The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has appealed to YouTube for its decision for the late Dr. Israr Ahmed-powered YouTube channel blocked for hate speech.
“This unilateral shutdown of Dr. Israr Ahmed, a prominent Muslim scholar, raises questions about the arbitrary boundaries of opinion online,” the PTA said in a call to YouTube on Tuesday.
Sources in the PTA said the TV station in question had previously posted videos of Dr. Israr Ahmed, who tried to shed light on the socio-economic order envisioned by the Holy Quran. The PTA argued that such videos were only intended to "educate viewers".
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YouTube blocked the channel after Jewish groups complained that their programs contained content inciting hatred against them. The channel of Dr. Israr had nearly three million subscribers and his lectures were admired by a large number of people in the West. The channel created by the son of Dr. Israr Ahmed shows records of the ancient scholar's speeches.
Meanwhile, the Reuters news agency reported that the blocked YouTube Dr Israr channel had a total audience of 2.6 billion viewers.
These include his view of the end of the world in light of the Qur'anic verses and the place of the Jews in history. A student of Dr Israr Ahmed condemned the move as a violation of the West's freedom of expression.
Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza said on his own YouTube channel that the move betrayed the West's double standards.
"They have only responded to complaints from Jewish groups without listening to the other side," he said. The complaints filed with YouTube expressed fears that Dr. Israel's "sermons could lead to Muslim violence against Jews in the West".
