacked and various unsavoury messages were bandied around. The page is now up again. Frankly, I am sick of the constant pandering to Islamic beliefs http://www.paullee.com/bandb/index.php#Islam

  27. 2FishInATank
    FAIL

    Errr....

    I'm sure I'll not be the first to point this out, but the group still seems to be there for me!

  28. a reader
    Thumb Up

    The page has been returned to Facebook

    From the 'Draw Mohammed' page:

    "A great big thank you to the facebook-gang for restoring the page. A great big thank you to all freedom lovers out there. Now we have new persons to handle the media and we will soon release some info about the past few days. And to all of you: One can never beat freedom of speech, opinion and idividuality, because they are all basic human rights."

    "This page was removed two days ago, after one of our moderators had his email and skype

    hacked. His personal data was revealed. He then got scared and deleted the page, the blog and the emails. The rest of us, are now back without him after he backed out. This is another scare tactic from the Islamic extremists. We won't fall.

    Pictures you were unable to post on the 20th? Check the forums for interviews."

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Everybody-Draw-Mohammed-Day/121369914543425

  29. bothwell
    Paris Hilton

    this really can't end well

    It's obviously a major issue for Islamic countries, but the western mentality is very much "things are even *lolzier* when people get upset about them".

    These two cultural viewpoints are quite, quite incompatible with each other. Whatever are we to do?

  30. Bruce Ordway

    complete censorship of the site in Pakistan

    Wow... sure Draw Mohammed was ill advised but... complete censorship of the site in Pakistan?

    The age of the internet, new culture and controls?

  31. Muckminded
    Happy

    Fear

    Is the greatest stimulus package ever invented. With it, I can be induced to: buy things, sell things, kill things, excrete things, wet things, smell things and completely replace my own beliefs about things.

    So far, there aren't enough Allahs (1) to get me to do any of the above.

  32. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Still there

    A quick search on farcebook and the page is still there now with 110,295 followers

  33. spatulasnout
    Grenade

    Blasphemy is a victimless crime

    I think Mark Twain put it rather well:

    "Blasphemy? No, it is not blasphemy. If God is as vast as that, he is above blasphemy; if He is as little as that, He is beneath it."

    As an aside, regarding the selection of a teddy bear costume to disguise Muhammad in the South Park episode, it was pointed out to me that this was likely chosen in reference to the 2007 incident in Sudan where the British schoolteacher was arrested for allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7112929.stm

    I didn't make that connection on initially viewing the South Park episode, but it seems plausible.

  34. Michael Tripper
    Boffin

    I wrote this

    My Statement as a North American on Draw Mohammed Day

    You’ll not find any quarter from me on the Islamist agenda or much even on basic Islamic doctrine. Today however on Draw Mohammed Day, we the creators, the artists, the writers and the illustrators in this society who care about free expression and liberty, today we take the cowards way out.

    If anything we should be attacking the people at Comedy Central who censored the South Park episode. We should know their names, who they are and save our artistic ire for them and them alone.

    Instead we needlessly hurt some of our friends and neighbors who are like us but have come from a muslim family background. They too care about liberty and free expression and though they may not like it and wish it did not happen, probably would prefer to ignore the South Park cartoon rather than forbid it outright or ridiculously threaten violence for it’s mere broadcast. No doubt some are even relishing the idea of drawing Mohammed, as Muslims to my knowledge are not monolithic in North America.

    Whatever their opinion on this matter, these fellow citizens are not responsible for the actions of those associated with Comedy Central and there is no reason to attack their traditions for the ill-considered actions of the cable channel.

    It is to those who were responsible for the decision to whom we must direct our energies and efforts. Anything less is simply lazy and cowardly.

    --

    I got a lot of flack for it but I pointed out everyday in the West is Draw Mohammed day and that the old South Park pic of Mo is on wikipedia which has a bigger audience than the Comedy Channel alone.

  35. Nick Gisburne
    Go

    It's back

    This from the re-activated page:

    "This page was removed two days ago, after one of our moderators had his email and skype hacked. His personal data was revealed. He then got scared and deleted the page, the blog and the emails. The rest of us, are now back without him after he backed out. This is another scare tactic from the Islamic extremists. We won't fall."

    Not then a Facebook-led reaction, but an understandably anxious page owner fearing for his own personal safety.

  36. Wombat
    Grenade

    Now that's tolerance for you ...

    ... from the religion of peace.http://www.theregister.co.uk/Design/graphics/icons/comment/grenade_32.png

  37. richw
    WTF?

