Islam and the Internet: A Systematic Assessment

Introduction

  This is the second of the two essays assessing the contents and validity of Internet Web sites dealing with Islam. The objective of this essay is to demonstrate what the average person looking for information about Islam would come across using one of the five most popular search engines (MSN, Google, Lycos, Yahoo, and HotBot).  To research this, the keyword Islam was used as a search.  Both assuming that browsers will only look at a handful of sites to gather information and that they turn to sites which will not take too much time to come across, only each twentieth Web site of the first two hundred Web sites were used.  The name, Web address, and topics claimed to be covered by the Web sites are offered in the following tables to demonstrate what the average person looking for information about Islam, using one of the five most popular search engines, would come across.
  The actual contents and validity of the Web sites are examined and graded based on the criteria outlined in the following grading key. Comments have been included to both support and justify the basis on which the sites were graded.
 

Grading Key:
  A: A Web site which uses reliable sources and adequately addresses the issues surrounding the religion of Islam, providing a range of factual and useful information that is portrayed in either an objective or moderately positive light.
  B: A Web site which uses reliable sources and sufficiently addresses the issues surrounding Islam, providing factual information that is portrayed in either an objective or moderately positive light, but fails either in its range and/or depth of information.
  C: A Web site whose sources are questionable, but still provides factual, albeit limited, information about Islam which may be communicated in a subjective and/or unconstructive manner.
  D:  A Web site whose sources are highly suspect, and that provides inaccurate and/or misinformation about the issues surrounding Islam.

  F: A Web site whose sources are highly suspect, and that provides both inaccurate and/or misinformation in a negative manner.

  N/A: The site does not communicate or provide any information about Islam. The site and/or links to information on the site are either under construction, unavailable, moved, or non-existent. The site may also serve another purpose such as a resource guide to information or an E-mailing network.

Table 1: Grading of Web Sites

Table 2: Summary of Results

  The preceding results confirm the reality of Islamic research on the Internet. It can be a double edged sword—i.e. it can be beneficial at times and disadvantageous at others.  The top grade given is tied between a ‘C’ and an ‘N/A’ demonstrating that when a novice to Islam searches five engines and 50 sites for information about the topic, with 10 Web sites from each search engine, he/she is most likely to come across either a mediocre site which uses questionable sources and provides limited information (a ‘C’ site) or a site which provides no information at all (a ‘Not Available’ site). When searching for ‘Islam’ in this manner, 28% of the sites will either be of a ‘C’ or ‘N/A’ quality.
  The grade with the next largest number awarded is a ‘B’ indicating that a significant number of sites do provide a factual, albeit not ideal, overview of Islam. ‘B’ sites do, however, ensure that an individual is presented with a solid basis from which to work in the quest for information. When using the five specified engines and examining 10 sites from each search, 22% of the sites will be of a ‘B’ quality.
  The next grade to follow is ‘A’ with a total of seven ‘A’ graded sites out of 50. This finding implies that 14% of sites are of superior quality in the quantity, delivery, and validity of information regarding Islam.
  Also, four sites have been graded a ‘D’ or ‘F’ for their poor and shoddy quality of information and/or manner in which that information is presented.  It is important to reiterate, however, that these sites do exist and may stand to slander the name of Islam.

Conclusion
  On the whole, the preceding findings serve as a reminder that common sense, critical thinking and analysis are essential to research any topic on the Internet. But this is particularly important with regard to Islam, since it is an often misperceived and complex subject. Since the Internet is here to stay, and many people do use it to find information on Islam, it behoves scholars in the field to use the medium to teach the truth about religion1.