DHAKA - Bangladesh on Wednesday lifted a ban on video-sharing site YouTube which has been blocked since September after an online anti-Islam movie spawned violent protests across the Muslim world.

The amateur video that denigrated the Prophet Mohammad, billed as a film trailer and made in California with private funding, provoked a wave of anti-American unrest in dozens of Muslim countries in September.

"The ban has been lifted as it was hurting thousands of people who use YouTube for good purposes such as educational or research," said Sunil Kanti Bose, head of Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory body.

For most Muslims, any portrayal of the Prophet is considered blasphemous.

Editorial

06 Aug, 2026

Need for dialogue

THE interior minister’s comments at an Islamabad seminar last week have sparked many a conversation about the ...
06 Aug, 2026

Bad press

THE government’s move to impose restrictions on international media will not only alienate the foreign press, it...
06 Aug, 2026

Automobile concerns

PAKISTAN’S automobile industry is at a critical juncture. Sharp cuts in tariffs on the import of completely built...
Updated 05 Aug, 2026

State of confusion

FROM the looks of it, America has no exit strategy to extricate itself from the disastrous war with Iran. US...
05 Aug, 2026

Pension decision

THE government’s decision to formally operationalise the new Defined Contribution Pension Fund Scheme is a step...
05 Aug, 2026

Preventable deaths

THE deaths of 144 children from measles and diphtheria in Karachi during the first seven months of the year expose a...