“Yes, even my blood boils when someone insults my Prophet (pbuh) …. But that does not give individuals the right to kill,” says Hamza Ali Abbasi. PHOTO: HAMZA ALI ABBASI FACEBOOK PAGE
On Sunday evening, Abbasi posted on his verified Facebook page, which is followed by 1.6 million people, that the social media website had removed his post and warned him after deactivating his profile.
According to a screenshot of the removed post that Abbasi uploaded, Facebook said they had removed it since it violated its community standards. It was not clear under which aspects of the community standards was the post removed.
Abbasi, a former civil service trainee, tried to explain in the post under which circumstances executions are permitted in Islamic law and who can carry them out. He goes on to explain that despite the nature of some of the cartoons printed by publications such as Charlie Hebdo, which have caused riots in Pakistan before, it did not give anyone the right to commit murder.
“Yes, even my blood boils when someone insults my Prophet (pbuh) …. But that does not give individuals the right to kill.”
He went on to argue that while freedom of speech should “include criticism, disagreement or even rejection of faiths or ideology… but should not and must not allow “insult”.”
Abbasi urged the West to revisit and fix its definition of ‘freedom of speech,’ adding that failure to do so would result in someone from the vast community of Muslims may go “ballistic and kill unjustly.”
The actor is quite vocal on social media and regularly shares his opinions on issues with his fans.
COMMENTS (70)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1714558558-0/It-Ends-With-Us-(1)1714558558-0-165x106.webp "article")
1734857121-0/Untitled-design-(59)1734857121-0-270x192.webp "k p launches kurram peshawar helicopter service amid tensions")
The post was taken down not because of freedom of speech, but because his implied threat to initiate an act of terrorism (last line). Any such threat should not be tolerated in any social forum because it defeats the purpose of debate. Facebook did the right thing by taking down the post only if it was because of the last line in this post starting with "Otherwise..."
ET is a good example of censoring comments and disallowing freedom of speech. There is no clear policy. I am surprised they have even published this report and are allowing trolls to bash Pakistan and Islam.. I am sure they will not allow this comment to be published like numerous other comments of mine..
@Karachi_wali: (He is working on establishing his political career and he should be responsible for his use of words....) Well he has got the attention he was seeking, has he not? In Pakistan, his political career will get a boost if he defends his faith even if such a defense looks shallow to others.
Our so called leader is sleeping we need to take action and save our religion. So for that we need to post and tweet like Hamza Ali Abbasi, Because this the only way for us to to defeat that people.
West need to correct their definition of " Freedom of Expression". Wrong Number he Bhaiiii.
West need to correct their definition of " Freedom of Expression", Because it is a Wrong Number Bhaiiii.
@Kashif: Well said. I would not have put it better myself. Nobody invited the muslims to go and settle in an European nation. It was their choice. Implied in that choice is the fact that they have agreed to abide by the rule of the land. Well, the muslims (many, not all) in these countries do not try to integrate. They are following Islam freely as these nations allow them to but they are not willing to respect the most fundamental of the law, freedom of expression. A muslim from Pakistan is nobody to tell the French what Freedom of expression is all about. With the French, it is an article of faith. One of the cartoons from the same magazine makes fun of the Pope. Some of the other cartoons on Islam may be termed offensive but in a funny sort of way. If you have a sense of humor (which most muslims don't), you will just laugh at it. This Pakistani author whose facebook post got rejected should introspect. What kind of society Pakistan is evolving into. With Hudood laws, blasphemy laws, terrible way minorities are treated, it is even amusing that a Pakistani is telling the French what to do and what not to do.
Nothing Mr. Abbasi said is racist or insulting to any person or institution . He merely cautions against the like hood of violent reaction from demented persons take it as a caution and not an apology for the savages. Face Book shame on you -hiding behind such flimsy notions is demeaning - your intolerant face is showing kindly amend Community Standard to tolerate such criticism and let's see a tolerant face
@Rudolph: P. Afzal is the man!
"Insult" is a subjective matter. This is why freedom of expression must include it.
Freedom of thought is the greatest virtue of mankind. Animals are not so blessed.
