There has been a lot of anticipation in the Muslim web circles for the launch of Muxlim.tv, a Muslim video site. Muxlim.tv belongs to the Muxlim network of sites which include Muxlim.com – a news start page, MuslimSpace.com – a Muslim MySpace site, as well as a search engine and an online Qur’an resource.

Even though no official announcements have been made, links appearing across the Muxlim network encourage Muxlim members to visit the video section. And we received an IM from the CEO informing us of today’s launch. Muxlim.tv was also featured on Associated Press’ online news hub, asap – Video-sharing sites aimed at Muslims.

Thanks to Muxlim CEO, Mohamed El-Fatatry, we were given a sneak preview of the site. One exceptional feature of the site is the ease of browsing through the various sites in the network. We could jump from one site to the other without having to keep on logging in. We were delighted to see the Muslim Unity Day 2007 commercial as the featured video on the home page. When asked if they knew the organizers of MUD 2K7, who happen to be good friends of ours, Mohamed said that he didn’t know them but found the video to be very interesting.

With FaithTube and IslamicTube recently emerging on the Islamic YouTube video scene, what makes Muxlim.tv stand out?  Well, firstly, the aesthetics of the site are well done. Great layout and color scheme, which fits the Web 2.0 style. Secondly, you cannot add a video from an external site (YouTube, Google Video, etc.). (You can now upload videos from external sites!) However, as you will notice, Muxlim.tv is still in beta phase – http://beta.muxlim.tv/ As the site grows, we are sure more features will be added. Mohamed informed us that Muxlim.tv actually launched early to populate the video inventory. They also have big plans for the future of the site which they hope to include beaming videos to mobile phones, satellite TV channels and more. We hope social networking tools will be added for easy sharing of the videos.

Drop us a comment if you have used Muxlim.tv, FaithTube or IslamicTube. We would like to hear your feedback.

Update: a Muxlim.tv Facebook app is in development. Look for it soon, insha’Allah.

Update II: Join the Facebook group – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2795596939

Dave Chappelle + Unity Productions + Allah Made Me Funny Comedy = lots of laughs, plenty of entertainment and abundant reminders. After he caused a stir in the entertainment industry by suddenly leaving a $50 million dollar deal, Dave Chappelle has been more vocal about his faith. Now with this recent announcement, his faith should not be an issue of speculation. When we heard from the Allah Made Me Funny camp that Chappelle was on board, we scrambled into “PR” mode. We contacted the AMMF webmaster, posted links on Facebook and sent out emails. This is a continuation…

People in the DC area will be delighted to know that two warm-up sets will be conducted in mid-August 2007. Visit this link for the details: http://www.allahmademefunny.com/pr/dc/

The actual filming for the movie will take place in Anaheim, California in late August 2007. 

Time and Place Date: Saturday, August 25, 2007
Time: 8:00pm – 10:00pm
Venue: Heritage Forum
Address: 201 E. Broadway, Anaheim, CA
Map: http://dwarfurl.com/c3407

The IslamCrunch team (at least half of us) intend to be there and we hope to meet our friends and readers. Here are some side notes behind the monumental press release:

• Seth Fuller = Word of Mouth PR firm for Allah Made Me Funny, other clients include Little Mosque on the Prairie TV show.
• Andrea Kalin = president of SparkMedia, currently working on “Prince Among Slaves“, a biography of Abdul Rahman Ibrahima. Here is a great interview with Andrea conducted by Unity Productions.
• Unity Productions = producer of “Prince Among Slaves”, details here: http://upf.tv/upf06/Projects/PrinceAmongSlaves/tabid/77/Default.aspx
• 3 days before the Anaheim show tune in on August 22 to watch Unity Productions’ “Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain” on PBS.

Another wonderful interview with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf during his recent travels to the UK. This interview was conducted during his visit for the Islam Awareness Week event. We noticed that there is one mistake at the beginning of the video. BBC states that Shaykh Hamza was born in California, which is incorrect. He was actually born in Walla Walla, Washington. 

A favorite quote: “Don’t underestimate God.” (In reference to getting a second chance and the victims of 9/11)

YouTube – Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Talks to Mark Lawson-Islam in America P 1

Part 2 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWYoJ3tcHG0

Part 3 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV3JoeF_m5E

Web 2.0 activity is growing rapidly as consumers no longer visit the web to passively take in content; rather, they are actively creating content themselves, a survey conducted by global strategy and technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton shows. The survey shows 50 per cent of individuals who use the Internet report that they use social media sites resulting in more than 420 million Web 2.0 users globally, of which 19 million are in the Middle East. Penetration of Web 2.0 sites in the Middle East is not yet as prevalent, as only 15 per cent of users in Arab countries frequently visit Web 2.0 sites.

Public view

In the Middle East, a whopping 70 per cent of MySpace users allow the messages they send back and forth to their colleagues to be viewed by the public – essentially, carrying on instant messaging conversations that can be read by anyone, anywhere in the world. In the Middle East, 84 per cent reported gathering purchasing recommendations online. About 40 per cent of users worldwide, and 34 per cent of users in the Middle East are willing to use recommendations on purchases from unknown members of consumer platforms. In fact, over 80 per cent of Middle East users take recommendations on purchasing from other users, one-third of which come from unfamiliar individuals. “The survey suggests that companies may need to radically reshape their traditional marketing approaches in response to the transfer of marketing power from corporations to individuals,” Hasbani said.

Read the rest of this entry »

Imam Zaid Shakir is scheduled to appear on the Bill Moyers Journal show on PBS, insha’Allah. The broadcast will air on Friday, June 22, 2007.

More information can be found on the program’s website: http://www.pbs.org/moyers

Veteran journalist Bill Moyers returns to PBS with a weekly public affairs series entitled BILL MOYERS JOURNAL – the name of his first important series on public television 35 years ago. Moyers is re-inventing the broadcast for the 21st century, with interviews and news analysis on a wide range of subjects, including politics, arts and culture, the media, the economy and issues facing democracy.

Check your local listings, broadcast times may differ. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/about/airdates.html It will rebroadcast again later in the week and the Moyers’ website will feature the full streaming version, bonus videos and the full transcript. Recently, Imam Zaid has been featured in the media with articles appearing here and here.

UPDATE: You can view the video and transcript of interview here: http://dwarfurl.com/c4977

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