SingleMuslim.com: how the Yorkshire dating site transformed Muslim romance

Guardian, SingleMuslim.com: how the Yorkshire dating site transformed Muslim romance "It is one of the biggest dating sites in the world and after 17 years, it has has led to over 50,000 marriages. Last week, it hit the headlines as matchmaker to two terror suspects. Tim Adams meets its founders in Wakefield."

Iran's Dating Revolution

Radio Times, Unreported World, Iran's Dating Revolution " Under Iran’s strict Islamic laws sex outside marriage is illegal. Even so, half the population between the ages of 18 and 35 aren’t married and the government is concerned they’re not “playing by the rules”. It’s tackled what they describe as a marriage crisis by setting up an online dating agency." Previews a forthcoming Channel 4 TV programme, on tomorrow.

Modern Muslimahs

Mail & Guardian, Modern Muslimahs: A step in Mr Right's direction "Muslim women today have social networking, matrimonial sites, samoosa runs and matchmakers to help find the right husband. But it's still not easy."

New and noted: "E-Arranged Marriages: How have Muslim matrimonial websites affected traditional Islamic courting methods?"

Ayesha Ahmed,  E-Arranged Marriages: How have Muslim matrimonial websites affected traditional Islamic courting methods? (LSE Electronic MSc Dissertation Series, No 93, 2012) [PDF] "The aim of this study was to examine the effects and impact that online Muslim matrimonial websites have on traditional Islamic courting methods. Through a thematic analysis of semistructured interviews with a sample of second generation British Asian Muslims, this study aimed to achieve an insight into how orthodox and traditional Islamic methods of finding a spouse are being challenged amongst this diaspora."

I have just been alerted to this study, so haven't read it yet.

Qaradawi: Marriage after meeting over Net permissible

The Peninsula Qatar, Qaradawi: Marriage after meeting over Net permissible, 10 Apr 2011 "Eminent Islamic scholar, Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi, has said that it is permissible in Islam for men and women who know each other through the Internet to get married.

"“I know people who came to know each other through the Internet. They met afterwards and got married. Thank God, they are having stable relations and leading a very happy family life,” said Al Qaradawi, a local Arabic daily reported yesterday."

Online Dating: A Muslim Guide on How to Be Safe

SuhaibWebb/mideastposts.com, Online Dating: A Muslim Guide on How to Be Safe, 22 Mar 2011: "Their increased popularity over the last decade is proof that matchmaking sites will continue to grow and couples will increasingly meet for the first time through the Internet. This phenomenon is also apparent in the Muslim community. A Google search of “Muslim matchmaking” calls up over 400,000 sites. With more Muslims turning to the Internet to find a spouse, there needs to be a discussion of the positive and negative aspects of meeting people online."

Matchmaking online

Jawd Mohamed, alarabiya.net, UK Muslims prefer internet matchmaking, 10 Nov 2010 "A considerable portion of Muslim men and women in Britain resort to a popular matchmaking website to look for spouses amid debates over the validity of internet marriages"

SingleMuslim.com

middle-east-online.com, Piety tops marriage criteria among Muslims, 24 June 2010 "SingleMuslim.com, an interactive community of more than 500,000 members seeking potential marriage partners, polled its members to find out the most important criteria they used when searching for a partner."

See singlemuslim.com

Iran: online marriage advice

Press TV, Young Iranians get marriage license, 10 Mar 2010, "Iranian officials are to launch a series of online courses to promote marriage and sponsor premarital trainings according to the Iranian culture and Islamic standards."

More information: SAJ.ir (screenshot above)

Matrimonial websites

muslimette.com, Single Sisters : Do you look for love online? blog discussion, that I happened upon when searching for something else...

'Commercial break'

The whole issue of how websites promote themselves is an intriguing one, especially in relation to elements of cyber Islamic environments. For some time now (including in iMuslims, I've been writing about the phenomena of online matrimonial agencies, so thought I would drop this press release into the blog. It links to three humorous (depending on your definition) tv ads from SingleMuslim.com (also on YouTube), and they've been using an image from their campaign for online advertising elsewhere. They obviously had fun with the make-up. See:


SingleMuslim.com, SingleMuslim.com TV Adverts Launched







Other products are available. I'd be interested in seeing examples of humorous adverts of this nature elsewhere.

"Love Jihad: luring girls online and forcing them to convert to Islam"

asianews.it, Love Jihad: luring girls online and forcing them to convert to Islam, 6 Oct 09 "The High Court of Kerala asks the state police and the Interior Minister in New Delhi to investigate the forced conversion campaign dubbed "Love Jihad" and "Romeo Jihad." Young people attracted by promises of marriage end up in the hands of Islamic organizations. It is feared that there are over 4 thousand cases. For the boys who act as bait there is a reward of 100 thousand rupees ...

