MyMFB

MyMFB (previously MillatFacebook) was a Muslim-oriented social networking website. It was launched in May 2010 in response to a controversial group on Facebook entitled Everybody Draw Mohammed Day and Pakistan's block of Facebook in response.

MyMFB
Type of businessPrivately held company
Type of site
Social network service
Available inEnglish
FoundedPakistan
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)Omer Zaheer Meer[1]
Key peopleAzhar Siddique[2]
Employees1
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedMay 2010
Current statusActive

History

On May 19, 2010, Lahore High Court banned Facebook from being accessed in Pakistan, after a user of the website created a page for Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, and Facebook did not remove the page despite complaints from users.[3] Both this and the fact that Facebook had been criticized for its "confusing" privacy controls led to the setup of MillatFacebook, an independent site which offered Pakistani users a way to continue using a Facebook-style social networking site.[4] The site attracted over 4,300 users, most of them Pakistani, in the first few days. This number was expected to grow further because of Pakistani Facebook users being unable to access Facebook as a result of the national ban on the site.[5] On 30 May 2010, however, a Pakistani court ruled that the Pakistani government should restore access to Facebook.[6]

The Urdu word "Millat" is used by Muslims to refer to their nation.[7]

MyMFB has criticized Facebook for ignoring complaints from Muslim users, who MyMFB says provide almost 50% of Facebook's revenue.[5] Chief Operating Officer Usman Zaheer said of Facebook that "We want to tell [the] Facebook people 'if they mess with us they have to face the consequences'. If someone commits blasphemy against our Prophet Mohammed then we will become his competitor and give him immense business loss[es]. [We dream of making] the largest Muslim social networking website."[8]

Chief Executive Officer Omer Zaheer said that the site is open to "nice and decent people of all faiths", and that it encourages freedom of expression so long as users respect one another's sensitivities and faiths. Zaheer has said that Facebook "seems to allow mockery of religions it has an issue with… The caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed were uploaded, and instead of taking any consideration and action, they came out and said they were supporting it."[9]

On 1 January 2013, The Express Tribune reported that the site had elicited funding requests to pay its server bills and may close down.[10][11] The site later rebranded itself as MyMFB.

Development

The web site describes itself as helping users to "connect and share with more than 1.57 billion Muslims and sweet people from other Religions."[12] The site aims to become "the largest Muslim social networking website."[7]

While additional features are under the works to make it similar to those of Facebook, it currently offers such similar features as a "Wall" and the ability to connect to "Friends."[5]

The person involved in created the site was Azhar Siddique, an advocate.[13] In 2012, the company's About page listed Omer Zaheer Meer as CEO and Founder and Arslan Ch as Design Lead.[2] The founder said its employees are "working around the clock to offer features similar to those pioneered by the wildly popular California-based prototype." Usman Zaheer, the chief operating officer said "We want to tell [the] Facebook people [that] 'if they mess with us they have to face the consequences'. If someone commits blasphemy against our Prophet Mohammed then we will become his competitor and give him (sic) immense business loss."[7]

Reception

The Express Tribune, an affiliate of the International Herald Tribune, said "The quality of user experience is so abysmal that it does not merit the humble title, 'Facebook clone'. To sum up, MillatFacebook is a bold effort... but it is unlikely to capture a large audience, judging by the online experience it offers currently."[7][14]

References
  1. "Pakistan launches Facebook for the faithful". 28 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  2. "Team » MyMFB.com — Social Networking Place for Every One". MyMFB.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  3. Dogar, Babar (19 May 2010), "Pakistani court orders gov't to block Facebook" Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press (Lahore). Retrieved 17 June 2010.
  4. "Pakistan establishes Muslim Facebook". Press TV. Archived from the original on 2010-05-31. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  5. "Pakistanis Launch Muslim Facebook Called Millat Facebook". Techie-buzz.com. 2010-05-28. Archived from the original on 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  6. Hussain, Waqar (May 30, 2010). "Pakistan court orders Facebook access restored". Google News. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 2010-06-03. Retrieved June 8, 2010.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  7. Hussain, Waqar (2010-05-27). "AFP: Pakistanis create rival Muslim Facebook". Google. Archived from the original on 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
  8. "Sci-Tech | Pakistanis create rival Muslim Facebook". Dawn. Pakistan. 2010-05-28. Archived from the original on 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  9. "Pakistan launches Facebook for the faithful". Rnw.nl. Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  10. Edwards, Jim. "Pakistan's Muslim Alternative To 'Blasphemer' Facebook Is Failing". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2014-04-28. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  11. Tanveer, Rana. "After two years, Millat Facebook is on the verge of collapse". The Express Tribune News Network. Archived from the original on 2014-04-27. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  12. "Leading News Resource of Pakistan". Daily Times. 2010-05-30. Archived from the original on 2010-08-08. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  13. Shamsie, Kamila (26 May 2010). "Pakistan's antisocial networking: To oppose the Facebook ban in Pakistan is to be accused of blasphemy by the rabble-rousing right". The Observer. Archived from the original on 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
  14. "Millat Facebook review: thumbs down". The Express Tribune. 2010-05-27. Archived from the original on 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
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