The Internet has changed the way we learn and communicate, and people all over the world are enthusiastically taking advantage of the new opportunities presented by the World Wide Web. While there are numerous corporate and commerce sites on the Net, there are also sites that are simply labors of love. DeenPort.com is one of these.
For Omar Tufail, the site administrator of DeenPort, the time he spent sitting in 2001 at the feet of scholars learning century-old texts at Zaytuna Institute in California was his turning point. He returned home to Glasgow “buzzing with energy and ideas.” Though he received positive feedback from his first project, Zhikr.org, he was frustrated with the Internet content targeting Muslim audiences. He felt that Islam-focused websites lacked vibrancy and excitement.
Tufail decided to create a website which people could visit daily, “to learn something new, meet people and share with others this treasure called Islam.” He thought it was also important that the site be interesting to young Muslims. It took six months of study and planning, followed by two months of bleary-eyed nights of coding, to make DeenPort a reality.
The site currently receives about 40,000 visits monthly. While there is no such thing as “Team DeenPort” the site is run by individuals who help maintain various sections. A dynamic and lively messaging board is moderated by Farah Akhtar and Maqbool Khandia. An interview section features the thoughts of prominent Muslim figures. Most recently, this section focused on Dr. Ingrid Mattson, the first female vice president of the Islamic Society of America, and Sohail Nakhooda, editor of Islamica. The growth of MP3 technology has allowed the posting of a popular collection of zhikr, qasidas and Qur’anic recitations. There are also sections on Islamic lessons, poetry, book reviews, travel, news and Islamic events.
