Putting the sharia in sharing... Facebook for Muslims

A Muslim version of Facebook has officially launched in the UK to provide practising Muslims with a way of social networking without compromising their beliefs.

Muslimbook.com aims to be "socially responsible, safe for families and respectful of Islamic religious values".

Content that is disrespectful, explicit, immoral or otherwise "haram" under Islam is prohibited on the site.

"It's a safe alternative for Muslims, where they do not feel anxious about anti-Islamic material or others incompatible with Islamic ethics," said Shoaib Fadie, the chief executive.

The new site contains a number of applications that are specific to devout Muslims.

It's a safe alternative for Muslims, where they do not feel anxious about anti-Islamic material. Shoaib Fadie, the chief executive.

For example there is an "app" which alterts users to prayer times, as well as giving the location of a nearest mosque, and networkers can also find instant Quranic quotes to post as their statuses.

Friends may only be added from the "Maharam list", which refers to people you are permitted to socialise with under certain interpretations of Islamic law.

This means that one may only add members of the same sex or close relatives.

Users can even search for a marriage partner, with requests being sent under supervision of someone from your maharam list.

It is not the first attempt to create a sharia-compliant version of Facebook. In 2010 the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt created "Ikhwanbook" in order to "share your life with other Muslim brothers around the world".

The site is currently inactive.

In 2012 "Salaamworld" was launched from Istanbul to connect millions of Muslims worldwide, however the site also appears to no longer be running.

"Efforts that seek to provide a parallel Muslim platform often fizzle because the market is just not there," Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Centre for Muslim Studies told Bloomberg on the launch of Salaamworld.

"Muslims, like anyone else, tap into social media to connect to the world, to transcend boundaries. Making a social networking platform unique to one group undermines the power of the medium."