And So I Left Facebook..

"I believe this has been VERY biased and shamelessly blasphemous an act by the Facebook administration to not ban the group "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day". In addition to getting my protest registered in black and white, I am deactivating my Facebook account for the next couple of days. This status msg would stay here for a while so as to ask all others affected to join as well."

A few hours later, my Facebook account deactivation form bore this deactivation reason:

"I condemn Facebook for not banning the event of "Everybody Draw Muhammad". I am utterly disappointed in Facebook for explicitly associating itself with extremism and racial/(anti)religious fundamentalism, and that too, via the most heinous form of Freedom of Expression. Since Facebook, despite being a global 'social' networking site, has failed to control and ban things that are hurtful to my feelings and those of my nation,  I find it below my dignity and against my self respect to keep using it." 

I wish there was more that I could do, in addition to asking for a 'dislike' button for a note shared at a friend's profile, and which read:

Please be patient and offer durood. Think of what the Prophet S.A.W. would have done. He would have smiled and forgiven them (the blasphemers) for their lack of understanding. Lets show the same tolerance as that of our beloved Prophet S.A.W. and stop participating in this useless condemnation.

I wonder how 'beloved' is this beloved? And is this the same cool display of patience they would have expressed had the target been one of their really loved ones? 

At another forum shared this opinion:

1. The act of being infuriated at the blasphemy does NOT need justfication. One may choose to be not affected by it (the blasphemous act), which is absolutely one's own choice (or misfortune I would think). People jump into fights over their females 'universally' and all around the globe no one finds the need to justify what is that prompts that act of taking up the fight for the sake of a female. No one questions what makes that one female so special for that man. And this Freedom to Love is what keeps the multibillion Cinema Industry the world over. For some, their religious beliefs could be as, or if luck allows, more dear than their blue eyed of the opposite gender. 
2. The response to blasphemy is NOT blasphemy. According to the Muslim faith, each messenger of God is a common messenger. So anything blasphemous about Jesus or Moses is blasphemous for a Muslim.
3. The violation of RIGHTS versus valuing RIGHTS. The right to independent speech and freedom of expression does not have limitless radius. "Liberty too, must be limited in order to be possessed". No one questions their freedom of free speech/expression as long as it does not not come in clash with one's BASIC human right to respect: Respect of Belief being one of them. I for one, value MY right to be respected as a responsible (and tolerant to their religious beliefs) individual, and wont surrender it for their reckless and most maliciously used right of free speech.
4. Being upset at blasphemy is NOT a statement of the degree of the goodness of faith. Hence people should stop worrying about " others' " hypocrisy.

PS:

• The FB administration has been quite brazenly biased towards this whole issue, WHICH basically has been the reason for the enhanced reaction. I myself am a witness to a petition which bore 30 k signatures for the removal of the page, whereas the FB administration HAD asked for 1500 signatures for the page removal; whereas according to Facebook ToS, " We do not tolerate hate speech. Targeting people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or disease is a serious violation of our standards".

• This post is NO certification of piety.

• Part of this post has been published elsewhere as FaDebook. To read that and the subsequent comments, please click here

A very eye opening read one facebook two faces-one is real ugly
Another relevant read Everybody Draw Hate Day

Image Courtesy: Teaching students to take a stand against hate