Google to Be Monitored for Anti-Islamic Content by Pakistan
THE TELEGRAPH: Google is among several high-profile websites which Pakistan is to begin monitoring in an attempt to block content it deems anti-Islamic.

Google to be monitored by Pakistan for anti-Islamic content. Photo: The Telegraph
Seven major websites, including Google and Yahoo, will be monitored and 17 lesser-known sites are being blocked outright for alleged blasphemous material under court orders.

The moves follow a temporary ban that Pakistan imposed on Facebook in May.

The sites to be monitored include Yahoo, Google, YouTube, Amazon and MSN, Hotmail and Bing from Microsoft, according to a spokesman for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.

He added: "If any particular link with offensive content appears on these websites, the (link) shall be blocked immediately without disturbing the main website."

Scott Rubin, a spokesman for Google, responded that the company intends, in turn, to monitor how the new policies affect access to its services.

He said: "Google and YouTube are platforms for free expression, and we try to allow as much ... content as possible on our services and still ensure that we enforce our policies."

Yahoo said Pakistan's actions were disappointing. Microsoft and Amazon did not respond immediately. >>> Andy Bloxham and Asif Shahzad | Saturday, June 26, 2010

'Islamophobia' a Threat to World Security, Say Muslim States
AFP: DAKAR (AFP) — The world's Muslim countries warned Wednesday that an "alarming" rise in anti-Islamic insults and attacks in the West has become a threat to international security.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) called on Europe and America to take stronger measures against 'Islamophobia' in a report prepared for a summit of the group's 57 members in Dakar on Thursday and Friday.

The report by a special OIC monitoring group said the organisation was struggling to get the West to understand that Islamophobia "has dangerous implications on global peace and security" and to convince western powers to do more.

Islamic leaders have long warned that perceptions linking Muslims to terrorism, especially since the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States, would make Muslims more radical.

The West must understand that "the war against terror cannot be successful without the support of Muslim countries," said the report.

OIC leaders have expressed renewed concern following events such as the publication in Denmark of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed and a plan by the Dutch far-right MP Geert Wilders to release a film calling the Koran "fascist".

The OIC said Islam had faced constant attacks since it was created "but in recent years the phenomenon has assumed alarming proportions and has become a major cause of concern for the Muslim world."

The monitoring group called on Europe and North America to do more, through laws and social action, to protect Muslims from threats and discrimination and prevent insults against Islam's religious symbols. 'Islamophobia' a Threat to World Security, Say Muslim States >>>

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