Social networking site Salamworld to provide
a safe Internet environment for Muslims.
KUALA
LUMPUR - COME this year's Ramadan month in July, a "halal" social
networking site called "Salamworld" will open its doors to netizens.
At the
very basic, it aims to become an Islamic alternative to the hugely popular
Facebook site.
The key
to this is to make it a safe site that is free of everything that is haram or
forbidden -- pornography, criminal activities, fraud, paedophilia and
advertisements on gambling and alcohol.
It was
launched in Istanbul, Turkey amid a gathering of Islamic leaders and
intellectuals recently.
A promo
video that outlined the idea behind Salamworld said: "By filtering out
harmful content, and by making the content uphold and respect family values, we
confirm to the requirements of Muslims throughout the world.
"At
Salamworld, our aim is to overcome all political, language and cultural
barriers, to open the world to Muslims, and open Muslims to the world."
This
Islamic network aims to garner 50 million users in three years. In an interview
with the Hürriyet Daily News, one of its owners, Siberian Muslim businessman
Abdulvahed Nizayov said: "Muslims in the world are not well-represented on
the Internet; we want to change this situation.
"However,
we're not constructing an Internet mosque, we are just creating a halal
environment for Muslims."
A
number of prominent leaders from the Islamic world have joined forces with
Abdulvahed's group to develop the site, which is being funded to the tune of
tens of millions of dollars by a group of Russian and Turkish investors.
Malaysian
Jumaatun Azmi (right), the founder-director of the World Halal Forum and the
face behind KasehDia, is one of the latest additions to Salamworld's board of
directors.
"I
am helping them fine tune it. The main thing I want to push on the agenda is to
make it universal, for Muslims and non-Muslims."
"Salam
means peace in Islam and Salamworld is about just that - creating a safe,
peaceful world that is free from haram (things that are forbidden in Islam) for
everyone.
"And
the thing that we're concerned about is that (so far) only the extremists are
being heard as the voice of Islam.
"They
are louder than the silent, peaceful majority that makes up the Islamic
world," she added.
"That's
why Salamworld, while being free of all that is haram, is geared towards
providing the moderate and peaceful majority a platform for safe interaction
and discourse. "This would mean that there will be a lot of censorship
involved.
"I
know there will be a lot of criticisms coming in because the Internet stands
for freedom and free. In Islam, there is no such thing as total freedom.
"There
are etiquettes and mannerisms and adab of public and private life as ordained
by God.
"That's
what we believe in and so the key thing for them (the owners of Salamworld) is
to implement it in an environment where the tone is still welcoming," said
Jummatun.
Jumaatun
has three children that she has managed to keep away from Facebook.
The oldest
is 10, and as Jumaatun admitted, all of them "really want to be on
Facebook".
"We
can make it a safe place for whole families. In Islam, the main unit of a
society is family.
"This
is going back to basics, it may be sound not so cool but we can make it cool
and fun to have your mother and father together with you on Salamworld.
"I
have ideas on how to do this but I need to talk to them first," said
Jumaatun.
Jumaatun
sees Salamworld as having the potential to be a "new global force for
good".
"If
done right, I think Salamworld will be able to help with better content,
bringing in the role models and also assisting people who want to do something,
not just chatting because we are living in an age where even just one person
can make a lot of difference."
It will
offer a platform for good initiatives around the world that's not just related
to Islam, but related to humanity, she added.
Social
media is increasingly viewed as a platform in which the moderate voice of Islam
can emerge and like-minded people can come together to find simple solutions to
the big problems that afflict their communities.
In view
of that, the 7th World Halal Forum that will be held here between April 2 and
4, is including, for the first time, the topics of social media and Salamworld.
It will
also be looking at entertainment -- what's suitable for Muslims and future
generations.
"We're
really about values and we don't see that in (channels like) MTV. It's
hedonistic, (about) fornication, getting drunk and flaunting your bling-bling.
"I
love music and so does my 10-year-old boy but I can't let him watch MTV because
it's really bad and I know it'll affect his psyche," said Jumaatun.
"We're
not angry people, we just want to offer an alternative. It can still be fun --
it doesn't have to be about religion or nasyid, just something on good values.
"That's
why we're also looking at the soft sectors, the content industry. It'll be
really exciting."
Tan
Choe Choe,
New
Straits Times
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