Twitter is 'source of all evil', top Saudi cleric says

[n2doc]

RIYADH: Twitter is nothing more than "a source of lies" and evil, Saudi Arabia's top Muslim cleric said, in comments that sparked lively debate Tuesday on the microblogging site.

"If it were used correctly, it could be of real benefit, but unfortunately it's exploited for trivial matters," Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh said on his 'Fatwa' television show broadcast late Monday.

Twitter is "the source of all evil and devastation", the mufti said. "People are rushing to it thinking it's a source of credible information but it's a source of lies and falsehood."

The social media platform is popular among both men and women in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, where some supported the mufti's views but many others objected.

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Tech/Social/Twitter-is-source-of-all-evil-top-Saudi-cleric-says/articleshow/44907001.cms

[Solly Mack]

1. Translation: Twitter gets more attention than I do.

[gratuitous]

7. Translation: I can't control what people tweet

It's a little disconcerting, though, to learn that no evil existed prior to March 21, 2006.

[Solly Mack]

16. It is. Whatever did he do before then?

Poor thing.

[hedgehog]

2. I'm trying to decide if that's true or not.

I'm really uncertain what # means, or what @ means.

Is # for thread titles?

Is @ the author? What about when I see @name@another name?

[herding cats]

23. The hashtag (hash symbol) is a way of tracking a topic.

When they say a topic is trending it means a specific keyword or phrase with the hashtag (#) before it in tweets is trending.

The @ followed by a twitter user handle sends the tweet to the specific users attention in their mentions.

This explains it better than I can.

What are @replies and mentions?

Using hashtags on Twitter

I hope this helps.

[hedgehog]

25. Thanks!

[Ampersand Unicode]

36. This explains it even better

Yes, it certainly is.

[unrepentant progress]

3. I can't say that I disagree with him

[notadmblnd]

9. So, what was the source of of all evil before Twitter existed?

And just how did Twitter wrestle evil away from religion? I'll bet Twitter won the source of evil in a game of King of the Mountain.

[unrepentant progress]

19. AOL

Silly question.

[notadmblnd]

21. lol

[Ampersand Unicode]

35. Twitter is actually not that different from religion.

Both involve an ignorant flock of sheeple "following" an equally ill-informed and ignorant cult of personality.

With religion it's clerics and semi-historical prophet characters. With Twitter it's celebrities. Same old shit.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. I'm trying real hard to disagree here. Really, really hard. nt

[JNelson6563]

5. It is a great way to spread info quickly and on huge scale.

Of course he thinks it's evil.

Julie

[DetlefK]

8. What's next? Books? Literature? Art?

They also can be used to spread evil. We should outlaw them.

[JNelson6563]

12. Burn them all!1!

[Ampersand Unicode]

34. "I'm eating a sandwich" is information?

I thought information was supposed to inform, i.e. educate. Twitter isn't the source of evil -- evil is intelligent and manipulative, while Twitter is just stupid. I fail to see how getting an update that Kim Kardashian just farted is of any relevance... unless you're tracking seismic activity.

The cleric is overestimating the importance of social media. He's probably just worried that people will be distracted from reading the holy books over and over again because they're telling their friends, "I'm shopping in the marketplace" or "I'm sitting on the toilet."

[JNelson6563]

45. Yes, that is just what I meant!

I was thinking more along the lines of real time up dates of events like Arab Spring but your example was so much better.

Julie

[iscooterliberally]

6. "the source of all evil and devastation" - really?

I'm pretty sure that honor still goes to 'The love of money' or profits over people. Pretty much anything that is wrong in the world can be traced back to someone or some company making a huge profit at the expense of some other group of people. Whether it's war, disease drug policy etc. It just goes on and on. Twitter is neutral. It really depends on the tweeter.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

10. What was the source of all evil before Twitter? nt

[bigwillq]

13. AOL

[longship]

18. DUzy!! nt

[unrepentant progress]

20. Damn. Ninja'd.

[Dr. Strange]

17. Rap music.

And before that, marijuana.

[seveneyes]

11. Damn, I thought it was religious nutjobs doing their jihad killings

I think they use twitter to recruit and teach the things this nutjob taught them.

[LondonReign2]

14. Source of all evil? No

Magnet for much stupidity? Pretty much

[Nuclear Unicorn]

15. #SillyPerson

[KamaAina]

22. @topmuslimcleric

I would invite you to join us here in the 21st century, but it seems you're stuck in the 15th.

[Ampersand Unicode]

38. So people who don't use Twitter are evil and anachronistic?

I thought they were just smart and very private people (who, by nature, also tend to be smart) who don't care what someone else is having for breakfast and certainly won't tell the world whether they're having pancakes or bacon and eggs.

Or is it just that this guy is evil and anachronistic because he just, well, is, and not because of anything to do with social media?

[YvonneCa]

40. You do realize that...

...your comments just show your lack of knowledge about Twitter. It is an information tool. Tools can be used fit many purposes.

[KamaAina]

43. No, people who think Twitter is "the source of all evil"

are anachronistic.

[Travelman]

24. He should have been forced to pack his statement into 140 characters.

[KamaAina]

44. DUzy!

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. Did he tweet that?

And if someone tweets what he says, does that automatically make it an evil lie?

[shenmue]

27. He's wrong

It's the dating sites.

[FiveGoodMen]

28. People who claim to know the mind of god are the source of all evil.

[jberryhill]

29. He got that one right

[KeepItReal]

30. From what I've seen, Saudi-sponsored Wahhabism is hard to beat

For more than two centuries, Wahhabism has been Saudi Arabia's dominant faith. It is an austere form of Islam that insists on a literal interpretation of the Koran. Strict Wahhabis believe that all those who don't practice their form of Islam are heathens and enemies. Critics say that Wahhabism's rigidity has led it to misinterpret and distort Islam, pointing to extremists such as Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html

[Scootaloo]

31. It only allows 164 characters. It is, by definition, trivial

And if he thinks this is the source of all evil, then clearly he's never been on reddit.

[Ampersand Unicode]

37. And if he thinks Reddit is the source of all evil...

...then clearly he's never been on TV Tropes.

And if he thinks TV Tropes is the source of all evil...

...then clearly he's never been on 4chan.

And if he thinks 4chan is the source of all evil...

...well, he's probably right.

[NaturalHigh]

42. LOL...

I've still never been to 4chan, but it sure gets a lot of people riled.

[Jamastiene]

32. Do what?

Evil was around long before Twitter. Are there Pat Robertsons in every country?

[Kalidurga]

33. Ugg I think there is a Pat Robertson in every neighborhood

even worse is they are proud of it.

[Nye Bevan]

39. On the plus side, he didn't denounce DU (nt)

[NaturalHigh]

41. I wouldn't go that far.

I do remember CM Punk saying "My Twitter account was hacked" is the new "I'm a douchebag when I'm drunk."