FW: [governance] Halal Search Engine

Sat Sep 5 12:04:45 EDT 2009

No, there is no contradiction or paradox here at all. There is an important distinction between public, state action and private, voluntary action. In the latter context, you have the freedom to deny access to things you don't want - otherwise all other kinds of freedom are meaningless. E.g., I am a free expression absolutist in a public, political context, but that doesn't mean you can come into my living room, set up a microphone and force me and my family to listen to your views. Get it?

Of course it depends on what you mean by "deny" or "prohibit" within its community" below. If the operators of this Halal web site run around physically attacking people who don't use it, then this is a criminal issue not a free expression issue. But if a "Halal" web site cannot compel anyone to use it, then I see nothing wrong with them offering a search site for people who want to conform to whatever restrictions "Halal" means or however this group interprets it.

What are YOU suggesting - that we pass a law to force this search engine to list different sites and invade its offices and confiscarte its servers to make them offer access to more sites?

All communities, all editorial policies, all websites, by definition, include some things and not others.
--MM

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Wouldn't that be a paradox to apply the "right to freedom of assoication" to a community if it were to deny within its community the same right to freedom of association to its members? Or deny the freedom of expression if any of the community's members were to say anything good or positive about other communities or beliefs?

I am not jumping into a conclusion that the halal search engine would have such an attitude. But if an imaginary entity were to establish a web-space by asserting its right to freedom of association and freedom of expression, and then influences (if not prohibit) its members the freeedom of association with any other community with an opposing or different ideology, would you still consider the right to the freedom-restricting entity's right to freedom valid?

Thankyou
Sivasubramanian Muthusamy

On Fri, Sep 4, 2009 at 11:48 PM, Milton L Mueller <mueller at syr.edu<mailto:mueller at syr.edu>> wrote:
There are millions of "closed communities" on the Internet. The right to establish customised and special applications for your own idiosyncratic community is as inviolable as (indeed, part of) the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression.

Milton Mueller
Professor, Syracuse University School of Information Studies
XS4All Professor, Delft University of Technology
------------------------------
Internet Governance Project:
http://internetgovernance.org<http://internetgovernance.org/>

________________________________
From: Sivasubramanian Muthusamy [mailto:isolatedn at gmail.com<mailto:isolatedn at gmail.com>]
Sent: Friday, September 04, 2009 2:08 PM
To: governance at lists.cpsr.org<mailto:governance at lists.cpsr.org>; Meryem Marzouki
Subject: Re: [governance] Halal Search Engine
Hello,

It is not amusing. This could inspire other religious groups to start Kosher search engines, satvic search engines ?? Such divisions could create closed Internet communities.

Usually, Internet communities are specialized groups that do not restrain or prohibit the members of the community from being a part of any other community; religious communities with a restrained attitude could emerge to be communities that restrain or influence (if not prohibit) its members from being a part of other communities.

Sivasubramanian Muthusamy
On Fri, Sep 4, 2009 at 3:32 PM, Meryem Marzouki <marzouki at ras.eu.org<mailto:marzouki at ras.eu.org>> wrote:
Very funny indeed. I'm eagerly waiting for the www.iamharam.com<http://www.iamharam.com> search engine (the domain name is still free BTW).
But after all, simply a targetted form of blocking: isn't blocking all about "unethical" websites, whatever the "ethic" reference?
But what is *really* clever with this is the possibilities of really well targeted advertisement.

Le 4 sept. 09 à 10:26, Shahzad Ahmad a écrit :

Dear Colleagues,

Do you know something about this "HALAL" Search Engine...  www.iamhalal.com<http://www.iamhalal.com/>
It seems that now cyberspace is heading towards religious divisions also... This search engine only wants to focus Muslim Internet Users. Couldn't figure out that who is behind it?

They claim to be blocking ALL "unethical" websites... I reckon a new interesting form of blocking..isn't it? I also feel that this search engine wants to develop their business "using" religion :)

It is very funny... they have somehow arranged 3 levels of searches being Haram... Don't know the logic behind it though as how they decided these levels. Level 3 is the serach at top most level... which they think is really really haram.

For example, put "Sex" in the search area, it is haram at level 3 (BTW how "sex" can be haram ;)). If you search "Penis", it is at Level 2 of being haram and "Breasts" are also at level 2 ;))) See for yourself, am not attaching the screen shots :)

Would really love to hear your thoughts on this... particularly, if someone know that how will it work...and who is behind it?

best wishes
Shahzad
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