It has been a while since I posted anything about the crisis at IslamOnline.net (IOL). Nearly seven months after IOL was suddenly taken over by a new Qatar-based administration bent on changing the site's mission and vision, the English-language portion of the site no longer exists.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Anyone familiar with IOL knows what a huge resource IOL was to English-speaking Muslims around the world. The site contained thousands of pages of content on every conceivable topic and was a great source for news, scholarly opinions and inspiration. It was one of the few Islamic websites to do real reporting in the fields of health and science and cover important topics like Gaza that were being ignored by major media outlets. It was also a reliable source of information for non-Muslims wanting to learn more about Islam. IOL employed more than 250 people and worked with freelancers everywhere. Losing IOL has been a bit like losing a very good friend.
There is some good news to report, however. The whole time this crisis has been going on, the editorial team that founded IOL ten years ago has been working hard behind the scenes to create a new site that is very similar to the old one.
OnIslam.net was officially launched on October 9, 2010 and looks like it is off to a very good start. This time around, the editorial work will be separate from the funding, allowing the site to flourish as intended.
Many of IOL's old articles (no longer available at the old site) can be found at OnIslam.
As of now, I do not know if OnIslam is a paying market and how the rates will compare to those previously offered by IOL. Let's pray that the site receives the funding and support needed to continue this beneficial project.
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