    Now unless my eyes deceive me..

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Everybody-Draw-Mohammed-Day/121369914543425

  38. Deadly Headshot

    Mirror

    Someone ought to mirror that page before Google Cahce deletes it (end of the month)....

  39. tom 102

    FUN

    i cant belive that the page was delted it look good fun, why cant some people just accept a joke and a laugh when they see it, like in southpark, i though it was hilarious jesuase watching porn, i had no problem with that and i dotn think i know anyone who would, ( i went to catholic school)

  40. Shaun 2
    Gates Horns

    Um..........

    I think you'll find that the Qur'an says that Muslims shouldn't depict Mohammed. It's not a rule that applies to non-Muslims.

    People will always look for something to be offended by. I'm pretty sure that most of the people who complained about this, only complained because a news story incorrectly reported that they should be offended about it...........

    This isn't a dig at Islam - All religions attract nutjobs. But it would be nice to see some Muslim leaders on the news saying "Who cares - if people want to try and #### us off by doing silly drawings, then that says more about them than us........"

    I'm off to eat a bacon sandwich, and hope a religious nutjob doesn't take offense........

    1. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD

      Slippery slope

      "I'm off to eat a bacon sandwich, and hope a religious nutjob doesn't take offense........"

      On a more serious note, while there should be fairness to all, it is important it does not come to pass that too much partiality or special deference to any one particular group occurs.

      Be fair, but not STUPID.

      Ultimately, people by and large choose (by action or inaction) the government they end up with. I know that's kind of a blindingly obvious, but if you don't do anything and other people, with other loyalties and beliefs that are contrary to your way of life, pursue their interests above yours, more diligently that you, and you do nothing, you only have yourself to blame.

      Europe, you know what I am talking about.

      Lest the quoted statement come to become an actual serious legitimate concern.

      (I am saying this again, I am *very* worried about this).

    2. jake Silver badge

      @Shaun 2

      "I think you'll find that the Qur'an says that Muslims shouldn't depict Mohammed."

      No. It doesn't. Unless you can quote me chapter and verse, of course. (Don't bother trying, the entire concept is oral tradition, and has nothing to do with the Koran. Which is kinda the point.)

      "I'm off to eat a bacon sandwich"

      That's pronounced "sarnie", you left-pondian nutjob[1]. Lynch him!

      [1] T'would describe myself, so don't take too much offense ;-)

  41. Simon Neill

    This is stupid.

    Freedom should mean freedom for EVERYONE. This means you are free to not draw whatever you want to not draw and I should be free to draw whatever I want to draw.

    In the same theme, if I want to wave St George's Cross about...I should be allowed to without getting grief. I would never stop someone showing their flag or stop anyone else doing any drawing they wish. Does that make me a better person than most? I'd say so.

  42. Andus McCoatover

    Drawing Mohammed

    Why on earth can't we draw a funny picture of a (possibly mythical) shepherd, who supposedly heard voices from a bloke who called himself Allah?

    Can't we now draw pictures of Charles Milles Manson? He heard voices, too. Must've been Allah again. Maybe the shepherd didn't get it across the first time.

    (Moderator - rejection button is F1, if you forgot)

    1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Drawing Mohammed

      Yes, Andus, that comment was so controversial that I accidentally published it as I reeled in shock.

      1. Andy 99
        Happy

        Ha ha!

        Ha Ha Andus - you just got Bee'd! :)

        1. Andus McCoatover
          Happy

          Again..

          Sarah and I have a love-hate relationship. She loves to hate me...

          Bit like Winston Churchill and Lady Astor:

          [Astor] "Sir, if you were my husband, I'd put poison in your coffee"

          [Churchill] "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it!!"

          1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

            Re: Again..

            I'd say rather more like Jordan and JD.

            "I know you dislike me."

            "I don't dislike you. I nothing you."

            1. Andus McCoatover
              Thumb Up

              I vote...

              For an addition to the 'thumbs-up, thumbs-down" thingies at the bottom of the posts. I suggest "Moderatrix smashed me" as a new score in the upvote/downvote line at the top.

              Be interesting...;-)

              (nice put-down, BTW)

            2. steward
              Joke

              Give up while you're behind

              Andus... on the forums there is a BOFH.

              And her name is not Simon.

              Give up before you get locked in a safe or fall down an elevator shaft. :-)

              1. Andus McCoatover
                Thumb Up

                I agree.

                Finland's too expensive for a visit from a Staffie or pickaxe handle for Moderatrix' expense budget, anyway.

