ImHalal we trust?

Today even most ardent cyber-skeptics will agree that most of our Internet experiences are defined by Google: whether you are in Cairo or in Caracas, chances are your daily surfing starts with Google’s simple home page. What’s even more remarkable is that users in both Cairo or Caracas are very likely to get similar search results for similar search queries: Google’s link-driven taxonomy of knowledge doesn’t really leave much space for accomodating the cultural heritage of its users.

It’s, perhaps, only the Chinese who get different search results, as Google has had to modify what it displays when Chinese users search for sensitive terms like "democracy" or "human rights". But politics – as in the Chinese case – is not the only factor that may influence search results. Culture and, above all, religion could also reshape the Internet in ways that are very similar to how they have reshaped economic relations. The rise of interest-free Islamic banking compliant with Sharia tradition is a case in point here: if the banks can modify their lending practices to better suit their customers, why can’t search engines?

That’s the premise behind the Netherlands-based ImHalal.com, a new search engine that is supposed to protect the sensibilities of Muslims by filtering out content that is considered "haram" (i.e. forbidden) by Islam. In its basic form, the search engine will issue warnings to users before displaying "haram" search results.

All search content on ImHalal.com is given a "haram" rating of "one", "two", and "three"; users will be warned that their search results might yield content of ratings "one" and "two" but they may still decided to proceed (beer and pork are ranked "one", as they cannot be consumed off the Internet – an interesting explanation). Content of ranking "three" – porn, for example – will get a rating of "three"  and would thus be blocked from search results.

What I find most curious about this service is that when users’ searchers are likely to generate content ranked "1" or "2", they will be asked to consider searching for terms that would not generate the offensive content.

I am curious to see if ImHalal’s idea truly takes off in the Muslim world. Atheists may be baffled by the fact that anyone might want to use a deliberately censored search engine when uncensored alternatives are available for free. However, religious belief doesn’t lend itself to easy rational analysis, so no great surprises here. Thus, if ImHalal does fare well with Muslim users, it would deliver yet another blow to the cyber-utopian theories that predicted we are all going to live in a tolerant global village, where technology and new media would offer a way to bypass religious restrictions and prejudices. As the proliferation of sites like ImHalal demonstrates, the advent of the Internet may further – rather than undermine – one’s religious commitment.