The YouTube channel of Islamabad-based YouTuber, life coach and teacher Raja Ziaul Haq was taken down on Wednesday.
The content creator, in a video about the development, stated that they were unsure about the reasons why the channel was taken down.
Haq had over 666,0000 subscribers on YouTube, where he posted nearly a thousand videos on various topics, mostly about life, its challenges, politics, academics and the intersection of religion and other religious topics.
Haq is listed as the CEO of Youth Club, and its YouTube channel, with 1.25 million subscribers, remains operational.
The YouTube account of Youth Club's Country Manager, Tuaha Ibn Jalil, also remains operational with another 1.25 million subscribers. The religious theme is a commonality in all of the channels.
YouTube's action caused quite a stir on social media on Wednesday with many voicing their opinions about the videos and opinions Haq shared on the platform.
A channel that in the name of religion and preaching was endlessly spreading hatred, misinformation, lies, and directly responsible for attacking people has been completely shut down by YouTube.
— Mehrub Awan (@mehrubawan) August 23, 2023
Good bye Raja Zia ul Haq.
Akhir sab ki pakkar ka waqt ata hai đ pic.twitter.com/XxOCMmJiN1
Best news of the year. That Raja Zia ul Haq & his friends couldn't muster up the courage to make even a single video condemning the Jaranwala Pogrom or the death of the 8 yr old Samar in a Madrasa BUT they could make 100s of videos endangering the lives of vulnerable communities https://t.co/RRhyYkJWgl
— Muneeb Qadir (@muneebqadirmmq) August 23, 2023
Strongly condemned the ban of Raja Zia ul Haq bhai https://t.co/ZAEbY2dwJS channel, this is the act against freedom of speech. He is motivational and Islamic scholar, stopping people from shrik, alcohol and sex and porns.
— Ulyana (@UVaskovich) August 23, 2023
Haq's response
On Wednesday, Haq posted a reel on his Facebook and Instagram accounts, which have another 600,000 and 444,000 followers, respectively, to address the development.
"Our YouTube channel has been taken down or terminated," he began, adding, "We have appealed it. We are checking what were the reasons that led to this."
"Inshallah, we are hopeful it will be restored, but obviously, there is some work to do on our part," he said.
Haq went on to comment on the limiting space for free speech.
"We are living in strange times and era where desecrating the Holy Quran or creating sacrilegious caricatures and creating blasphemous content is considered freedom of speech and expression," he stated, adding, "But to share your opinion on YouTube rationally, logically and with cogent arguments based on evidence is censored and is not considered under freedom of speech or expression."
He stated that they will continue their work for as long as we are alive and that they will continue to live long after we are gone.
"Our scholars often say, if your work for spreading God's Message is going smoothly, and you are not facing any opposition, you are doing something wrong," he said, as he pointed to how when the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) raised the Kalma-e-Tawheed, there were people who did not like it, and it offended them, and they opposed it.
"Whenever you speak the right thing or the truth, there will be people who would oppose it," Haq stated.
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