Pakistani Prime Minister Requests Facebook To Ban Islamfobia Content

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Recently, the social media Facebook was enlivened by a group acting on behalf of Islamophobia. Seeing that, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan asked Facebook to block Islamophobic content containing hate speech.

In a letter shared by the Pakistani government on Twitter, Imran Khan said that "growing Islamophobia" is driving extremism and violence around the world - especially through social media platforms such as Facebook.

"I would ask you to place a similar ban against Islamophobia and hatred of Islam on Facebook that you did for the Holocaust," Khan said, Monday, October 26.

My letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to ban Islamophobia just as Facebook has banned questioning or criticizing the holocaust. pic.twitter.com/mCMnz9kxcj

- Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 25, 2020

"One cannot send a message that while messages of hatred against some are unacceptable, these messages can be received against others. A reflection of prejudice and bias that will drive further radicalization," he added.

Responding to Khan, Mark Zuckerberg's social media network said they were against all forms of hatred and did not allow attacks based on race, ethnicity, national origin or religion.

Facebook said this month it was updating its hate speech policy to ban any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust.

"We will remove this hate speech as soon as we become aware of it. The company has a lot more work to do," a Facebook spokesperson told Reuters.

In his letter, Khan also referred to the situation in France, where Islam is currently associated with acts of terrorism. Khan said, previously French President Emmanuel Macron attacked Islam by supporting the screening of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

On the other hand, Khan's comments came after Macron paid tribute to a French history teacher who was beheaded by an unknown person. The motive for the killing was claimed to want to retaliate against the use of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in class about freedom of expression.