Pakistan: Islamic institute in Karachi issues fatwa against TikTok

Jamia Binoria Town, a well-known Islamic school in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, has issued a fatwa (a religious decree) declaring TikTok use illegal and haram and calling it the largest temptation of the modern period. Ten arguments in favour of the institution’s position were provided in Fatwa No. (144211200409). Religious authorities have previously demanded that TikTok be banned for encouraging immorality, and Pakistan has repeatedly implemented a partial ban on the platform, according to Dawn News TV. According to the online fatwa issued by Jamia Binoria, TikTok is forbidden and haram according to Shariah and presents a growing risk as a fitna (temptation) in the modern era. One of the reasons given is that Sharia law forbids the app from including images and videos of animals, and it emphasises how women create and share pornographic movies on the internet. The fatwa also denounces the behaviour of men and women creating dance and singing videos on TikTok, which is seen as a time waster and a step towards moral degradation. It is believed that this practice spreads obscenity and nudity. The fatwa issued by Jamia Banoria emphasises that TikTok is a platform where everything may be made fun of and mocked, in addition to having videos that make fun of academics and religion. The fatwa states that using TikTok invariably entails engaging in actions that are forbidden by Sharia, and it is practically hard to refrain from committing such offences. As a result, the fatwa says that using TikTok is forbidden. According to data from smartphone and digital analytics company Sensor Tower, TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, is receiving more attention and calls for bans globally, including in Pakistan, with over 39 million downloads in 2022 alone. A petition asking for the TikTok app to be banned was submitted to the Lahore High Court earlier this year. The petition added to the increasing number of voices calling for restrictions by highlighting worries about the platform’s alleged negative impacts on society’s youth. The video-sharing software was banned for five months in 2021 by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, which ran from July to November. Following TikTok’s pledge to strengthen controls over offensive or immoral content on the platform, the restriction was lifted. (With agency inputs)