Seriously crappy analogy. Racism is crime against fellow humans. It directly impacts an individual not just mentally but socially and physically too. Insult to religion does no direct harm to anyone besides hurting their sentiments. Sentiments are ones own to control and make strong and is not other's responsibility. Go ahead and praise hitler and see if the Jews go into killing spree the way some muslims do. There is no way to quantify how much freedom is too much freedom. If you don't like it don't watch it or read it. You cant say others not to speak it.
@Hameed: you're missing the main point which is apparently there is no freedom of speech in facebook
@roarwali: In his last sentence he has threatened for something to happen. That is what's wrong.
Wow, most people in the comments section have criticized Hamza for his post (where they think he has gone just abit overboard) but fail to condemn and address the root cause. Noone has the right to insult anyone's beliefs whatsoever. I do not support violence at any cost but totally agree with Hamza's post on FB. Its not about the noon goons or PTI matwaalaas here. Its about insulting one's beliefs in the name of freedom of expressions.
P.s. I still don't get why people always complaint against ET for censorship. I have seen the most absurd and rude comments against ET published here.
FB should restore this. Else it would be clear sign that what happened in Paris was a conspiracy against Islam. Abbasi is dead right but others at FB don't have the courage to print it and those who hatched the conspiracy see their plan falling apart due to Abbasi's post.
Most websites have automated moderation and FB is very likely to have the same. Going by the content there is very much a reason for the post to get flagged and blocked .
Secondly when people do any kind of murder they r punished and condemned. Branding someone as a racist versus murdering someone for using a specific word are two very different things which somehow people are not able to understand.
And the N word is used all the time in stand up comedy shows by black themselves. Racism in comedy shows is very very normal in West.
Well its pretty simple; you dont meet the community standards, your post will be removed. (and its mostly automated. which means that the system is unbiased and its not about us vs them) The post gives a threat at the end, so it got removed. "...not clear under which aspects of the community standards was the post removed..." Threat! Please see the first section of the community standards.
Where are western funded NGOs, and what will they say now... Bolo bhi..!
I disagree with Mr Abbasi on most matters but I must support him on this. He said nothing that was objectionable. And most of what he said makes sense
ET has no right to take up freedom of expression as it suppresses freedom of expression in its comment section through very clear bias .
His explanation of y they were wrong is from Islamic point of view !! He only points out the muslim police officer's death ! He compares being called racist or anti-sematic after saying racist and anti sematic stuff to killing people?? words against ruthlessly taking lives ! And the last line beginning with an otherwise Threat ! Although we they were wrong although they were unjustified yet you should learn to speak?? Or else they will continue ??? Seriously this did not deserve a block ?? Although Tribune will block my comment they complain of Western censorship of hate speech !! Also I read the post on FB itself !
Sounds more like a threat,
There are no limits to free speech, even hate speech falls within bounds of freedom of expression.
Mr kalashwala his words may be offensive to you or let me put he may be 100 % wrong but does that justify removing his post? is this freedom of expression? About french reaction, didn't you read about attacks on mosques after this incident. Why are they doing it. Does Islam authorized attacks on Charlie Hebdo or would you defend that as their right to express?
@Chachoo: Sir which Clause of the constitution says "a Non Muslim is not allowed to vote a Muslim and the state have the right to declare someone a Non Muslim"
@Sahil: What we have ignored is that the last sentence of his post somehow conveys a flavor of threat. Otherwise his post is similar to what other people including western world have said so far.
When you've more 1.5 million followers, it's appropriate to be selective in your choice of words.
Ummm...did you read his last sentence? He justified the murder in his last sentence. That's not free speech, that's incitement to violence. You do understand the difference between the two right?
Mr Abbasi is nothing but attention seeker. His last line tried justifying the killing which I totally disagree with. We are Muslims, not cave men who talk about kiling people. Nobody deserves to die without a proper trial. Yes we are hurt and upset about the cartoons and how 'some' western media is talking about Muslims but please, stay calm and think logically, instead of proving them right that all Muslims do is talk about killing people. I am glad Mr Abbasi is banned since he does nothing but spread negativity.
Wuth all due respect people like Mr. Abbasi abuse freedom of expression to create confusion by spinning anti-west conspiracy theories, ironically using Western technology and medium. Even then the post would've been published, had it not been Mr Abbasi's bad choice of racist slurs and innuendos to incite violence.
Good luck to this gentleman in getting a visa to travel abroad.
