AFP Photo: Enlightened Bangleshis weigh in on free speech -- and ban Facebook, too.

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Islamic masters win another round.

From the AP:

Pakistan has lifted a ban on Facebook after the social networking site apologised for a page deemed offensive to Muslims and removed its contents.

Two weeks ago Facebook was blocked after a member used it to encourage people to post images of the Prophet Mohamed.

Slick AP Stylebook submission. What I refer to is the reference to "the Prophet Mohamed" -- not "the Islamic prophet Mohammed," or, as my 1988 AP Stylebook suggests, just "Mohammed," period, described as "the founder of the Islamic religion."

"In response to our protest, Facebook has tendered their apology and informed us that all the sacrilegious material has been removed," said Najibullah Malik, from the information technology ministry. But at least 1,000 "sacrilegious" web pages that were also blocked will remain inaccessible.

Pathetic.

Another AP report on the story adds:

Facebook assured the Pakistani government that "nothing of this sort will happen in the future," said Malik.

Good social-dhimmi networking site.

The New York Times fills in with more gory details, including results of a recent poll of 8,000 Pakistani voters, 73 percent of whom wanted Facebook permanently banned, and the emergence of two Muslim social networking sites ("Pakistan" does mean "land of the pure [Muslim]," after all). The Times then wonders: "But where are Pakistan’s liberal and moderate voices?"

It doesn't matter where they are. What matters is that they ain't got no stinkin' critical mass to make a dime's worth of difference.

Meanwhile, in this video (below), the Pakistani Lawyers Forum gives off a strong whiff of an impression that Facebook's submission just isn't good enough.