Islamic social media to be launched by year end

An Islamic social networking website, called Salam World, will be launched in Indonesia by the end of 2012.

"Salam World is a social networking platform, which will be based on Islamic values and explore the true potential of the global Muslim community. The website can eliminate communication barriers for Muslims around the world," said Erol Toksoy, Salam World`s Brand Manager, here on Monday.

Currently, the website is in Beta version and being tested by 1,000 people around the world.

"God willing, by November this year, we will launch it globally," Erol said.

"Different from the existing global social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter, which focus on the users` personal profiles, Salam World will focus on communities, such as architects, car enthusiasts, artists, businessmen and many more," he noted.

"They do not need to waste time on the content they do not want, because users can choose their interest areas," Erol explained, referring to the newsfeed feature that would display posts from friends of the account user.

"We do not want to replace Facebook, but we want to present something new," he stated.

Salam World users will also be able to link the Islamic social networking site with Facebook and Twitter.

"The platform can be used by users to share ideas and sell things, or just for those seeking friends in the community," Erol pointed out.

He said non-Muslims could also join Salamworld.com. "They may have an account, as long as they can appreciate the values of Islam here," Erol added.

Besides, Salam World also offers services that enable users to filter out harmful and inappropriate content, making the website safe for children.

"However, the minimum age to join the community is 15 years," Erol noted.

In the coming three years, Salam World will target 300 million users worldwide. 

"Salam World is focusing on Indonesia because it is the world`s largest Muslim country," Erol explained.

"The Muslim community has tremendous potential to change the world, for example, the way it did in Tunisia and Egypt. 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 added.

Source: ANTARA