After seeing a spike in traffic, we realized that our site was getting hits from Twitter.com and from Quotably.com. The main blogger for Techcrunch France (Ouriel Ohayon) had sent a tweet to Michael Arrington asking him to check out IslamCrunch.

Of course, we gave thanks* to Ouriel for mentioning us. To see our brief conversation, click on the image below:

You can read more about our name on our ‘About‘ page. Those of you who use Twitter, please add us: http://www.twitter.com/islamcrunch

* We found this verse from the Quran, Surah Al-Imran, quite fitting for this post:

And hold fast by the covenant of Allah all together and be not disunited, and remember the favor of Allah on you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts so by His favor you became brethren; and you were on the brink of a pit of fire, then He saved you from it, thus does Allah make clear to you His communications that you may follow the right way.

Quran Chapter 3, verse 103

Our friends of Nasheeds.com have a special bonus for all IslamCrunch readers. Use the code below to receive a 15% discount on all purchases! Some CDs are already on sale. Use the code to receive an additional 15% off on sale items!

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Pre-order the upcoming Native Deen album, Not Afraid to Stand Alone. This album has been highly anticipated. Anyone who has seen Native Deen recently will know that they have grown artistically, creatively and spiritually. When our brothers from Native Deen visited San Jose this year, their set was a m a z i n g.

Click on the CD cover to read more about the album.

Another album to add to your collection is Hamza Robertson’s Something About Life. Hamza may not be a household name yet but he has already toured with Sami Yusuf, Native Deen and other well-known nasheed performers. Use the special code above to add an additional 15% to the current discount of 10% off. That’s 25% discount!

Click on the CD cover to read more about the album.

Out Seeing the Fields by singer/songwriter Dawud Wharnsby is an intimate collection of songs underscored by acoustic guitar and the intricate piano work of US based composer Idris Phillips. Wharnsby’s poetry and voice are in the foreground as usual, with subject matter addressing honesty of faith, quest for identity, spiritual growth, and love. Other elements include a tribute to peace activist Rachel Corrie and a semi-autobiographic look at balancing faith with the egocentric music industry. Another opportunity to purchase this album at 25% discount.

Click on the CD cover to read more about the album.

Nasheeds.com has been very gracious to showcase IslamCrunch on their site and our relationship continues to grow, which all began here: http://islamcrunch.com/archives/ramadan-competition/

Please support them, tell all your friends about this offer and purchase your ‘Eid gifts now. Share this article by clicking here!

* = valid until December 31, 2007.

A new addition to the social networking scene with a Islamic twist appeared today. Ummah5 was developed by Ayoob Syed based on the Ning architecture. Ayoob is a fellow San Francisco Bay Area (Silicon Valley) resident. He sent me an invite this morning and I was more than happy to jump in (I am member #7!). I am honored that he asked me for my feedback and any critiques of the network. Showing my Shafi’i pride, I immediately asked for a prayer time widget according to the Shafi’i madhhab (Ayoob already set up a Hanafi widget).

According to their main page:

“ummah5 is a humble attempt to provide resources and organization to our Muslim community. We are attempting to bring together everyone who considers him/herself a Muslim and wants to do something to raise the condition of our Ummah.”

What’s on the inside:

• your own blog
• a comment wall
• photo album
• video album
• post your favorite RSS feed on your profile
• forum
• start your own group
• member directory
• 50+ themes to personalize your page
• advanced customization of the themes
• personal ummah5 box – use it to promote yourself, your business, service, product or whatever you want

At the moment, ummah5 is closed to the public. You need an invite to get in. If you would like an invite, add a comment to this post with a link to your favorite IslamCrunch article.

More invites! Not as new as our Yahoo! Mash invites but we didn’t see too many Muslims taking advantage of this online productivity social network. So, if you would like an invite to 8apps, drop a comment here with a link to your favorite IslamCrunch post.

8apps is an ongoing, evolving social network project run by Jonkenpon. It aims to be a collection of 8 indispensable online applications designed to help you work better. Currently there are 3 apps within 8apps. Handshake is the glue that ties everything together. It is a professional social network in which you can vote on your contacts’ abilities, send mails, write comments and style your profile page to your liking. Blueprint is a brainstorming board that you and your Handshake contacts can use to get projects quickly and colourfully out of the ideas phase. Orchestrate is a multi-pane task manager that allows you to view as many lists on screen as you like, and of course, you can share lists with your Handshake contacts.

Unity has been established amongst Sunni Muslim scholars from across the globe! Imam Suhaib Webb announced on his blog about the Sunni Muslim Unity Pledge. The official pledge name is Pledge of Mutual Respect and Cooperation Between Sunni Muslim Scholars, Organizations, and Students of Sacred Knowledge.

IslamCrunch fully endorses this pledge and we seek the assistance of Allah s.w.t. to uphold this pledge. To see a list of other bloggers who endorse this pledge, please visit our friend Mujahideen Ryder’s post: The Sunni Unity Pledge.

Several of our teachers and friends from the Zaytuna Seminary Program have signed the pledge. Additionally,  we sincerely endorse this pledge to assist in establishing goodness and removing the evil from within our communities. Also, please visit Shaykh Yasir Qadhi’s post and Abu Eesa’s post with background information. 

Join the Facebook group here: