Matchmaking apps

TechCrunch, YC-backed Muzmatch definitely doesn’t want to be Tinder for Muslims

 

 Source: Muzmatch.com

Also see:
 
CBC, Canadian women create ‘offline dating’ service for Muslims looking for love

This discusses Matchbox which has a different approach to these issues.

Matchmaking online

Lydia Green, BBC News, Why millions of Muslims are signing up for online dating, 10 Dec 2014 "Arranged marriages are standard practice in many societies, but the introductions and screening process can be an ordeal for the young people involved - even if they are pleased with the eventual outcome. Some Western Muslims have concluded that online matchmaking can help reduce embarrassment."

Also see: 

alarabiya.net, Online dating gains traction among Muslims in West "Adeem Younis, founder of matchmaking site Single Muslim, which boasts of having over one million members, told the BBC that he set up the service after to avoid the pain of family-orchestrated matchmaking – and as an alternative to the more casual hook-up culture prevalent with many secular dating sites."

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"

'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 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.

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."

Online Matchmaking

AlterNet, Online Matchmaking Sites Court U.S. Muslims, 29 May 08 "A growing online matchmaking movement has many Muslim women elbowing aside courtship traditions."