There is a place for all you people who subscribe to 1000-year old ideologies - right HERE where you belong. If you don't like heat, stay out of the kitchen. Simple really. Abbasi's blood boils for a lot of reasons and my blood boils when I read that post on FB. The blackmailing and killing must stop.
So what? Its their site you have to follow their rules and by the way you agreed to follow their terms and conditions when you signed up on the site so stop whining now. Don't like facebook? Don't use it. Simple. If your feelings get hurt so easily don't even use the internet. It can give you a heart attack.
I don't know why Hamza Ali is creating this melodrama. He is working on establishing his political career and he should be responsible for his use of words. The dramatic turn of "otherwise..." in his post is no where to be call as COOL.
@Parvez: His opinion that freedom of expression must be exercised with a sense of responsibility would be shared by many including me.
Where I have a problem and indeed do would Facebook is where he gives an implied threat that if such 'insults' continue some Muslim may get violent.
What happened in the Sydney Cafe incident- did they give implied threats against Muslims? No. On the contrary 'I will ride with you' trended on Twitter. Similarly even in France , has any senior government leader used this event as a handle to whip up anti-Muslim feeling? No. What about mainstream French media? Same answer.
In contrast when the Danish cartoons were published in Denmark, hysteria was systemically whipped up in countries where those cartoons were never even published.
Also one particular religious book asks that those who go not follow that religion should be humiliated. So should the atheists or practitioners of other religion get this book banned and issue death threats against anyone who quotes from this book?
Anything said against Muslims and Islam is freedom of expression. Rest is violation of community standards. RIP International justice!!
His post most probably got deleted because of the use of the N word. I guess it was an automated ban. However, as a Pakistani, I don't take too well to his last line, where he is clearly threatening that someone from among the muslims will go ballistic and attack again. Hamza has always been immature politically (those who have read his previous posts on Facebook and Twitter would agree), but he does enjoy a huge fan base due to his acting career, and cannot say such things to his fans, many of whom are young and impressionable.
This is a ridiculous article. Posts on fb are frequently removed when considered offensive. Hamza used the N-word. This is considered very offensive in the developed world. Also it sounds threatening to say that one of 'us' might go ballistic. Moderate Muslims put in effort to try and distance themselves from extremists in words and in action. Hamza didn't do anyone a service by implying that Muslims are unpredictable and angry and any of us can go "ballistic" at any point.
While I differ with Mr Abbassi (our very popular Piyara Afzal)'s stance on PTI, his article in question was spot on and should not have been censored.
@Ch Allah Daad why should anyone let himself or herself dictated by you @Kashif Reason why Islamophobia exist is because of history; European always viewed Islam as enemy and even now some of the European elite viewed Islam as a threat. Note this is same place where Nazim and Anti Semitism thrives and now it it turn of Islam
IMO, the only justifiable restriction on freedom of speech is is when there is incitement or condoning of violance. Abbasi implicitaly condoned the violance.
@Shakil:
"Racism is crime but insulting religions is fine!"
Most Muslims miss the point here. Criticizing or mocking an ideology doesn't carry the moral equivalency to racism. Adherents of an ideology can't demand that non-adherents respect their views. An ideology by its very nature should be questioned, challenged and sometimes disrespected if it is against humanity. People can/should respect one's belief, but can't be expected to respect the belief itself.
@Kashif: When those nasty cartoons were first drawn, less than one percent of the people in West became aware of them but thanks to few Islamic extremists who made them famous all over the world. In any free society such provocative material should be ignored but or if response is necessary, then it should be limited, peaceful and calculated. Writing a condemnation letter, organizing a rally or making demands to change laws are the only means available. Resorting to violence and demanding restrictions on free speech from societies who have sacrificed millions of lives to attain this freedom is nonsense and would backfire sooner or later. We, the Muslims should feel lucky, that West's response to this tragedy is very civilized. What would we do, if every magazine, newspaper and TV outlet in West had published and shown those cartoons next day in solidarity with the victims?
@UJ: you are right. ET often censors my comments because I write as I see it. I am also against apologists of islam who after every massacre get up and say oh but Islam is a religion of peace and then go to the mosques to either hear or give a hate sermon.
