Penutupan Facebook

Hotel Murah di Jakarta - Pakistan, Wednesday (19/05/2010), block Facebook in the middle of a scene that linked increased competition to design a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in the social networking site.

The contest theme "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" on Facebook that gets angry and provoked the reaction of street demonstrations in the Muslim-majority country is. Lahore High Court decision was a response to a petition filed by the Movement of Muslim Lawyers. The court had ordered Pakistan's Internet regulators to block Facebook.

The lawyers for the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority argued that it should only pages that mention should be removed from Facebook, but the judge Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry ordered all social networking sites were banned starting Wednesday. Thus, users also lose access to Facebook about two hours later.

Rai Bashir, a lawyer who was involved in this case, say, Facebook blasphemy. "There are so many insults to the prophet on the internet and that is why we felt compelled to bring this case," he said. "All Muslims in Pakistan and the world will support us," Bashir was quoted as saying by the Telegraph added.

In Islam, the visualization of the Prophet Muhammad is widely regarded as something that offends. The Qur'an does not explicitly forbid images of the Prophet Muhammad, but a number of Hadith, or interpretations of the Islamic holy book, forbids figural representation.

Lahore High Court ordered the closure of Facebook until May 31, after the date of the contest ended, and hoped there was another trial of the case.

Cartoon contest was based on the idea of artist Molly Norris of Seattle, who have posted a cartoon on its website that consists of a chair, rolls of cotton, cherries, and a number of other things that is claimed to be the Prophet Muhammad. However, Norris said, the idea was just a joke.

It was intended as a protest against censorship of the television show South Park. U.S. cartoon recently showing the Prophet Muhammad wearing a bear suit. Norris added that he was horrified that his criticism had been turned into a competition on Facebook.

This is not the first time the Pakistani people reacted angrily over depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in 2006 when cartoons, originally published in a Danish newspaper, reprinted around the world. Five people were killed when demonstrations turned into riots.