SalamWeb
{{Short description|Muslim compliant web browser developed by Salam Web Technologies DMCC}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox software
| name = SalamWeb
| logo = SalamWeb logo.svg
| screenshot = SalamWeb (web browser).png
| caption = SalamWeb browser on Windows 10
| developer = Salam Web Technologies DMCC
| released = {{Start date|df=yes|2019|01|17}}
| ver layout = stacked
| latest release version = {{Multiple releases
| branch1 = Android
| version1 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q94|P548=Q2804309}}
| date1 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q94|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| branch2 = iOS
| version2 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q48493|P548=Q2804309}}
| date2 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q48493|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| branch3 = macOS
| version3 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q14116|P548=Q2804309}}
| date3 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q14116|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| branch4 = Windows
| version4 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q1406|P548=Q2804309}}
| date4 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q1406|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
}}
| latest preview version = {{Multiple releases
| branch1 = Android
| version1 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q94|P548=Q51930650}}
| date1 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q94|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
| branch2 = iOS
| version2 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q48493|P548=Q51930650}}
| date2 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q48493|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
| branch3 = macOS
| version3 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q14116|P548=Q51930650}}
| date3 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q14116|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
| branch4 = Windows
| version4 = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q1406|P548=Q51930650}}
| date4 = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q61194756|P348|P400=Q1406|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
}}
| programming language = C++, Assembly, Python, JavaScript, Java
| operating system = {{Plainlist|
- Android 4.4 and later
- iOS 11 or later
- macOS 10.10 or later
- Windows 7 or later
}}
| platform =
| language = English, (Malaysian and Indonesian), Urdu, Bengali, Arabic, Russian and Turkish.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}
| genre = Web browser, mobile browser
| license = Freeware
| website = {{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20210302214848/https://salamweb.com/|salamweb.com (archive)}}
| standard =
| AsOf =
}}
SalamWeb (from Arabic salām, سلام, meaning “peace”) is a discontinued Chromium-based browser developed by the now-defunct Malaysian startup Salam Web Technologies MY Sdn.{{cite news |last1=Ho |first1=Yudith |title=Halal Internet? Islamic Browser Promises Better Web Experience |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-28/halal-internet-islamic-browser-promises-better-web-experience |access-date=28 January 2019 |work=Bloomberg |issue=28 January 2019}} Designed to deliver a Muslim-friendly Web experience, and targeted towards the Muslim audience, it observed the Islamic law and tradition and was certified as a Islamically compliant web browser.{{cite news |title=Halal Internet? Islamic browser promises better Web experience |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/halal-internet-islamic-browser-promises-better-web-experience |access-date=28 January 2019 |work=Straits Times |agency=Bloomberg |date=28 January 2019}}
The browser was also the main component of the Muslim-specific digital ecosystem, which included web apps and SalamToday, an online magazine with localized and international editions.{{Cite web|url=https://today.salamweb.com/about-us/|title=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends|website=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends|access-date = 28 December 2019}}
SalamWeb was available for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It supports multiple languages, including English, Malaysian and Indonesian, Urdu, Arabic, Russian, Turkish, and Bengali.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}
It was discontinued in 2021 for unknown reasons, and the salamweb.com domain is no longer accessible.
Features
=Main features=
In order to create a Muslim-friendly ecosystem, SalamWeb used SalamWebProtect, a three-layered system that filtered out haram – content, products and services which are offensive to Muslims and considered by them to be harmful to children. The system included built-in filters, AI image recognition software and a community-based vetting system where users flagged inappropriate content.{{Cite web|url=http://support.salamweb.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020539474-SalamProtect-Inappropriate-content|title=SalamProtect & Inappropriate content|website=Salam Web Technologies DMCC|access-date = 28 December 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.my/salamweb-technologies-my-introduces-worlds-first-shariah-compliant-internet-suite-of-services/|title=SalamWeb Technologies MY Introduces World's First Shariah Compliant Internet Suite of Services, Business Insider - Business Insider Malaysia|first=Media|last=OutReach|website=www.businessinsider.my|access-date = 28 December 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/bots/2019/02/461878/live-syariah-compliant-browser|title=Live: A syariah-compliant browser|first=Balqis|last=Lim|date=20 February 2019|website=NST Online|access-date = 28 December 2019}}
