Protest erupts against Facebook invitation to draw Prophet Mohammad images

MUMBAI - Protests erupted in Mumbai on Friday against social networking site Facebook, which called on its users to draw images of Prophet Mohammad.

The Facebook organized an event, entitled “Everybody Draw Mohammad Day”, on Thursday.

Protests erupted in the city, as any representation of the Prophet is considered against the tenets of Islam and blasphemous.

Thousands of protestors took to the streets carrying banners condemning the Facebook and asking the Union Government to take drastic measures against the organizers of the competition and ban the social networking site.

“This agitation is to press for the demand to erase all those objectionable cartoons on Facebook. If the Indian government does not ban Facebook in the next 48 hours, then our agitation will be nationwide,” said Maulana Sayyed, a Member of Raza Academy.

He added Pakistan has already banned the site and if it is not banned in India, then the protest might take an ugly turn.

“If the Indian government does not ban Facebook, then the whole community of Muslims in India will protest on the streets like we did after a Danish newspaper published similar pictures of Prophet Mohammad. We do not love anyone more than our Nabi. We will not tolerate any insult to our Nabi,” said Maulana Khalil Ul Rehman, a member of Raza Academy.

On Wednesday, the Pakistan Government issued an order blocking the Facebook for an indefinite period in a bid to contain “blasphemous” material. (ANI)