Iran berencana merancang "Internet yang halal"

Ali Aghamohammadi, Iran's head of economic affairs, has gone on record saying that the country intends to launch an Islamic "halal" edition of the internet.

The plan is to avoid the difficulties of censorship by creating a parallel network that conforms to Islamic principles, with the eventual aim of countering western influence on the country. Aghamohammadi told IRNA, Iran's state-run news agency, that the project would be "aimed at Muslims on a ethical and moral level".

"Iran will soon create an internet that conforms to Islamic principles, " he said, "to improve its communication and trade links with the world."

The proliferation of the Farsi language is also a goal, said Aghamohammadi, who revealed that he hoped the proposed network could eventually replace the web in Muslim countries. He told IRNA: "The aim of this network is to increase Iran and the Farsi language's presence in what has become the most important source of international communication."

How successful the plan will be depends on the reaction from the Iranian people. As early as 2004, Iran was the fourth largest country of bloggers in the world, and it remains popular today. Those users are unlikely to want to move to an entirely new internet. Alternative DNS roots go against the open traditions of the web and as such, haven't taken off in any significant way in the past. It's hard to see Iran's attempt proving any more successful.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-04/18/iran-halal-internet