AMSTERDAM: ImHalal.com is a new free search engine that endeavors to enable Muslims to search the Internet without encountering content that would be “Haram” or forbidden according to the guidance of Islam. When a user enters a search term, ImHalal aims to return only that content which would be permissible within Islamic norms.
“Nine months back, we were talking with a few Muslim friends and we discussed the issue of search engines,” said Reza Sardeha, CEO, AZS Media Group Ltd., which is responsible for the search engine. “Even when a Muslim is careful, now and then while performing an online search, explicit or otherwise unacceptable content will be displayed. So we started brainstorming about how to solve this problem of developing a Muslim friendly search engine that filters material based on Islamic acceptability. Within two months we were developing ImHalal and it launched last week.”
Sardeha is an Iranian national of “Kuwaiti-Persian” heritage, who is studying international business management in The Netherlands. He claims that ImHalal is off to a great start and that the team is “really happy with the feedback” they have received, and the encouragement coming in from around the world.
To understand the ImHalal concept it’s important to note that the goal of the ImHalal search is a bit different than the “safe search” option of some other search tools. Sardeha pointed out that in other search engines, the safe search option can be turned off. Plus such filters are only looking to exclude pornography from search results. ImHalal goes further, being more child friendly and it also considers topics such as pork, alcohol, finance and discrimination.
The ImHalal search engine groups search results into four categories. Halal results are displayed immediately. However, if there is the possibility that results could be forbidden, a rating of the risk is given in red stars. If the risk is one or two stars, a warning message will appear and the user will be advised, “If you still think the results will be clean click me!” Clicking on the link will allow the user to proceed to the search results. However a three star risk rating will automatically block the search term and any results.
ImHalal still isn’t quite ready for the most sensitive viewers. For example, entering the search term “whiskey” brings a one red star advisory of possible content danger if the user proceeds. However, if the search term “booze” is entered, inappropriate content is immediately displayed.
“We are still fine tuning the filters behind ImHalal. This first month of operation is critical for us in terms of refining the filters as the search engine is offered to the public for the first time. We are well advanced in adjusting the filters for keywords in Arabic, English, Farsi, German, Dutch and Russian. There is still much more work to be done for languages such as Indonesian,” Sardeha commented. “At the moment, quite a few Imams in the Netherlands are helping us to fine tune the ImHalal filters and we are also looking for feedback from the global public. If people think we are too strict or are perhaps overlooking certain areas, we need to know that. We are very open to ideas and will adjust the filters as required.”
This week AZS Media Group will be launching a new blog where people will be able to discuss the ImHalal search engine and make suggestions. The company would like to see ImHalal become the homepage for every Muslim household. The team is already moving forward with plans to add widgets to the site, such as prayer times or a verse each day from the Quran and e-mail accounts are also being considered. So give www.imhalal.com a try and send the AZS Media team your feedback. The more feedback they receive, the better they can refine the search process.
