This past Valentines Day, Pakistani media was being encouraged NOT to promote or advertsie Valentines Day! An article in the Washington Post quoted PEMRA saying that the holiday is
" 'not in conformity to our religious and cultural ethos.' The letter warns that 'a large segment of society' has complained about 'Valentine’s Day celebrations' and blames Valentine’s Day for 'depraving, corrupting and injuring morality of Pakistani youth.'
The same exact sentiments can be said about the holiday in the United States. However, it seems as though the Pakistani media is more concerned with the morality and feelings of their youth than the U.S. The most interesting part of this story is that the media is trying to restrict or regulate consumer culture. Typically it is the government that attempts to censor the media. In this case, the media is concerned about the affect that Valentines Day may have on Pakistani youth.
Some Islamist groups even protested the holday with signs, encouraging others not to partake in Valentines Day.
(The photo shows a signboard against observing Valentine’s Day in Karachi on February 13, 2013. —Photo by AFP: Dawn.com, Pakistan, Reuters, Feruary 14, 2013)
According to an article on Dawn.com, some of the protestors claimed that Valentines Day is an insult to Islam. Syed Askari, spokesman for Jamaat-e-Islami said,
“Valentine’s is against Islamic culture. In our view, relationships are sacred. We have arranged marriages in this culture and people don’t get married for love. This is imposing Western values and cultures on an Islamic society."
The issue that many Islamic people have with the holiday is that it is a Western holiday. It originiated in the West, and should not be imposed on Islamic society because it does not fit the culture and the values of the East.
A video can be found on jn1.tv explaining these anti-Valentines Day views.