I believe this is one fatwa we should implement

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I believe this is one fatwa we should implement
Saleema
04/13/01 at 23:41:54
FRI APR 13 2001 11:04 A.M. G.M.T.

Saudi mufti calls for boycott of Yahoo! because of porn links

RIYADH, April 13 (AFP) - Saudi Arabia's mufti, the highest religious authority in the Muslim state, recommended Muslims Friday to boycott Internet search engine Yahoo! for its role as a porn online middleman.

"I advise Muslims browsing the Internet to be wary of suspect sites that seek material interest at the expense of morals. We must boycott them," Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh told Asharq al-Aswsat newspaper.

Sheikh Abdul, who issued a fatwa last month banning the children's game Pokemon, was commenting on Yahoo!'s decision to open an online pornography store in the cutthroat fight for economic survival in the struggling Internet marketplace.

"If boycotting (Yahoo!) means it will stop posting immoral material, Muslims must boycott it," leading Saudi cleric Sheikh Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Bassam added, quoted by the paper.

The Los Angeles Times said Wednesday that Yahoo! had embraced the online porn industry, one of the few sectors of the Web that is actually profitable, in the face of an economic slowdown that has hit the Dot.com sector hard.

Yahoo!, which is accessed by 185 million people worldwide each month, posted a net loss for the first quarter of 11.5 million dollars compared with a profit of 67.6 million in the same period a year ago.

Other major, mainstream online firms have been reluctant to associate themselves with pornography, which is easily accessible through most mainstream Web portals.

The computer police in Saudi Arabia blocked access to all clubs hosted by Yahoo! last August because it was unable to control their pornographic and political content.

The kingdom, which practises a strict form of Islam, has 570,000 Internet users, giving Saudi nationals a meeting point and a window on the world.

Access to many Web sites, and particularly pornography, are blocked in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states by proxy servers implemented by government-owned Internet service providers (ISPs).

Copyright (c) 2001, AFP
Re: This is one fatwa we should NOT implement
writeamir
04/14/01 at 01:17:43
While I have some problems with BBC, I have to say that there is no major publication in the US that can hold a candle to them when it comes to reporting the real news. It makes me feel like I am in a backwards place when I see the news they offer on tv and on the internet compared to the junk we have here in the US. CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, all junk. As I said earlier, I think we should boycott all of them. Pursuant to that, here is an article from the BBC that explains why we can continue with Yahoo. Just had to get some ranting in first.

Amir

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1276000/1276438.stm
Leading internet portal Yahoo says it will
             remove pornographic products from its
             shopping, auctions and classified pages
             following an outburst of complaints from
             customers.

             They bombarded Yahoo with emails in protest
             at news that the company was expanding its
             online offerings of porn videos.

             Company president Jeff Mallett said Yahoo had
             responded swiftly to its users' concerns.

             Yahoo had offered
             adult products on its
             shopping pages -
             where the company
             gets a cut of the sales
             - for two years.

             Pornographic sites are
             one of the few
             categories on the
             internet that make a
             profit.

             Mr Mallett denied
             Yahoo had significantly increased its adult
             offerings, but said it had created a new
             category for them on its shopping pages, while
             tightening access controls to keep children
             out.

             "Our main concern is our users. Their opinion
             matters most," he said. "It's not a case of
             what has changed or not changed."

             The company also announced it would not sign
             any new contracts for banner adverts for adult
             products.

             The withdrawal of sex shopping will not be
             immediate, but the changes will be made over
             the next few weeks.

             Hard times

             The controversy comes at a bad time for
             Yahoo; its online advertising revenue, the
             source of 90% of its income in 2000, has fallen
             dramatically with the decline of dot.com
             companies.

             It posted a first-quarter
             net loss of $11.5m this
             week, compared to a
             $67.6m profit during the
             same period a year ago.

             More than 400
             redundancies, or 12%
             of the company's workforce, have been
             announced.

             On Friday, the religious authorities in Saudi
             Arabia called on the world's one billion Muslims
             to boycott Yahoo and other "sites that seek
             material interest at the expense of morals".

             Yahoo has also run into disputes over the
             existence of Nazi merchandise on its extensive
             hierarchy of sections and subsections.

             And it has come under fire for hosting online
             chats by white supremacists and other groups.
Re: I believe this is one fatwa we should implement
Moe
04/14/01 at 02:02:11
Yahoo Inc. decides to take pornographic products off its site
Updated: Fri, Apr 13 12:11 PM EDT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - Leading Internet portal Yahoo Inc. will remove pornographic products from its shopping, auctions and classifieds Web pages. The move is in response to concerns voiced by its customers following the company's expansion of its online offerings of pornographic videos this week, said Jeff Mallett, president and chief operating officer, in a statement Friday.
"We consistently strive to act responsibly and constantly evaluate our policies based on what our users tell us," Mallett said.

The company said it has offered adult products through Yahoo Shopping for two years through controlled access to the site. Yahoo had also expanded efforts to block underage shoppers, requiring buyers to register an e-mail address and enter a credit card number.

On Friday, the company also announced that it would stop entering into new contracts for banner advertisements for adult merchandise. The changes will be made in the United States over the next few weeks.


Re: I believe this is one fatwa we should implement
BroHanif
04/14/01 at 19:07:06
And what about the fatwa on citizenship in saudi, treating the poor with disregard while those in power get away with much...??? Or how about getting rid of all those places where there is a photo hanging on the wall of the ageing King Fahad ?? Or how about giving jobs to the needy muslims and not to the KUFR???. How about when the hajj season takes place the royal dignataries are treated with too much respect for example, making tawaf round the kabah is stoped because of prince and princesses. How about respecting the rights and wishes of the slaves. How about getting rid of the US Army ?How about implementing real Sharia and not man made laws.
C'mon man get real. Get to the real problem rather than just hobbling around.

Re: I believe this is one fatwa we should implement
Saleema
04/15/01 at 01:25:25
C'mon man get real. Get to the real problem rather than just hobbling around

Who are you referring to?

These are real problems too. Pornograhpy is a big problem and so is CNN. What do you want the scholars to do? Take over Saudi Arabia? There's a time for everything. And the saudi scholars aren't ignoring the issues that you pointed out, they are oppressed too, if they say something they will probably be placed under house arrest as has happened in the past. And even if they do come out with such fatwas, who will follow them?

The same people who don't listen to the fatwas on a score of other things that they do on a daily basis? Things aren't as easy as they seem, things are so much complicated. These scholars are the best of the peoples from amongst us, they know what they are doing. What you want to happen, there will have to be a revolution people will have to give up a good life, which most of us aren't willing to do. Cuz, if we did, we wouldn't even have arrived at such a pathetic state.


wassalam
Re: I believe this is one fatwa we should implement
BroHanif
04/16/01 at 12:01:01
Well how long do you expect the people to wait ...??? Either the country changes for the good or for the bad. Look at the counry of Abu Dhubai, many years ago it had good Islam, there were no women in the open with bikinis, there was no drinking, there was no prostitution. Well haven't things changed now, you see all kinds of sin being commited and in the open.

Well thats what I mean for Saudi as well, if we are not careful then the country will start to slip from what is termed as Islamic to then Muslim and from Muslim to a forward cosmopolitan muslim society. There needs to be changes in the society rather than just adhering to the wishes of the prince and princess. Don't get me wrong the scholars are doing a great job and indeed they are truly better than me, however some things you just can't brush aside.

The country needs to use it resources and use them wisely right now the country is in a favourable position with the huge oil reserves. But these things don't last forever and before they finish use their position for the good of Islam.




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