How's this for a "disruptive" technology in action? In Malaysia, an anonymous group of provocateurs this week managed to stir up a national crisis using SMS. Agence France Presse reports that widely-circulated text messages spread the rumor that some Muslims would be baptised as Christians in the country's northern region. Conversion is a hot-button issue in Malaysia, notes the AFP. "Muslims are not allowed to convert."

The Malaysian government has pledged to prosecute the activists under the country's tough Internal Security Act. "The SMS caused a lot of uneasiness among the Muslim community, and this is not good for the security of a country which has various races and religions," said a government security minister to the New Straits Times. The Western Resistance blog has picked up the story, noting that the penalty under law is three years imprisonment and up to $1,350 in fines.

That's alot more than the 10 cents The Browser used to pay T-Mobile for a text message. Perhaps that's the lesson here: When communication is inexpensive enough, people make their voices heard.