Here are my thoughts on this:
Firstly, I think that Khomeini's fatwa was not actually confusing to understand. This is what he clearly said as quoted in the article:
"In general if it requires engaging in [immorality and evil acts] (such as spreading corruption, lies, and false materials) or if there is concern that it is sinful, or it strengthens the enemies of Islam and Muslims, it is not permissible. Otherwise it's fine."
I underlined the last sentence above to prove the point that he will not be banning or censoring Facebook itself. He is only telling the Iranians to avoid spreading corruption, lies, and false materials through the website because that is against the teaching of Islam and that's why he said that these things are not permissible. But, if they use it without doing any of those things, then there is no problem. Hence he said, "Otherwise it's fine." And to me, that is certainly a reasonable statement because I think that everyone should try use the website without lying about themselves or others.
Secondly, a fatwa is merely an opinion of a leader or a scholar in light of the fiqh books (or juristic books) along with his interpretations of the Quran and Hadith which is then put into action during a specific time and in a specific place. It's not an Islamic law but only an opinion of a person. Therefore, the two important things to know about fatwas are that (1) they are not binding because they are obligatory for all Muslims to follow; and (2) they are open to interpretation, disagreements, and even changes during the course of time if they are found to be erroneous and/or unsupported.
However, I don't think that there is anything wrong with this particular fatwa for the reasons that I already mentioned above.
I do not think that there is anything evil about Facebook itself. Rather, it depends on how you to choose to use it and what you do there.
Facebook is a new means of communication, although yes, it doesn't in any way replace actual friendships. But as Kichi said, it's a good way to keep in touch with people who are away from you. Also, you can organize events, post important messages, tell a person what you were thinking about him, or just rant about stuff occasionally. I myself don't have a Facebook account. But, that's only because I don't think there is anything good for me and because I have few friends in real life. So, there is no need for me to communicate to anyone through Facebook.
Loading Please Wait also made some good points, IMO. It's true that a lot of people will put up false information about themselves and thus you may get deceived by them. You might think that they are very popular, that they have a lot of friends, that they are very social, that they communicate well, that they are smart, and so on, even though that may be true about them in real life.
However, again, there is nothing wrong with social networking sites in and of themselves. What matters is what you do there.
If the issue of privacy is a concern for you, or you feel that you're exposing yourself to the risk of your information being used inappropriately or against your wishes every time you use the Internet, or that it's not a safe environment, then either don't go to Facebook at all or just monitor yourself and what you say a little more wisely. The most important things are to be honest and to use the website in a way without destroying the advantages by getting addicted to it.
Pictures are not the reason why the fatwa was issued. As I quoted earlier, Khomeini issued it because he didn't want Muslims to abuse the advantages of Facebook by spreading lies or by cheating on others. These are what he finds to be immoral according to the Islamic perspective. That's why he's telling them to stop doing this. But he didn't ban or block Facebook. Even he himself has a Twitter account as stated in the article. Furthermore, millions of Muslims today are using the Facebook.without thinking that this is prohibited in their religion.
Also, we are allowed to post pictures of ourselves on the internet. There is nothing wrong with that. It's only if we post something with an explicit sexual content or pornography that it would be considered to be a sin. But again, it also depends on the reason for posting them, and the context behind them. Sometimes a Muslim might want to post a picture of a human reproductive organ for educational purposes or to show something specific in the picture, which is permissible.
(October 15, 2011 at 8:28 pm)Anymouse Wrote: The supreme religious leader of Iran has issued a confusing and ambiguous fatwa on the subject of whether Facebook is evil or not in the eyes of the Koran.
Firstly, I think that Khomeini's fatwa was not actually confusing to understand. This is what he clearly said as quoted in the article:
"In general if it requires engaging in [immorality and evil acts] (such as spreading corruption, lies, and false materials) or if there is concern that it is sinful, or it strengthens the enemies of Islam and Muslims, it is not permissible. Otherwise it's fine."
I underlined the last sentence above to prove the point that he will not be banning or censoring Facebook itself. He is only telling the Iranians to avoid spreading corruption, lies, and false materials through the website because that is against the teaching of Islam and that's why he said that these things are not permissible. But, if they use it without doing any of those things, then there is no problem. Hence he said, "Otherwise it's fine." And to me, that is certainly a reasonable statement because I think that everyone should try use the website without lying about themselves or others.
Secondly, a fatwa is merely an opinion of a leader or a scholar in light of the fiqh books (or juristic books) along with his interpretations of the Quran and Hadith which is then put into action during a specific time and in a specific place. It's not an Islamic law but only an opinion of a person. Therefore, the two important things to know about fatwas are that (1) they are not binding because they are obligatory for all Muslims to follow; and (2) they are open to interpretation, disagreements, and even changes during the course of time if they are found to be erroneous and/or unsupported.
However, I don't think that there is anything wrong with this particular fatwa for the reasons that I already mentioned above.
(October 15, 2011 at 8:28 pm)Anymouse Wrote: Personally I think Facebook is evil, but not for religious reasons. Mostly because it is like the Borg Collective, and they seek to assimilate you.
I do not think that there is anything evil about Facebook itself. Rather, it depends on how you to choose to use it and what you do there.
Facebook is a new means of communication, although yes, it doesn't in any way replace actual friendships. But as Kichi said, it's a good way to keep in touch with people who are away from you. Also, you can organize events, post important messages, tell a person what you were thinking about him, or just rant about stuff occasionally. I myself don't have a Facebook account. But, that's only because I don't think there is anything good for me and because I have few friends in real life. So, there is no need for me to communicate to anyone through Facebook.
Loading Please Wait also made some good points, IMO. It's true that a lot of people will put up false information about themselves and thus you may get deceived by them. You might think that they are very popular, that they have a lot of friends, that they are very social, that they communicate well, that they are smart, and so on, even though that may be true about them in real life.
However, again, there is nothing wrong with social networking sites in and of themselves. What matters is what you do there.
If the issue of privacy is a concern for you, or you feel that you're exposing yourself to the risk of your information being used inappropriately or against your wishes every time you use the Internet, or that it's not a safe environment, then either don't go to Facebook at all or just monitor yourself and what you say a little more wisely. The most important things are to be honest and to use the website in a way without destroying the advantages by getting addicted to it.
(October 15, 2011 at 9:01 pm)Anymouse Wrote: I am not sure. While I am not a student nor expert on either the Koran or Islam in general, my understanding is that graven images are prohibited. By my understanding of graven images the way they define it, that would include posting pictures of yourself or anyone else to Facebook.
Pictures are not the reason why the fatwa was issued. As I quoted earlier, Khomeini issued it because he didn't want Muslims to abuse the advantages of Facebook by spreading lies or by cheating on others. These are what he finds to be immoral according to the Islamic perspective. That's why he's telling them to stop doing this. But he didn't ban or block Facebook. Even he himself has a Twitter account as stated in the article. Furthermore, millions of Muslims today are using the Facebook.without thinking that this is prohibited in their religion.
Also, we are allowed to post pictures of ourselves on the internet. There is nothing wrong with that. It's only if we post something with an explicit sexual content or pornography that it would be considered to be a sin. But again, it also depends on the reason for posting them, and the context behind them. Sometimes a Muslim might want to post a picture of a human reproductive organ for educational purposes or to show something specific in the picture, which is permissible.
