Debra Black Staff Reporter
It has been dubbed "Facebook for Muslims" by some. But that's not exactly what its creators have in mind.
They prefer to think of it more as a "global Muslim social network based on the Islamic idea of "collaboration" that will offer a package of services to Muslims around the world.
But it remains to be seen whether Salamworld — scheduled to hit the Internet during the month of Ramadan (July through August) 2012 — will win over Muslim youth.
According to Ahmed Azimov, deputy CEO and spokesman of Salamworld, the new network is a "chance for Muslim to have their own space" to exchange knowledge, skills, an djobs and business opportunities.
"We definitely want to be one of the biggest and effective online products among Muslims," Azimov said. The site is designed to "unite and revive global Muslim society."
The creators of Salamworld plan to focus on the idea of communities, emphasizing "opportunities for self-identification and self-realization for the Muslim youth," Azimov added.
Organizers believe that Salamworld will attract up to 15 million users by the end of 2012, with 150 million users in the next three years.
Estimates suggest there are currently 300 million Muslims online, according to media reports.
"We're neither building the "virtual mosque" nor trying to become the insular community for the specific group of people," he said, adding Salamworld is open to non-Muslims.
Based in Turkey, Salamworld also has offices in Moscow and Cairo. With a budget of about $50 million for the next three years, it eventually hopes to generate revenue through advertising, Azimov said.
But not everyone believes the project will be popular, suggesting that the filters and moderators trying to uphold Islamic values may not be what young people want.
Omar Chatriwala, an online journalist in Qatar, told Public Radio International (PRI)'s The World that young Muslims aren't any different from youth anywhere else.
They like Facebook, and Chatriwala suggested they might see Salamworld's "Islamic values" and "cleanliness" as a kind of censorship.
"It's people trying to uphold the traditional values or the values of the religion who are saying we don't' want our youth exposed to this, and this is a better alternative," Chatriwala told PRI.
"It's not necessarily the young people saying 'we don't want to be exposed to it.'"
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