"...someone will go ballistic..." What a ridiculous statement by Abbasi. Did the French go ballistic and start rounding up Muslims in France ? And put them in concentration camps? Because some Muslim or Muslims may go "ballistic". Remember, Hitler did this. He first disenfranchise a religious group. Then rounded them up and put them in concentration camps. Again, it was done very recently, in the Balkans, Muslim were rounded up and put in death camps, in the former Yugoslavia,..Serbia,..Does anyone remember this? President Clinton saved them. None of the Muslim countries did ANYTHING. NADA, NOTHING. Mr. Abbasi, please do not make ridiculous remarks.
Personally, I feel the reason why the post was deleted was because Hamza, being a public celebrity and having a verified account mentioned the use of the 'N' word, be it in whatever context, although I could be wrong.
I am a programmer myself and my friends work in facebook. Let me tell you that Facebook officials dont look at every post rather they have a mechanism where posts with certain words and phrases are censored automatically. Secondly if some comment is flagged by many users then the admins take a look at it. In this case Hamza Openly used the N* Word is considered very racist and is automatically flagged. In America and in the West using the N word is not tolerated when some personality use that word. Also i am a Pakistan but sometimes it feels so much funny when Pakistani majority complains about freedom of Speech as a Pakistan . Our Constitution of Pakistan have taken the basic right of Preaching from minorities, a Non Muslim is not allowed to vote a Muslim and the state have the right to declare someone a Non Muslim is the worst form of curtailment of free speech. We want to teach the world many lessons but we will never put our house in order at all. All i know that we will be isolated in future and the doors of Immigration will be closed on us sooner than later.
His post incites violence, uses the N-word, and can be categorized as a part of hate speech, which is banned on facebook.
@Yasir: Even now you miserable PMLN goons are talking politics!
@Ch. Allah Daad: You mean show unity with the West? Shame on you for being such a coward, no wonder you're a PMLN supporter.
The elephant in the room will never be adressed.
Why are these cartoons drawn in the first place.
When someone makes a cartoon on stoning or beheading, why is he doing that? Because someone is carrying out these punishments, or because many muslims refuse to renounce these punishments as barbaric?
Part of the reason why Islamophobia is on rise in Europe, is because many muslim ulema in Europe refuse to take a clear cut stance against barbarity.
Yeah stoning women is fine, as long as you follow the rules. Capital punishment for apostasy is fine, but there are certain rules. Hit women, but lightly. And so on.
If they said these things are barbaric and wrong, full stop. Then made this the prevalent mindset, they would do muslims in Europe a huge favour. Leave no room for ambiguity, just say its wrong.
Obviously , You don't even need religion to discuss these issues in the first place. The very fact that religion encompasses all aspects of life, has lead to a lot of failure in muslim nations. But the solution for that seems to be even more religious interference in worldly matters.
Use religion to solve matters of spirituality, use worldly knowledge to solve worldly matters. Formula works for western europe, why are muslims hesitant to adopt it?
Exactly Hamza, you definitely don't have the freedom of speach dear. And you must know why. How many people fb will block just because they won't be allowed to express what they feel. Sad very sad with double standards of western world.
Freedom of speech .... must be exercised with responsibility. I am no fan of Hamza as he tends to go ' over the top ' most times but here I must agree with him.
Racism is crime but insulting religions is fine! having said that terrorism is not the way to go, terrorists have no religion but mislead minds or paid mercenaries/proxies!
@Ch. Allah Daad: Very good enunciated.
Now is the time to condemn those scumbags who killed innocent people and show unity with rest of the world. Discussions, ifs and buts are for some other time. When people like Hamza Ali Abbasi are flogged in Saudi Arabia, its West and their freedom loving people who stand with such freedom lovers. No free thinker should forget this reality.
This is hypocrisy on the part of Facebook. There is nothing wrong what he said.
is that you call freedom ?
Why ET is complaining? ET moderators regularly suppress the freedom of expression in the comment sections. Why double standard by ET?
what else what could expect from theses Taliban apologists like abbasi!
100% Agree with Hamza Ali Abbasi. Facebook itself violated freedom of expression
Apologists of terrorists should be banned from face book.
Being selective in freedom, how surprising /sarcasm.
Anyone see the irony here. They have the right to mock and insult Islam but we don't have the right to say anything they don't like.
If only he invested his time in his own website instead of Zuckerberg's. No one could censor him on his own website. But I guess such things are not for Pakistanis.