Democracy of ideas must on cyberspace
A group of South African Muslims, upset about a series of anti-Islamic groups on Facebook, have created an alternative: Muslimbook.com. The new website, which is almost identical to Facebook adds to the ever-growing list of religious social networking sites thronged by netizens. Does this mean that now even cybersphere is being divided on the basis of religion?
The last ten years has seen the world come closer, all thanks to social networking websites. People from different countries can connect with each other on these sites, and share their experiences irrespective of gender, caste, colour and religion. So why this kind of distinction?
“When I hear of religious social networking sites popping, it rings an alarm bell in my head. Such sites can only allegedly divide people, thus defeating the whole purpose of bringing people of different cultures closer. The world is already fighting over religion-based issues, and now we have the online world falling prey to them,” says art director Anjan Kapoor.
God favours no group. Social networking sites are what they are, for social networking, says author Pijush Gupta. “This kind of segregation will only prove detrimental to our social lives. Why are humans trying to divide cyberspace. The offline world has been pained enough due this religious divide. Please leave the online world alone,” he adds.
Interestingly, some do feel that if used wisely, these sites could provide a healthy platform to clear out many doubts that people might have for their respective faiths.
Huma Hazarika, an HR executive adds that social networking sites are a way for people to be in touch with friends and family and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. “But if there is a section of society that feels that they need to go ahead and create their own site because they believe Facebook or adverts on these sites go against their beliefs and religion, then that’s their prerogative and one shouldn’t make such a big deal out of it,” she explains.
Every community has the right to create what it wants to, but the problem lies in what they preach through them. “As long as the discussion is healthy, there is nothing wrong in it. In fact, it is a very potent tool to discuss things about our respective faiths that we can’t sometimes do. It is a great way to map the religious connotations, a faith, region or a country,” opines Pawan Verma, a copywriter.
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