Facebook is still in tension over protests against its new privacy policy and now a new issue has come up and this time it involves religion!

Pakistan, a Muslim country, has blocked parts of Facebook which offend Islam. This entire issue started when a Facebook user created a page titled “Draw Mohammad Day” which invited users to send their drawing of Muslim prophet. This has created a rage amongst the muslims.

Ban on Facebook was imposed by the Lahore High Court and it will remain till May 31. If you may remember, five years ago (2005), a Danish newspaper published an offensive cartoon of Muhammad which started several protests in Muslim countires.

As soon as the ban was imposed by the court, the Pakistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority banned the link.

Kurram Mehran, spokesman for the Pakistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, said, “We were instructed by the Ministry of Information Technology to block a link.”

Pakistan is the country with the second most Musilm population after Indonesia.

As a facebook user, I fail to understand why some users do stuff like this. Needless to say, Facebook should ban such groups and a lot of people find them offensive.

This issue has led to formation of several other related groups on Facebook such as “Everybody Draw Muhammad.” Here is a quote from the group,

“We would like to encourage you all to add and share Muhammad’s photos, as this will only enrage some people.”

What do you think about this issue?  What actions should authorities take?