Indonesia To Launch “Cleaner”, Islamic Version Of Facebook
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A new “cleaner version of Facebook” is set to be launched in Indonesia this November, reported the Jakarta Globe on Monday, with its creators hoping to offer “better protection” for young Muslims from “harmful content” online.
A new “cleaner version of Facebook” is set to be launched in Indonesia this November, reported the Jakarta Globe on Monday, with its creators hoping to offer “better protection” for young Muslims from “harmful content” online.
“Salam World is a social networking platform, which will be based on Islamic values and explore the true potential of the global Muslim community,” told Erol Toksoy, the company’s Brand Manager, to Ankara News;
“The website can eliminate communication barriers for Muslims around the world,” he added.
At present however, the website is still in its beta phase, and being tested by 1,000 people around the world, but “God willing, by November this year, we will launch it globally,” Erol said.
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According to the Australian Associated Press, the site will have an option that allows users to filter out undesirable content under Islamic law – including subject matters such as pornography or illegal drugs.
Additionally, the site will work similarly to Facebook, where users can engage in pages based on group interests or businesses, and even gain access to applications such as games and online counselling.
Abdulvahit Niyazov, Salam World’s Chairman, said that the site intends to target Indonesians first as it is the “world’s largest Muslim country”, before reaching out to more than 300 million Muslim Internet users worldwide.
Earlier this month, Facebook had reported that Indonesian Facebook users had grown by 24 percent over the last year to 55 million users, making the country one of Facebook’s key growth markets along with India and Brazil.
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“By filtering out harmful content and ensuring that its pages uphold and respect family values, Salamworld can be described as ‘Halal Facebook,’ the new social networking phenomenon,” Abdulyahit noted. “Some 300 million Muslims use the Internet, and about half use social networks. Unfortunately, none are managed by Muslims.”
[quote]”The Muslim community has tremendous potential to change the world, for example, the way it did in Tunisia and Egypt,” added Brand Manager Erol Toksoy.[/quote]“If we can connect them to each other, great things can be achieved. We want to create an Islamic brand that Muslims can be proud of,” he said.
According to Erol, non-Muslims will also be able to join the social network as long as they respect Islamic values. Additionally, the site will be available in eight languages including English, Arabic, Turkish, Urdu and Russian.
Watch: An Introductory Video To Salam World
