MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Christopher William, The Telegraph – “In a submission to forthcoming international talks on internet governance, the Gulf state said ‘there is a crying need for international collaboration to address ‘freedom of expression’ which clearly disregards public order’.

During the controversy over a 14-minute clip posted on YouTube and purportedly a trailer for a feature film called ‘The Innocence of Muslims’, Google resisted pressure, including from the White House, to remove it.

‘This video – which is widely available on the web – is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube,’ Google said last month.

The Saudi government has now told the World Telecommunications Policy Forum, a UN body, that the incident was ‘an obvious example’ of the need for greater international cooperation to restrict content online.

‘Any reasonable person would know that this film would foment violence and, indeed, many innocent persons have died and been injured with this film as a root cause,’ the Saudi submission said…

The submission highlights increasing interest in internet governance discussions from nations that do not share Western liberal values, as access to and the influence of the web grows.” Read more.

Flashback: Thinking They Can Change Western Laws, Muslim-Led Nations Seek To Implement Global Ban On Insults Of Muhammad – “As the U.N. General Assembly convenes this week in New York, several leaders of mostly Muslim nations are suggesting that the world body consider sanctions on blasphemy, amid widespread protests against an amateur movie that denigrates Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will focus at least part of his remarks on the film when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.” Read more.