Last week in class, you found a website called IslamiCity that contains a lot of basic information on Islam and the people who practice the religion, who are called Muslims. I had time to check it out over the weekend, and I think it's a good portal -- or introduction -- for us to use as we discuss relations between Islam and the largely secular societies of the West.
According to a 2002 article in The Gulf News, an English-language newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, IslamiCity was started in 1995 by Dany Doueiri, a professor of Islamic history at the University of Southern California, and Mohammed Abdul Aleem. Based in Culver City, Calif., it is one of "a myriad of Islamic sites that have emerged lately with the aim of promoting better understanding of Islam and projecting it as a way of life, not just a creed."
Dourai told the Gulf News, "It has no partisan or political affiliations, as it was designed to be a community site ... [t]hat holds the rising voice of moderate Muslims everywhere." The paper noted "mild, tolerant tone of the site" and reported:
Around 50 per cent of the visitors come for the U.S. However, a site with this level of popularity inevitably faces frequent attacks by hackers, although these have all been brought quickly under control.IslamiCity carries basic information about Islam and commentary on current events.
"Apart from hacking, we also receive hate mail, which we take time to answer in an attempt to change hatred to understanding."
Dr Doueiri contended IslamiCity has, to a great extent, helped remove misconceptions about Islam and promote the inherent Islamic principles of peace, liberty and justice.
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