Your comments on the plan of Muslim clerics from East Java to regulate social networking sites like Facebook because they believe that such sites could encourage illicit sex.

As Muslims, we know that communication (silahturahmi) is encouraged in Islam and Facebook can accommodate such communication effectively. So what is wrong with Facebook?

Wirawan

Bekasi, West Java

Why do the Muslim clerics not think of the positive aspects of Facebook instead, so they can take advantage of this social networking and preach positive stuff to Facebook members? The Muslim clerics can use the services of Facebook to educate youngsters and teach them not to have illicit sex.

My fellow Muslim clerics, there are probably many ill-mannered people on Facebook, and your duty is to take advantage of this networking site by preaching to them.

In addition, as spiritual practitioners, you should first train yourselves to avoid committing adultery or having illicit sex before educating others to do so.

In other words, those practitioners should be self-disciplined before they may discipline other people.

Siddhartta

Jakarta

I think it is useless, because technological development cannot be stopped. Facebook is a product of technology that has become a part of our lives.

Our nation has got a lot of problems we wish to solve. But, why are the clerics adding to the nation's problems by issuing a fatwa to ban social networking sites? Restrictions on Facebook do not make our lives any better.

Gonggong

Surakarta, Central Java

Extramarital affairs or illicit sex existed before Facebook was created, before the world became smaller and interconnected.

The ulema say Facebook encourages hatred, sexual misconduct, extramarital affairs and other negative things, but it depends on us, the users of the technology, whether we want to use it for positive or negative purposes.

Everything has changed so quickly. We used to send letters to our friends, and family living abroad and it sometimes took two weeks to get a reply, now with just one click, we can connect with people around the world and we can get a reply in a second.

I had not joined Facebook until my friend recommended it and I got in touch with my elementary school friends, even with friends I rarely played with when we were children. The positive or negative aspects depend on how we use it.

Yasmin

Tangerang, Banten

It is annoying. Facebook is a facility for social networking. I do not agree that Facebook should be regulated. I don't know what kind of argument they could make to ban Facebook.

Ahmadi

Serang, Banten

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