Iran Shocked by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Condemnation of Religious Crackdown
THE TELEGRAPH: Not content with taking on America and the West, Iran's combative president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has attacked a key policy of his supporters in the religious establishment.

Mr Ahmadinejad baffled conservatives in the ruling elite by declaring his opposition to the annual crackdown on "immodest appearance and behaviour" in the young.

Police use the onset of summer to issue fines to women found wearing make-up and nail polish, or figure-hugging clothes. Veils are tightened to stop showing so much hair, with light, nearly transparent head-coverings a particular target. Men deemed to be 'harassing' women while driving are also stopped.

In a television interview marking the anniversary of his re-election, Mr Ahmadinejad said he did not approve, and that the police actions were "designed to create tumult".

"The government does not agree with this behaviour and will respond to and control it as much as it can," he said. "It is an insult to ask a man and woman walking on the steet about their relation to each other. Nobody has the right to ask such questions." >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, June 17, 2010

Saudi Arabia: 'Pure' Islamic Alternative to YouTube Launched
LOS ANGELES TIMES: In a move to preserve religious and moral values in cyberspace, a group of unidentified Saudis have launched a "clean" Islamic alternative to the leading video-sharing site YouTube.

It's called NaqaTube.

Naqa means "pure" in Arabic. The website offers a collection of edited and Islamically "clean" clips from YouTube under the banner, “Participate with us in a clean website."

Site administrators censor video clips that express critical views of the government, Islamic scholars and members of the Saudi royal family.

In keeping with Saudi Arabia's strict religious and moral codes, music videos and clips featuring women are also banned. Any music videos on NaqaTube must adhere to Islamic rules.

Abu Ibraheem, the handle of a NaqaTube moderator, assured in an interview with the Saudi English-language daily Arab News that all footage on NaqaTube is "religiously safe."

The clips, he said, are often edited before being posted. Visitors also can use its online tool to edit their own footage before uploading it to the site.

Abu Ibraheem told the paper that he hopes NaqaTube will some day rival YouTube, perhaps by decreasing the number of visitors to YouTube.

But for now NaqaTube will have to wait. It has attracted only 5,000 to 6,000 visitors since its launch this summer, Abu Ibraheem said.

Plans are in the pipeline to launch NaqaTube in languages other than Arabic.

The vast majority of clips on NaqaTube have religious themes. Visitors are offered a spectrum of more than 10 channels, including a science-themed one and a site featuring children's cartoon clips.

Viewers are also offered countless clips of religious scholars giving lectures and debating Islamic rules on talk shows.
Abu Ibraheem stressed that NaqaTube is promoting "moderate" Islamic teachings and "nothing extreme."

NaqaTube isn't the first religious counterpart of YouTube. Other examples include JewTube, Islamic[t]ube, and GodTube (now called tangle.com), which describes itself as using "technology to connect Christians for the purpose of encouraging and advancing the Gospel worldwide."

NaqaTube comes as Saudi Arabia tries to censor Internet content deemed harmful to its values.

The initiative, titled Saudi Flag[g]er, includes 200 volunteers who search YouTube for inappropriate content.

Once a racy clip is found, a member of the campaign flags it. Users are then encouraged to complain to YouTube administrators that the video contains “hateful or abusive content” that “promotes hatred or violence” against religious groups, according to the campaign's website. >>> Alexandra Sandels in Beirut | Sunday, September 06, 2009