The story that rattled a website…

After my story was published, the administration of Millat Facebook tried for many days to publish a contradiction.

This is the seventh instalment of an eight-part special feature, where we look back at some of the major stories of 2013 through the eyes of those who covered them.



                      The story: After two years, Millat Facebook is on the verge of collapse




The story behind the story

The first and foremost rule for any business is to hit the market at the right time. But if a religious element is included in the product that’s being introduced in a country such as Pakistan, where religious values are strong, that becomes the icing on the cake.

Makka cola, Zam Zam Cola, Madni channel, a marriage bureau ‘Madni Rishtay,’ Islamic Banking and Suffa School are a few examples of this.

What I am going to share with you is somewhat different from the above mentioned, but in line with having an religious name. I’m talking about Millat Facebook.



It was May 25, 2010, when a Lahore-based group launched the website, declaring it an Islamic rival of Facebook. The launch came six days after the Lahore High Court issued an order banning Facebook, as a user had commenced a competition called ‘Everyone Draw Muhammad PBUH Day.’ The mover of this petition, Muhammad Azhar Siddique Advocate, is one of the people behind Millat Facebook.

From a business point of view, the timing of the launch was perfect, as access to Facebook was blocked. However, as access to Facebook was restored soon - around after a week - the survival of Millat Facebook was suddenly in danger.

In an interview, the CEO told me that they have taken this step only to serve and there was no commercial aspect – nor will there ever be – to Millat Facebook. However, I could not digest his statement.

The administration of Millat Facebook adopted different tactics to make it popular and even managed to get some religious scholars to issue a fatwa against Facebook. Then, after two years, I was able to find out how Millat Facebook was campaigning to collect donations. As expected, it was also in the name of Islam.

“We are asking for a contribution from you that will help us towards our goal of keeping this Peaceful Social Network run forever,” the campaign said.

When I received this information on December 10, 2012, the mystery in my mind was finally solved. Once the story was published in February, the administration of Millat Facebook tried for many days to publish a contradiction, saying the piece was defacing their image. Although the administration did not contradict the information, they countered it by saying that it is common practice for websites, including Wikipedia, to publicly ask for donations.

Millat Facebook is in its third year but the administration must have reckoned that mixing faith with business does not always click. One hopes they will keep this in mind in the future before raising baseless allegations against rivals.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2014.