The ImHalal service works like any other search facility until potentially illicit words are entered, when it rates the search from one to three on its risk of generating “haram” or forbidden material.
Reza Sardeha, founder of AZS Media Group which runs the search engine, said: “The idea grew up when some friends of mine complained that when they searched on Google or Yahoo once in a while they bumped into sexually explicit content.”
About 100,000 separate users have accessed the site since its launch on Wednesday, but this is small fry compared with Mr Sardeha’s ultimate ambition — to become the standard homepage for the world’s online Muslims, who number at least 100 million.
Seven months in development, the search is available in 15 languages including Arabic, Chinese, Farsi and Turkish, as well as English. The company expects its largest audience to develop in the Middle East.
When a search rates one or two on the haram scale, the user can still decide to take the risk and click through to the results. But a three-rated search yields no results, only the message: “Oops! Your search inquiry has a Haram level of 3 out of 3! I would like to advise you to change your search terms and try again.”
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