IslamCrunch » Blog Archive » IslamCrunch interviews DeenPort

6
Jul
2007

IslamCrunch interviews DeenPort

Sidi Omar Tufail discusses the future of DeenPort, the history behind it, his love for DPers, science fiction and more. Living in a world of only one website, we ride the neural synaptic sparks in Sidi Omar’s mind to explore DeenPort.

IslamCrunch: What is your web application/service about?

DeenPort: DeenPort describes itself as a “point of connection, an opening to new understandings, an entrance into unexplored areas or an entry point to the rest of the Internet.” All this, revolving around the religion of Islam. In plain English that translates as people using the site on a daily basis to keep a pulse on what’s happening in and around the global Muslim community.

IslamCrunch: Why did you start this project?

DeenPort: The site is a continuation of a previous project that I had online at zhikr.org. I started that project after my sister and brother attended a Rihla program in Spain and came back buzzing with new knowledge and life. I decided I had to have some of that for myself and traveled to the next Rihla program at the Zaytuna Institute, and after my return setup the DeenPort website. It was a way to stay in touch with that whole learning experience I had, with that atmosphere, and to try and channel the energy I found through that into what I knew best, and what I knew best was web stuff.

IslamCrunch: How does your project relate to Muslims? Or is your project geared towards a general audience?

DeenPort: The project is aimed towards anyone and everyone interested in Islam. The vast majority of people that use the site are Muslims.

IslamCrunch: If your project is related to Muslims, how do you hope your project will impact the Muslim community?

DeenPort: Through the various sections of the site, we hope Muslims are better informed of news, events, discussions etc on and off the Internet. We also hope that through dialogue, interaction and networking with others from all over the world, people on the site are able to get a deeper understanding and exposure to the bigger picture of various issues that concern Muslims globally. The site is constantly evolving and so new sections and features are added to help facilitate this.

IslamCrunch: How much time do you devote to its growth?

DeenPort: It depends on the day. Sometimes I get sucked into it to the point that nothing else matters and that can be counter-productive, and on other days
I feel like I’m not spending enough time on it. I tinker with the site everyday. Sometimes that tinkering lasts a few minutes and sometimes it extends to hours and hours, but the tinkering never stops.

IslamCrunch: How large is your team and what does everyone do?

DeenPort: I do the coding and the general “planning” for the site, it’s direction etc. Maqbool Khandia (he’s gone on hiatus for a while, offline commitments etc), Farah Akhtar, Sidra Mushtaq and A’isha Maryam all help out with various maintenance tasks for the site. Plus we have a whole army of people who we are indebted to for constant support and advice. Without them, the site could not go on.

IslamCrunch: What is your design/service philosophy?

DeenPort: Design: Keep it simple, try and look after the details. Service: It’s nice to be nice.

IslamCrunch: What technologies are you currently using?

DeenPort: Mainly PHP & MySQL. Being a self-taught programmer, these two appealed to me for the amazing support the open-source community gives an up and coming newbie.

IslamCrunch: What are the most requested features from your users/community?

DeenPort: I have a todo list probably longer and larger than any book ever written! I could go on for years. What’s most important? Everything! The thing with the site is that whenever a feature is requested, if it’s going to take ages, we usually note it down for future development. If, however, it can be implemented relatively quickly, we’ll do it straight away. The members of the site are headstrong in this department and it’s this support that has seen the site develop to where it is today. Go DPers!

IslamCrunch: What is the greatest challenge to your success? What challenges have you faced in the past? How did you overcome them?

DeenPort: The greatest challenge is trying to accommodate all the different flavours of Muslim thought. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. The diversity in the Muslim ummah is really something of a miracle and something to feel proud of, alhamdulillah. But for it to show fruits as it has in the past, we need to be more tolerant of each other again. No one group or party has ALL the truth. Some have more than others, and some have only a little, but everyone has something of value and that’s something we can all benefit from.

IslamCrunch: Do you have a business model? If so, what is it?

DeenPort: We’ll be rolling out an Ad Program in a few months inshaAllah.

IslamCrunch: If you’re able to disclose this information, how much traffic or usage do you see on an average day?

DeenPort: Remembering that the site is essentially a one page website, last month we recorded over 100,000 visits.

IslamCrunch: Are there any aspects of this project that has made you proud?

DeenPort: An email from an elderly Jewish lady who asked us not to take down the messages section saying that while there was trouble there now and again, she had learned much from the “wise members” who posted there. That really hit me to the reach and influence people can have through the site.

IslamCrunch: How would you describe the shift that’s occurring with the web right now to future generations?

DeenPort: As the dude from Sun Microsystems predicted, the network is becoming the computer. Our laptops and desktops will soon be thin clients that will be seriously cheap and simple, but they will be the access points for us to the vast and powerful Internet where our data will reside (ideally in a thousand different places, I’m not for centralised data centres). Being a sci-fi geek (my fave is Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson) that thought is utterly exciting.