Search Engine with an Islamic Conscience

Just so you do not stray from the straight and narrow path, ImHalal.com serves you a haram alert if you key in ‘Satanic Verses’ or ‘porn’ or... Try!

ImHalal.com, possibly the world’s first Islamic search engine, is not a Google or Yahoo wannabe. It’s a search engine with a sense of right and wrong. We typed in a few predictably risque terms like porn, pig and penis and got a ‘haram’ warning. A sample warning reads like this.  Porn: ‘Oops! Your search inquiry has a Haram level of 3 out of 3! I would like to advise you to change your search terms and try again.’ An interview with CEO and founder Reza Sardeha:

Q Why an Islamic search engine? 

A Our friends and families often accidentally bumped into explicit content using search engines like Google. That’s what our search engine prevents. We want to create a safe environment for Muslims to surf the web.

Q Your homepage says, ‘I search halal, I am halal.’ What does this mean?

A ‘Halal’ means acceptable according to Islamic law. Actions and food can be flagged as halal. ‘Haram’ is the opposite of halal. It’s everything that is forbidden for a Muslim. We have flagged violence, discrimination and sexually explicit subjects as haram.

Q But despite the warning, I can choose to search on. So what purpose does it serve?

A We don’t want to be dictatorial or to censor. 

Q ‘Sex’ returned a haram level of 3. How can a natural act be haram of the highest order? 

A There were more people who felt it should not be a level 3 star; they should be able to search for things like ‘sexual education’. So we have made sex a level 2 star. [Sex now returns a haram level of 2 out of 3].

Q Interestingly, Satanic Verses got no warning. I thought it was a banned book. 

A Our filter had missed that, but we have updated it.

Q Have you developed a specific type of technology to filter out un-Islamic search results?