" ... The main instrument used for grooming is the Internet. The profile of young people involved is well defined: Hindu or Christian, a student in college or their first job, coming from wealthy families. The primers were precise: two weeks to verify the feasibility of converting the girl, six months for submission to real brainwashing. During their mission the young men are given cell phones, bikes and clothing needed to lure young women; if the conversion occurred 100 thousand rupees, about 1,400 Euros, as financial aid to start a business of their own."

Sensationalistic story - expect to see this in the tabloids.

'Love at First Site'

BBC Radio 4, Love at First Site, 24 Aug 09 "Sarfraz Manzoor explores the world of matrimonial websites aimed at the Asian diaspora around the world and the alternative they present to the traditional arranged marriage." Sounds fascinating. Only problem is that Radio 4 are not making it available on their Listen Again feature at present. I'll check again later on.

Also see Sarfraz Manzoor, The Guardian, Forget internet dating, this is online matchmaking, 24 Aug 09

Matchmaking online

The Jakarta Post, Muslim soulmates now connect in cyberspace, 21 Aug 09 "Some matchmaking services have chosen to focus on high-class clients, wooing users with candlelit dinners and free dining vouchers, targeting modern and cosmopolitan ideals.

"Others, however, still embrace long-standing ideals, including religious ones, but with revamped technology.

"An example of this is birojodohmuslim.com, an online Islamic dating service run by a couple with a extensive experience in traditional matchmaking."

The site provides a breakdown of member profiles, which is interesting in terms of professions/gender balance, etc.

Scotland

The Herald, Exchanges online led to marriage that ended in murder, 17 Aug 09, "A single click on a computer mouse was the trigger for the ill-fated marriage that ended with Dr Iffat Kamal being strangled and murdered in front of her toddler son.

"The Dundee-based pathologist had placed a profile on a matrimonial website after deciding she was ready to marry for a second time."

'Muslim and Looking for Love'

Channel 4, Muslim and Looking for Love, 26 Jul 09 "If you're young, single and Muslim, finding love is getting increasingly difficult.

"Qualifications, height, job prospects and even complexion are high on the list of demands. Then there's the question of nationality. Will your husband or wife come from Britain or from abroad?

"For professional women, educated Muslim men are in short supply. Muslim men tend to marry at a younger age, not good news when you're pushing 30.

"At the Birmingham Central Mosque, they think they have the answer. As well as ministering to its congregation, it also offers the services of one of the largest Muslim marriage bureaus.

"The Bureau has over a thousand people on its books and Mr Haq and Mr Razzaq are the voluntary matchmakers. Unlikely as it may seem, these two middle-aged men are at the vanguard of a Muslim marriage revolution. For them, the Bureau offers a third way, a space between the traditional arranged marriage and the Western dating scene."

It will be available to view on demand after broadcast (in UK)

Matchmaking

alarabiyya, Arabs seek partners via matchmaking channels, 16 Mar 09 "Satellite channels are an increasingly popular matchmaking tool, especially among Saudi and Egyptian women, who are more dependent on them than other Arab women the study found.

"Siham Ahmed Azab, assistant professor of sociology at King Abdulaziz University, spearheaded the study, which found the proportion of females relying on satellite channels for marriage higher than the number of Arab males who use these channels.

"One such channel is Wasit al Khair, a Gulf channel that acts as a SMS forum for marriage seekers. Participants send SMS messages describing themselves and the partner they seek that are posted on the screen."

'Mullah Matchmaker'

CNN, Mullah Matchmaker, 5 Mar 09

"An Iranian religious figure's matchmaking service results in more than 2,000 marriages. Reza Sayah reports."



Jafar Ardabili profile. For more information, see Jafar Ardabili's web site. 'Success stories' are in the gallery

This issue is discussed in iMuslims

Malaysia

Here's a story on Malaysia that I missed while concentrating on other headlines, but it has a relevance for this blog (+ great headline!): Audrey Vijaindrenn, New Straits Times, Here comes the cyber-bride, 21 Dec 08 "Project director of the Malaysian Islamic Consumers Association, Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin, says: "This is not a new thing, there are lots of cupid type of companies out there. The only difference is that the concept has shifted from manual to web-based procedures, to reach more people.

""We've received complaints from those who have been conned by the websites. It's not a good way within the Muslim community to find a spouse like this. We don't have specific rules and regulations, but we must ask the National Fatwa Council, Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) and the religious councils in all states to evaluate if it's according to Islam."

"He says most single girls panic when they can't find a husband at the age of 30.""

Related links: Malaysian Islamic Consumers Association

Qiran.com

Muslima.com

Iran

Guardian, Dating site 'prostitution', says Iran, 11 Dec 08 "A popular Iranian internet dating website that claimed to be helping people find a spouse and start families has been banned for "promoting prostitution", on the advice of leading Islamic clerics.

"Hamsarchat.com, which boasts of having chalked up more than 1.6m page visits, was also fined and ordered to pay back money collected from clients, after a judge consulted senior ayatollahs - known as "sources of emulation" - following a complaint from Tehran's public prosecutor."

The hamsarchat.com site is still live (at present).