Sadaqah means an act of kindness without expecting anything in return 'fi sabillilah' (for the cause of Allah). SalamSadaqah sought to engage Muslims in charitable activities and to remind them that the idea of charity is central to Islam.{{Cite web|url=https://sadaqah.salamweb.com/|title=Sadaqah|access-date=28 December 2019|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807014919/https://sadaqah.salamweb.com/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://support.salamweb.com/hc/en-us/articles/360030983294-Sadaqah|title=Sadaqah|website=Salam Web Technologies DMCC|access-date = 28 December 2019}} SalamWebSadaqah was also SalamWeb's own commitment to make a donation to a charitable project (in association with Global Sadaqah, a global Islamic charity),{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalsadaqah.com/|title=Global Sadaqah | Donate Zakat, Sadaqah & Waqf Online|website=Global Sadaqah|access-date = 28 December 2019}} each time, someone used SalamWeb. SalamWebWidgets helped Muslims practice Islam while staying in touch with technology and the Internet. These include Prayer Times, which shows the upcoming praying time,{{Cite web|url=http://support.salamweb.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020565893-Prayer-times|title=Prayer times|website=Salam Web Technologies DMCC|access-date = 28 December 2019}} Praying Direction Compass, which showed Qibla (the direction a Muslim must face when praying),{{Cite web|url=http://support.salamweb.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020539554-Qibla-direction-to-Mecca|title=Qibla - direction to Mecca|website=Salam Web Technologies DMCC|access-date = 28 December 2019}} Daily Quotes,{{Cite web|url=https://www.mysalaam.com/en/story/this-web-browser-is-designed-to-optimise-the-islamic-way-of-life/SALAAM20022019032156|title=This web browser is designed to optimise the Islamic way of life|first=Balqis|last=Lim|website=My Salaam|access-date=28 December 2019|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807060855/https://www.mysalaam.com/en/story/this-web-browser-is-designed-to-optimise-the-islamic-way-of-life/SALAAM20022019032156|url-status=dead}} Mosques Near Me,{{Cite web|url=http://support.salamweb.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033298874-Release-2-0|title=Release 2.0|website=Salam Web Technologies DMCC|access-date = 28 December 2019}} and others.
SalamWeb was based on Chromium and retained its functionality. It could use browser extensions developed for Google Chrome.{{Cite web|url=http://support.salamweb.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039011773-Release-4-0|title=Release 4.0|website=Salam Web Technologies DMCC}}
=Social Browsing=
From release 4.4, SalamWeb contains the elements of social browsing.{{Cite web|url=https://support.salamweb.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015630739-Release-4-4|title=Release 4.4|website=Salam Web Technologies DMCC|access-date = 28 December 2019}} SalamWebTalks, a commenting and rating widget, was embedded in the browser. As such, the company claimed it allowed commenting on any web page as long as it contains a URL.{{Cite web|url=https://salamweb.com/salamwebtalks/0|website=Salam Web Technologies DMCC|access-date = 28 December 2019|title=SalamWebTalks}}
=Languages=
The browser was available in English, Malaysian, Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali, Arabic, Russian, and Turkish.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}
=SalamWebToday=
SalamWebToday was an online magazine that sought to engage Muslims into a conversation about what it meant to be a Muslim in a world dominated by technology.{{Cite web|url=https://today.salamweb.com/about-us/|title=About Us}} By July 2020 SalamWebToday was available in Arabic,{{Cite web|url=https://today.salamweb.com/ar/|title=Homepage|website=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends|access-date=31 July 2020|archive-date=22 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422081515/https://today.salamweb.com/ar/|url-status=dead}} Bengali,{{Cite web|url=https://bd.salamtoday.com/|title=Homepage|website=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends}} English,{{Cite web|url=https://int.salamtoday.com/|title=Homepage|website=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends}} French,{{Cite web|url=https://today.salamweb.com/fr/|title=Homepage|website=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends|access-date=31 July 2020|archive-date=15 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615021346/https://today.salamweb.com/fr/|url-status=dead}} Indonesian,{{Cite web|url=https://today.salamweb.com/id/|title=Homepage|website=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends|access-date=31 July 2020|archive-date=12 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712190901/https://today.salamweb.com/id/|url-status=dead}} Bahasa Melayu,{{Cite web|url=https://salamtoday.com/|title=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends|website=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends}} Russian,{{Cite web|url=https://today.salamweb.com/ru/|title=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends|website=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends|access-date=31 July 2020|archive-date=22 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422052707/https://today.salamweb.com/ru/|url-status=dead}} and Turkish.{{Cite web|url=https://today.salamweb.com/tr/|title=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends|website=SalamToday: Muslim fashion, Style news, Beauty and trends|access-date=31 July 2020|archive-date=6 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506132904/https://today.salamweb.com/tr/|url-status=dead}}
Concept and cultural impact
The Muslim world remains divided over the internet. For some, it is a questionable technology that has been used by child pornographers, money launderers and fraudsters.Wheeler, D. (2002). Islam, Community, and the Internet: New possibilities in the digital age. Interface: The Journal of Education, Community and Values 2(2), p. 11. Available at http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2002/02/islam.php For others, it is merely an extension of reality and, therefore, ethically neutral.Ed. Dale F. Eickleman and Jon W. Anderson. New Media in the Muslim World: The Emerging Public Sphere. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999, pp. 45-60. {{ISBN|978-0253216052}}
SalamWeb sided with those Muslim intellectuals who argue that the internet should be seen as an instrument of ‘re-actualisation’ of Islam, that is the reinterpretation of Islamic doctrines in such a way that they become more relevant to the modern time.Islam: Essays on Scripture, Thought and Society - A Festschrift in Honour of Anthony H. Johns. Islamic Philosophy, Theology & Science: Texts & Studies. {{ISBN|978-9004106925}}. If understood correctly, they say, the internet can produce a kind of Muslim Renaissance similar in effect to the flowering of Islamic science, culture and the community life during the Abbasid period.Göran Larsson. Muslims and the New Media: Historical and Contemporary Debates, p. 151. {{ISBN|978-1138278899}} To achieve this, SalamWeb sought to promote the Islamic concept of ijma’, that is building knowledge and understanding through enlightened debate.
