-----Original Message-----
From: Jahed [mailto:anondomela@...]
Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2005 12:25 PM
To: VM groups; Naree; FoB; genomaniax; mukto chinta; DS; Thikana; Bangalee; ATN bangla; Mahbubur Rahman; weekly Bangladesh; Observer-1; Observer-2; New Age; Hassan A A; Dr. Nuran Nabi; Anwar Shahadat; Anwar Shahadat; Shyamal Ganguly; Dr. Zia U. Ahmed; DRSIS; Herok-2; Biswarup-1; Biswas, Manju; Titu; Tajul Imam; Syed Muhammad Ullah; Partha Banerjee; Partha P. Majumdar; Darpan Kabir; Dr. Ali Riaz; Dr. Jyoti P. Dutta & Dr. Purobi Basu; Dr. Mohsin Ali; Dr. Nazli Kibria; e-MELA; Babu Gogineni; Basu Bamandas; Belal Beg; Bob Holman; CFI metro NY; Che of BD; Abdul Aziz Khan; Abid Reza; AHA; Ahsan Habib
Cc: Susmita Chatterjee; Swapan Kanti Biswas; Vinnomot; Zafar Ahmad Rashed; Zinda M. Bajwa; Satish Babu; Shahriar Kabir; Shamim Mafia; Shodalap; Sitangshu Guha; Sreenath Sreenivasan; Probashi (new); RAJESH SINHA; Rocket Bhai; Rupa/Shamim Choudhury; S.I. Chowdhury; Sachi G. Dastidar; Sajid; Ms Farida Majid; Naeem Mohaiemen; Nizam Chowdhury; Pooyan Aslani; Mohammed Ataur Rahman; Mr. President; JH; Jyotirmoy & Minaxee Datta; Kagoj; Kazi Hasan; Khaled S.; Khorshedul Islam; M B Ali Shah; Jalal; daily Janakantha; Daily News
Subject: Mukto-Mona banned in an Arab country!

MM Banned in UAE! 

Avijit Roy

Published on July 23, 2005

Dear Friends:

I've received a message from a member saying that Mukto-Mona site is banned/blocked in Emirates and probably in other Islamic countries as well. Indeed, many living in theocratic states who were never habituated with free-speech are being shocked after they are exposed to the truth for the first time while internet came into play. Our co-moderator Jahed Ahmed thinks United Arab Emirate's (UAE) ban on M-M should be brought to focus for a broader audience and readers; hence this short message for you.  

Banning a site like MM in those theocratic states is the old way of killing the rationalists and freethinkers, burning their books and silencing progressive people by terror so that they cannot work. Despite the desperate effort of the vested group, they still cannot stop people from reading our posts. Obviously, this site is making a difference. If your friend is living in a theocratic states, and you may want to send something published in MM, please copy the entire article(s) in an e-mail instead of giving him a specific link, till we find any other viable solution(s).

Truth is extremely dangerous for some people; it is like lighting a match in total darkness that needless to say, does not remove duskiness, rather instill fear in their heart. That's why probably Oliver Wendell Holmes, one of the best regarded American poets of the 19th century once uttered, "The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.”

-Avijit

www.mukto-mona.com

PS: read mm moderator Mehul Kamdar's reaction on ban:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/mehul/mm_banned_uae.htm

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com