Imran Khan seeks ban on Islamophobic content on Facebook

In a bizarre letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has sought a ban on Islamophobic content similar to the prohibition put for the Holocaust on the social networking site. Khan appreciates Zuckerberg's step to rightly ban any posting that criticises or questions the Holocaust, which was the culmination of the Nazi pogrom of the Jews in Germany and across Europe.

Islamabad:Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again drawn an inexplicable parallel between Islamophobia and the Holocaust.

In a bizarre letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Khan has sought a ban on Islamophobic content similar to the prohibition put for the Holocaust on the social networking site.

In the letter that he shared on Twitter, Khan said that "growing Islamophobia" is encouraging extremism and violence "across the world" - especially through social media platforms such as Facebook.

"I would ask you to place a similar ban on Islamophobia and hate against Islam for Facebook that you have put in place for the Holocaust," he said.

Khan said that he appreciates Zuckerberg's step to "rightly ban any posting that criticises or questions the Holocaust, which was the culmination of the Nazi pogrom of the Jews in Germany and across Europe". He added that the world is witnessing a similar pogrom against Muslims.

"Unfortunately, in some states, Muslims are being denied their citizenship rights and their democratic personal choices from dress to worship," he further wrote.

On several occasions, Khan had likened hate against Islam with the Holocaust, the systematic state-sponsored killing of six million Jewish men, women, and children and millions of others by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II.

Last year, during his speech at the 74th UN General Assembly, he said: "In western society, the holocaust is treated with sensitivity because it hurts the Jewish community. So that's the same respect we ask for; do not hurt our sentiments by maligning our Holy Prophet. That is all we ask."

Pakistani Prime Minister's letter comes in the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron remarks after a French teacher was beheaded in Paris after he had shown cartoons of the Prophet during a class he was leading on free speech.

The European leader pledged to fight "Islamist separatism", which he said was threatening to take control in some Muslim communities around France.

Khan slammed Macron and said that he has "chosen to deliberately provoke Muslims"

Khan, in the letter, further said that in France, Islam has been wrongly associated with terrorism and unfortunately, a publication of blasphemous cartoons targeting Islam and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) has been allowed.

"This will lead to further polarisation and marginalisation of Muslims in France. How will the French distinguish between radical extremist Muslim citizens and the mainstream Muslim citizenry of Islam?" he asked.

Facebook on October 12 announced it would remove all content that "denies or distorts the Holocaust."

This expansion of its hate speech policies is a response to 'the well-documented rise in anti-Semitism globally and the alarming level of ignorance about the Holocaust, especially among young people', said the company.

(With inputs from ANI)