Removal of Dr. Israr Ahmad channel from YouTube has irked his followers with strong demands being made for the restoration of the account. The Tanzeem-e-Islami, the organization founded by the late scholar, has termed the removal as the worst display of Islamophobia. It said Dr. Israr never preached hate—the reason behind the closure of channel, according to some media reports.
Tanzeem-e-Islami Emir Shujauddin Shaikh said the labeling was an outright violation of the so-called principles of freedom of expression advocated by the West and social media platforms. “Tanzeem-e-Islami has commenced a robust legal and procedural action in response to this shameful act on all relevant and concerned platforms,” he said.
Hashtag Restore Dr. Israr YouTube channel (#RestoreDrIsrarYouTubeChannel) trended on Pakistan twitter on Tuesday.
YouTube terminated Dr.Israr’s channel, along with Wagdy Ghoniem—Egyptian-Salafi Muslim imam and writer—channel on their “antisemitism views.” Both had over 3.5 million subscribers. Tanzeem-e-Islami said the millions of people across the world were viewers of the channel. YouTube made a unilateral decision without listening to the organization, it said, adding that legal solutions would be pursued if the channel was not restored.
A fiery orator, Dr. Israr was an advocate of united Muslim world under one caliph. Born in Haryana state of India in 1932, he migrated to Pakistan along with family and completed medical graduation from King Edward Medical College Lahore.
He made influence on large number of Muslims in different countries including India before his death in 2010. Prime Minister Imran Khan had shared Dr.Israr’s video clip on his official twitter account two years ago to elaborate his government’s idea of Madina State. The move invited widespread criticism from secular and moderate scholars and analysts who believed Quaid-e-Azam had nothing to do with theocratic state which was being by Dr. Israr.
