FACEBOOK: For Muslims?

You See stuff on Facebook (right?)

What about 'Allahs Book'?

Imagine all the people you know . .

Sir,

My question is, can we let our children continue to use this thing called FACEBOOK?

-– like be in the same chatroom, together - some are close friends, others not so much; some co-workers and fellow students, a few family members and some that you just met on one occasion but haven’t talked to since. You converse with some, and every once in a while, you make announcements about yourself into a large bullhorn, “Tasbeeh is researching her paper!” or “Tasbeeh is cooking dinner!” This is Facebook . . .

--- By Tasbeeh Herwees, IFN Columnist

When I first joined Facebook in 2007, another popular social networking site called MySpace had become the topic of Friday night youth group lectures and Islamic conference youth sessions. Parents traded over-sensationalized stories about girls sending boys private messages and posting less-than-halal photos. This was something new to the Muslim community – the only way they knew to react to boys and girls “friending” each other was negatively.

Facebook has a tamer reputation. Profiles are private to non-friends, and further privacy controls can be applied to friends. The Muslim community began to understand that a “friend” on Facebook didn’t mean anything more than that. And the youth became a little more self-conscious of what they posted online.

I’d never had a MySpace page, so joining Facebook, for me, had been an important decision. Joining MySpace had become almost taboo. Even those who did nothing wrong were often victims of accusations from parents and fellow Muslims. Was Facebook going to become the new MySpace?

If there’s anything I learned in this new age of technology, it’s that anything – cell phones, instant messaging, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube – can be used as tools for sin. But they can also be used for good – for the sake of Allah – because they are, ultimately, just tools.

Mark Zuckerburg, the creator of Facebook, did not invent Facebook with the intent to weaken the faith of young Muslims. Facebook and MySpace can be whatever the users want them to be.

So, I joined Facebook with the intention of keeping in touch with my Muslim friends, creating new ones and teaching others about Islam. Facebook, if used correctly, can be an effective tool to teach others about Islam. When you post a video about Ramadan, for example, it’s not just your Muslim friends who see it, it’s the non-Muslims, too.

It can also be a great tool for strengthening your own faith. Since its inception, thousands of Islamic groups, applications and fan pages have sprouted. One of the most popular Islamic groups – “A hadith a day keeps the shaytan away!” – sends you Islamic hadith (teachings of Prophet Muhammad, pbuh) daily, straight to your Facebook inbox.
There’s an application for prayer times and an “Ayah a Day” application that also allows you to listen to several recitations of the ayah (verse from the Qur’an). Several youth groups keep in touch with their members through Facebook groups and advertise their events through the event application.

During the current Gulf crisis, thousands of Muslims add an application that frequently updates their personal status with the current death toll. Hundreds upon hundreds of videos, articles and literature about the crisis are being posted.

Facebook, MySpace, AIM – it’s not the tools that are “evil,” as so many are quick to claim. It’s not the people who use them, either. It is, just as with anything else in our lives, the intention with which we use them that matters.
As long as your intention is with God, go ahead – add that application.

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