Pakistan's Muslim Alternative To 'Blasphemer' Facebook Is Failing
MillatFacebook, a Pakistani Muslim social network built to oppose the "blasphemer" Facebook, is begging its users for funds to pay its server bills and may close down, according to The Express Tribune.
MillatFacebook has about 467,000 users, its owners claim. Facebook has about 8 million Pakistani members, according to the paper. It recently sent an email to its members that said, "We are asking for a contribution from you that will help us towards our goal of keeping this Peaceful Social Network run forever and defeat blasphemer facebook. inshaALLAH, Aameen. Any amount that you can contribute would be greatly appreciated.”
The network was started two years ago in protest of a Facebook user who opened a page that asked everyone to draw a picture of Muhammed. Drawing Muhammed is one of the most serious offenses against Islam.
The Express Tribune reports that MillatFacebook was a dubious copy of Facebook, even from the beginning:
The Meers [the family that owns MillatFacebook] appear to despise Facebook, yet have designed MillatFacebook to look almost exactly like their supposed rival. Users of both websites, however, say that MillatFacebook is a far less functional website, with one user going so far as to say that “the quality of user experience is so abysmal that it does not merit the humble title, ‘Facebook clone’.”
Among the crucial differences were the photo categories available for users. On MillatFacebook they include "Entertainment," "Sports," "Movies," "Palestine" and "Jihad."
Here's a screengrab of a recent batch of MillatFacebook photo uploads (click to enlarge):
Disclosure: The author owns Facebook stock.
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