[governance] new gTLDs

Sun Aug 19 06:09:47 EDT 2012

Thanks Milton.

On Sun, Aug 19, 2012 at 7:01 AM, Milton L Mueller <mueller at syr.edu> wrote:

>  Fahd:****
>
> Thanks for the response. Here is my response.****
>
> ** **
>
> Two points here:****
>
>    - I would have preferred to say "Some Saudi Citizens" (or any other
>    appropriate phrasing) since the comments made do not reflect the opinion of
>    the Saudi government ****
>
> *[Milton L Mueller] Yes, it is the official spokesperson of the KSA, or
> at least someone claiming to be a spokesperson for the Kingdom.*
>

I can guarantee you that the person is claiming to be a spokesperson of the
KSA government and is commenting at his personal capacity. I have read his
comments, and I would never agree less that the style of commenting
is unprofessional to be submitted in the name of a government.

**
>
> Once the many TLDs that they have commented on - and I have too - are
> delegated and active, it is a matter of a simple rule on the "Great Saudi
> Arabian Firewall" (mind you with the term since it is always used for the
> Chinese Firewall) to block them all.****
>
> *[Milton L Mueller] Yes, I understand that KSA has a strict censorship
> regime. I just don’t understand how they can believe they ought to impose
> it on the rest of the world.*
>
Well, they are good friends of the West, so they have the liberty to say
and try to enforce what they believe to be right. I have to KSA several
times, and I can assure you that their censorship rules can easily be
bypassed by proxy servers and VPNs, and the government does not crack down
on those who do so.

> * *
>
> The Saudi's - and for that matter many Muslims around the world - see
> these kind of TLDs as violating to the basics of the Islamic religion.
> Islam rejects pornography, trans-sexuality, gay/lesbianism... and any other
> form of sexual act that almost every religion in this planet opposes to.**
> **
>
> *[Milton L Mueller] It is fine for followers of the Islamic religion to
> urge its adherents to reject these things. It is not acceptable for either
> side to attempt to use the force of the state to ban discussion or symbolic
> recognition of those practices on a global basis.*
>
True. But there is always no harm in speaking out. Some find strength when
speaking out at a personal capacity, while others find strength when
speaking at a governmental level. In some parts of the Arab world -
unfortunately, people feel empowered when claiming to speak on behalf of
their respective governments (they think they claims will be met by doing
so) while in fact their respective governments do not know about the whole
issue.

> *Muslims need to learn the wisdom of tolerance – just as do the
> Christians in my country who try to prevent peaceful Muslims from building
> mosques in their community. Remember, some people reject Islam – so would
> they be justified in trying to object to or ban any mention of Islam in a
> TLD? Remember too that some people reject religion, i.e. are atheists.*
>
When we oppose to something, Islam teaches us to try change it physically
(not through violence - mind you), and if not possible, via speaking out,
and if not possible, by keeping ones silence. One might not understand this
statement as it is applied in the Islamic world until one experiences it
personally.

I do agree though that Muslims must learn the wisdom of tolerating and
focusing more on the bigger picture. I have had these discussions several
times with high caliber figures, but they are never convinced. This is why
I believe the West have excelled in progressing forward while we are
following behind.

> * *
>
> P.S. I am not trying to get into any religious debates here, but I am
> trying to explain the views and concerns of the comments comming out of
> Saudi Arabia and many other Arab/Muslim countries. I myself being a father
> would strongly oppose to my kids being exposed to such TLDs at their tender
> young age.****
>
> *[Milton L Mueller] First, it is not the TLDs you are concerned about it
> is the content they harbor. Second, as a father it is your responsibility
> to watch out for what your kids are exposed to. Third, this material is
> already on the internet. Blocking TLDs will not change that.*
>
I agree, but this is part of the story. In order to ensure safer surfing to
our kids, we have to slice-and-dice them all. For example, I can control my
kids when they surf the Internet at home, but can I control them when they
are off to their friends house? This is where ensuring a clean Internet
ecosystem comes to place. Finding pornographic content under a .xxx (or any
other porn content) is easier than finding them under any other non-porno
TLDs.

BTW, I am against censoring the Internet by any means. It is us as humans
that must decide what acts we conduct.

Fahd
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