                OK, I quit. (Good fun, tho')

      2. Andus McCoatover

        The previous, withdrawn version..

        ..was far, far nastier.

        I seem to be able to type through my strait-jacket somehow... ;-)

  43. Gordon Barret
    Thumb Up

    It's back!

    Yep - the page is back in all its' glory. A lot of the images are quite rude as expected - but very funny nonetheless. Give us more!

  44. Steve Evans

    What are they hiding?

    Was he really really ugly?

    Come on, he couldn't have been that bad, have a look at Oliver "Warts and all" Cromwell, and we've got a statue of him outside parliament!

  45. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Shame....

    ....because 99% of Muslims probably don't give a monkeys.

  46. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Respect is a two way street

    Like the vegetarians who expect you to cater to their wants, but will not cook meat for you if you visit them, this is very similar.

    Can non-Muslims get alcoholic drinks easily and legally in countries like Pakistan or Saudi Arabia?

    Can non-Muslim women wear the same clothes they do at home?

    Can non-Muslims behave in their normal everyday way when they are in these countries?

    Can non-Muslims practice their religion, if they have one, in these countries?

    No.

    Secular rights are neither protected or respected by many parts of the Muslim world, and this is not the right way to get non-Muslims to respect your wishes. Grow up and stop being childish. If your faith is challenged by silly things like this, then your faith is not strong enough to withstand the fact that most of the people in the world do not share your beliefs - get over it.

    Mine's the one with a picture of the Prophet on it!

    1. Andus McCoatover

      Brilliant example!

      "Like the vegetarians who expect you to cater to their wants, but will not cook meat for you if you visit them"

      Thanks!!

      1. Gaz Jay

        Title

        This reminds me of a time someone in the pub (a little too loudly) declared that Vegetarians are worse than paedophiles -- "At least paedophiles don't force their views on others like veggies do" he declared.

        He got barred.

  47. Peter Murphy
    Headmaster

    "Islam considers depictions of Muhammed to be blasphemy?"

    Not really. Many Muslims consider depictions of Muhammed to be idolatry - making the picture more important than the object it represents. But this viewpoint is found in Sunni traditions, and Pakistan is mainly a Sunni nation. Shi'ites on the other hand, are more relaxed about that sort of thing - much Persian art depicts the man fully.

    Mind you, neither group would be happy with the late, unlamented Facebook page. I'm an agnostic, so I don't believe that blasphemy exists. But I believe that dickheads exist - and anyone who befriends that page is a dickhead as far as I am concerned.

  48. andreas koch
    Grenade

    religious laws

    I'm a Pope of the Discordian Faith; and there's a company out there, that uses an Apple, a holy symbol for us Discordians, as their company logo. And they use it to promote the absolute most un-Discordian ideas!

    Since this is religious, can I have them stopped?

    1. MyHeadIsSpinning
      Gates Horns

      @ Andreas

      Yes - what you need is an entire country full of very vocal discordians who will force their courts to block access to Facebook, very publicly.

      If, also, there is a general fear that extremist discordians will blow up people randomly after having been 'insulted' then that might help your cause too.

      It worked for the Catholics (we know what happened to witches, heretics and other non-believers and blasphemers in the past, now don't we)?

  49. Pirate Dave Silver badge
    Pirate

    so

    if Facebook didn't take it down, who did? And why?

  50. John Sanders
    Unhappy

    Muslim's reactions

    It is a bit more like: Not all Muslims are violent, but the most vocal are, and the rest do not censor them because they also fear their retaliation, or worse, to be label as bad muslims.

    South Park episode was really spot on. And very funny too.

  51. James Woods

    lolzers

    who cares about facebook or pakistan.

    it's became apparent that the facebook suits have no idea how this world of ours functions in regards to their comments over these types of things.

    they don't seem to 'get' or understand that other countries have different ways of life and the people there have been able to live with far before facebook came around.

    they don't understand or 'know' that some countries (like ours is moving towards) don't permit freedom of speech or expression.

    it's true that in the US we currently have our first amendment however it's on attack by the president & his administration.

    these college kids better wakeup. you need to respect and leave other countries cultures alone and at the same time defend the one you live in because what you take for granted on your blogs is under attack from within.

    we don't need to change the world, we don't need the world to be as degenerate as we are on so many fronts. it's good to see some countries won't permit homosexuals exposing themselves in parades going down main street and allow same sexes or even opposite sexes to be out in pubic conducting themselves in fashions that belong in doors.