Reception
SalamWeb received positive reviews from users and critics. A Bloomberg News report in 2019 called SalamWeb a sign of demand for a browser that is compliant with Islamic values, at a time of mounting concerns about privacy, bias, and online abuse.{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-28/halal-internet-islamic-browser-promises-better-web-experience | title=Halal Internet? Islamic Browser Promises Better Web Experience | newspaper=Bloomberg.com | date=28 January 2019 }} Also in 2019, Financial Management magazine reported that SalamWeb gained popularity as an alternative for Muslims preferring content aligned with Islamic values.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fm-magazine.com/issues/2019/aug/halal-goods-supply-chain.html|title=Sizing up the $2 trillion halal market|date=1 August 2019|website=FM Magazine}} Reviews for websites directed at Asian users found that SalamWeb was mostly effective at blocking haram content, that is, content that is prohibited or offensive to Muslims.{{Cite web|url=https://techwireasia.com/2016/05/salam-browser-worlds-first-halal-web/|title=Salam Browser: Putting the world's first 'halal' web browser to the test|date=27 May 2016|website=Tech Wire Asia}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.myeverydaytech.com/salamweb-the-halal-web-browser/|title=We Tested SalamWeb – The Halal Web Browser|date=18 January 2019}}
SalamWeb was the first web browser to be certified by the private Amanie Shariah Supervisory Board.{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/halal-internet-this-browser-promises-to-be-compliant-with-islamic-values-119012800133_1.html|title=Halal internet? This browser promises to be compliant with Islamic values|first=Yudith|last=Ho|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=28 January 2019|via=Business Standard}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.my/the-worlds-first-shariah-compliant-browser-has-been-launched-in-malaysia-along-with-chat-filter-and-sadaqah-services/|title=The world's first Shariah-compliant Internet service suite has been launched in Malaysia - along with browser, chat and sadaqah services, Business Insider - Business Insider Malaysia|first=Jessica|last=Lin|website=www.businessinsider.my|access-date=3 January 2020|archive-date=3 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103181614/https://www.businessinsider.my/the-worlds-first-shariah-compliant-browser-has-been-launched-in-malaysia-along-with-chat-filter-and-sadaqah-services/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/seasia/2019/01/28/halal-internet-islamic-browser-promises-better-web-experience-.html|title=Halal internet? Islamic browser promises better web experience|website=The Jakarta Post}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/new-syariah-compliant-web-browser-launched-in-malaysia-helps-to-maintain-purity-of|title=New syariah-compliant Web browser launched in Malaysia helps to 'maintain purity' of users|date=20 May 2016|website=The Straits Times}} It was endorsed by Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation as compliant with the Islamic Digital Economy Guide (Mi'yar).{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalnewsasia.com/digital-economy/salamweb-aims-promote-ethical-shariah-compliant-web-browsing|title=SalamWeb aims to promote ethical, Shariah-compliant web browsing|date=18 January 2019|website=Digital News Asia}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.salaamgateway.com/story/dubai-company-to-put-up-15-mln-to-develop-shariah-compliant-web-browser-other-digital-products|title=Dubai company to put up $15 mln to develop 'Shariah-compliant' web browser, other digital products|agency=Reuters|website=Salaam Gateway - Global Islamic Economy Gateway}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/bots/2019/02/461878/live-syariah-compliant-browser|title=Live: A syariah-compliant browser|first=Balqis|last=Lim|date=20 February 2019|website=NST Online}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/2021*/https://salamweb.com/ Official website archives] on Archive.org
{{Web browsers}}