SRINAGAR: Free video-sharing website, YouTube has terminated the official archive of Dr Israr Ahmad, a Muslim scholar for its “anti-Semitic content” that could otherwise have spread hatred against Jews. Various Jewish sites are celebrating the happening, reports appearing in various media suggest.

Dr Israr Ahmad

The deletion coincided with the Muslim holy month of fasting, during which the site was getting maximum traffic.

“Upon review, we removed the channel belonging to Israr Ahmad for violating our hate speech policies and a further eleven videos have been removed either as a result of this circumvention or for violating our violent extremism and hate speech policies,” YouTube was quoted as saying in some media.

Confirming the removal of the channel, Tanzeem-e-Islami, a movement initiated by Dr Israr Ahmad condemning the act. The organization believed the deletion was driven by Islamophobia. The channel had had around three million subscribers and was maintained by the late scholar’s son, Asif Hameed.

The channel was revered by Muslims across the world as it contained a good deal of Islamic knowledge that has caused a great loss to the Muslim community.

While denouncing the devastating step taken by the tech-giant YouTube, reports appearing in Pakistan media said the Pakistani Telecommunications Authority (PTA) termed it a ‘unilateral shutdown’ and has sought its unblocking.

Reports appearing in the media said that the YouTube decision came in response to the complaint that Jewish Chronicle, a London-based weekly, had lodged in 2021. It was why; the reports added that the Jews celebrated the YouTube decision.

“YouTube has finally removed two channels linked to notorious hate preachers including one whose antisemitism inspired a British Islamist to travel to the US to take Jews hostage at gunpoint,” the Jewish Chronicle wrote. “After weeks of pressure from the JC, the tech giant today removed the channel of Israr Ahmed, and on Wednesday removed the channel of Wagdy Ghoniem. Between them, they had a combined total of more than 3.5 million subscribers.” Ghoniem is an Egyptian scholar.

Dr Israr Ahmad was born in undivided India and later moved to Pakistan. He died in 2010. He is one of the most popular scholars of Islam in the region, despite his death. His channel has almost 4000 videos. A medical doctor since 1954, he has been known as a preacher scholar, especially after 1965.

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