    1. steward
      Boffin

      And just how exactly...

      do you define "degeneration"?

  52. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Tempting

    Sometimes its tempting to laugh at these tossers who are so dependent upon their invisible friends, just pat them on the head and usher them back to mommy but you have to remember that these wankers kill people in the name of their invisible friends.

    You have to ask yourself is this part of social progression where we take these wankers and accept their lunacy in the vague hope that one day they will grow up?

  53. Random_Walk
    Megaphone

    Didn't expect much different.

    Most folks leaning leftward (US definition, mind) have had it soft until late. All this time, they've been poking fun at (or insulting, you pick) religions whose practitioners are relatively peaceful, the most reactionary of which will yell back, maybe boycott a museum or somesuch, but not much more.

    They simply aren't used to the idea of parodying a religion whose more reactionary practitioners tend to react quite violently about being insulted (or worse, having their prophets insulted).

    Doesn't excuse the threats and violence, mind you, but seriously - if you're going to launch insults, be prepared for the fists. Run around in any urban center, directly address various individuals with racial epithets, and eventually one of them are going to beat the unholy shite right out of you. This is basically how (rightly or wrongly) many Muslims will see parody cartoons of Mohammed.

    1. steward
      Go

      This idea runs both ways

      If it's OK to respond that way, then the US should have saved billions of dollars after 9/11 by dropping a single bomb to destroy one building in Mecca.

      If Muslim practitioners decide to be more reactionary - in direct violation, mind you, of al'Quran - maybe it's time to drag out Teddy Roosevelt's big stick and crack apart a silly black rock with it.

      1. Random_Walk
        WTF?

        wow...

        You do realize that there's a real big diff between individuals (or groups thereof) such as your typical fundie Muslim type, and an entire government (let alone one subject to laws and democracy)... right?

        Nobody said it was "OK" - just that it is, like it or lump it. Much like I don't go to Compton, California calling every black man I meet a n*gger, I don't go around drawing poor-taste parodies of a long-dead gent who is deeply revered by over a billion Muslims.

        C'mon man... think about this for a moment here.

  54. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Muhammed/ Mohammed, Muslim/ Moslem? I never can tell.

    While it is always a worthwhile troll, I don't think this is the way to go about it. Seems a bit childish. All it serves to do is to alienate those that just want to get along, make no fuss and put their fancy dress beards on in the privacy of their own homes..

    A much better way is to focus on things which stand in fact. Such as the continued building of Mosques in the UK, prevalence of Muslims in places like Tower Hamlets voting themselves into positions of Council control and whether we should allow it in much the same way that Saudia Arabia is unlikely to permit the mass building of Anglican Churches or Jewish Synagogues on its territory.

    If people stuck to substance like that and created a Facebook Group, politicians might take note and things might start to change. Muslim freedoms need to be curbed but respected in a Christian Country. A straight-down-the-line Muslim friend of mine (no beard) once said jokingly to me at school 25 years ago - we will take over the world. And I know he still secretly means it.

    I salute European countries such as France and Belgium for beginning to take a stand. Switzerland is the lead.

    Whatever happened to when in Rome do as the Romans do? I was taught this behaviour but it seems to be an alien notion to the immigrants that come to the UK.

  55. lecson

    Still up

    The Facebook page appears to be up in the UK.

    I thought we covered this when the Danish cartoons appeared but there are loads of images of this Mohammed chap out there.

    Anyway, if he wishes to preserve his anonymity why doesn't he comb his hair and wear glasses like Clark Kent?

  56. Anonymous Coward
    Megaphone

    take the fight to Facebook

    update your facebook status to "is drawing pictures of Mohammed", see if they block Facebook too :)

    1. Code Monkey

      Deleted

      Sorry mate, I deleted mine.

  57. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Free Speech ...

    Or an invite to deliberately disrespect, provoke disharmony, hatred and backlash ?

    Maybe Muslims shouldn't get so upset about caricatures of the prophet, but everyone has something which they take exception to and is considered deeply offensive, most of it irrational from some other perspective. Just look how some puritans in the US get so irate about wearing baggy trousers, exposed underwear, Janet Jackson's nipple and nudity.

    This appears to be another case of dictating what others must tolerate with no sensitivity for their views.

    I may tolerate people smoking in my house, people crapping through my letterbox or being offensive about my religion or favoured deity, but I don't demand that others tolerate all that. I respect their views, it's common courtesy. I won't be dictated to by others' views but there is no compulsion to rub their nose in it, set out to deliberately offend.

    If I allow you to kick me in the balls it doesn't mean I automatically have every right to kick you in the nuts.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Nobody forced anybody to use Facebook

      Nobody is forcing them to use facebook. Nobody is coming to their homes and posting the cartoons through their letterbox. They use it purely out of choice, especially given that facebook is far from the only social networking site and there are other choices.

      A better analogy I think is you staying at a hotel where you know they allow smoking and then deciding to complain about the smell.

      If they have a problem with this then the solution is obvious: don't use facebook. Is that really so difficult to do?

  58. Lionel Baden

    lol

    didnt bother about it before

    now ive joined !!!

  59. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    oh no,

    now no-one will see my sketch of the great man hunched over his writing desk, plagiarising the Bible. Pity.

  60. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    Unique...

    Surely, the only religion that thinks it can make up rules that even non-members must obey.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Unique

      Then you know bugger all about religion or history...

    2. steward
      FAIL

      Only?

      Obviously you missed a quite pertinent article today:

      http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/24/copernicus_reburied/

  61. Bruno de Florence

    HJ

    How about a Draw His Jobsiness Facebook campaign?

  62. Shakje
    Stop

    Zzzzzz

    "Like the vegetarians who expect you to cater to their wants, but will not cook meat for you if you visit them, this is very similar."

    No, it isn't. Here's a fun idea, when you have to 'cater to their wants' how about everyone eats veggie food? As someone who loves a bit of rare steak I can honestly stay that veggie food is also pretty good (most of the time). If you were allergic to seafood would you cook it for someone else purely because they're your friends and they like it?

    "Can non-Muslims get alcoholic drinks easily and legally in countries like Pakistan or Saudi Arabia?"

    On that logic we're discriminating against the Dutch because we don't let them buy weed legally here.

    "Can non-Muslim women wear the same clothes they do at home?

    Can non-Muslims behave in their normal everyday way when they are in these countries?

    Can non-Muslims practice their religion, if they have one, in these countries?

    No."

    Who actually gives a toss? I don't personally agree with the way that women are treated in some extremist countries, or in the lack of religious freedom, but just because some countries are like that doesn't mean that all Muslims automatically are. Do you judge christians based on the Phelps family and the mass of creationists in The Bible Belt?

    "Secular rights are neither protected or respected by many parts of the Muslim world, and this is not the right way to get non-Muslims to respect your wishes. Grow up and stop being childish. If your faith is challenged by silly things like this, then your faith is not strong enough to withstand the fact that most of the people in the world do not share your beliefs - get over it."

    Actually I think that being so offended by something so simple is probably a sign that their faith is very strong in what they believe.

    Mr. Sanders:

    "It is a bit more like: Not all Muslims are violent, but the most vocal are, and the rest do not censor them because they also fear their retaliation, or worse, to be label as bad muslims."

    Ah, so when the Muslim community condemns people who go to extreme lengths they're not doing enough? Presumably anyone who says something you don't agree with deserves to be gagged and tied down? Maybe sent to somewhere round about the Cuban border? If they're violent they're violent, but how do you think that censoring them would be any better at all? It's equivalent to sticking your fingers in your ears and singing "terrorism doesn't exist" until you believe it. And believe it or not, if you're violent, or proclaiming violence do you think you're more or less likely to get in the news than someone condemning said belief?

    I agree with Mr. Murphy.

  63. The Beer Monster
    Grenade

    Please God/Mohammed/Jehovah/Deity of choice (delete as appropriate)

    Save me from the Muslims/Jews/Christians/Enemy of choice (delete as appropriate)

  64. BigSanta
    Flame

    All i have to say is

    What is god?

    Well,you know when you close your eyes and pray for something?

    yes !

    well he's the guy who ignores you!

  65. TeeCee Gold badge
    Coat

    I'd like to draw Mohammed.

    Anyone got a link to a picture so I can see what he looks like?

  66. shahbaaz90
    Unhappy

    I DONT GET IT..

    why does there have to be a draw Muhammad day anyway ? whats da point of this so-called "freedom of speech".. WHY ?

    i see no apparent reason.. unless ppl have way too much free time at their hands these days, and are left with nothing better to do with their pathetic lives.

    its almost as if all the resentment expressed by the Muslim population further encourages and drives u ppl to come up with such ridiculous ideas.

    if thats not the reason why this day is being celebrated, then i don't know what is. Hence, the question remains: WHY. can anyone answer please ?

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