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Since no one has asked yet, permit me to be the first.

What do you think should be the elevator pitch for islam.SE?

More about what an elevator pitch is:

Imagine you’ve just gotten on an elevator with a friendly stranger. You have precisely one floor to describe your community to them. What would you say? The elevator pitch is a brief sentence that describes what your site is about. Every word counts!

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    From Meta.English.SE, it seems we should set the maximum number of words to 10. Less is more.
    – Mateen Ulhaq
    Commented Jun 24, 2012 at 23:04

9 Answers 9

Reset to default
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A non-biased site where I can ask questions and receive information on Islam backed by references to scripture. Any scholarly question about Islam is welcome.

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  • I think we could drop "nearly any" part.
    – user44
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 22:01
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    I'm not sure the no-proselytization part is necessary. It feels like one is jumping the gun to be apologetic. No need to draw attention to it in the elevator pitch.
    – Ansari
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 22:38
  • @Ansari - I think the "no proselytizing" part is very important. We need to impress upon people that we aim to have answers that don't shove opinions in people's faces.
    – System Down
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 22:41
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    @SystemDown I think that part is guaranteed from the SE format of the website. Or that understanding can be expressed in another way. Also I feel I should be free to invite someone to Islam if I feel like it.
    – Ansari
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 22:43
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    @Ansari - Honestly, I've never been very comfortable with overt invitations to Islam. If someone is inclined to become a Muslim then he won't need one. But if he isn't, the mere act of invitation (potentially asking them to switch ways of life) can have a negative effect. I personally would stay away from Christian sites where I am invited to convert in every other post. Give the questioner what he wants (an answer) and leave it at that. Let them come to their own conclusion.
    – System Down
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 22:49
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    I understand your hesitation, I'm not saying I do that frequently either. I'm just saying that I don't want to be bound by something like that. Also, removing that doesn't necessarily imply that every other answer will contain overt invitations, not does it free a user from questions of propriety and politeness when considering da'wah. Overt da'wah is a valid technique with thousands of precedents, and while you or I may not be comfortable with it, I don't think we should tie our hands.
    – Ansari
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 22:56
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    For example, there have been a number of questions and answers, and no one's attempted to force Islam down anyone's throat yet or give overt da'wah, despite no guidelines against it, and if someone is misusing the permissibility, the community can vote him/her down.
    – Ansari
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 22:57
  • @Ansari - Yes I'm very happy with the tone and quality of the posting in this closed Beta so far. However, once we are "in the wild" I would love to see this part be a concrete part of the site's guidelines.
    – System Down
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 23:59
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    I still think saying "this is a no-proselytization zone" is not the way to go about it. Can you suggest some alternatives to achieve the goal you have in mind? I really don't see the point in outright banning of overt da'wah. It seems like overkill. Maybe something like - be respectful of other people's beliefs and opinions, don't try to shove your opinion down other people's throats, and be mindful of propriety when convincing others of your opinions.
    – Ansari
    Commented Jun 21, 2012 at 0:10
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    Or you could even say that the purpose of this site is informational and is not meant to proselytize or preach. I agree wholeheartedly with that.
    – Ansari
    Commented Jun 21, 2012 at 0:12
  • @Ansari - Yeah I like that last bit :)
    – System Down
    Commented Jun 21, 2012 at 0:40
  • I didn't put proselytizing in the pitch as an indication that it is a rule. I put it in there because it doesn't happen, whether or not that happens because of the format of SE or because it is a rule - that is irrelevant to me.
    – user83
    Commented Jun 21, 2012 at 1:23
  • I like this one, but I think the part about "Any scholarly question about Islam is welcome" is not true, because a lot of questions that are only slightly related to Islam are not welcome. It's also redundant, because you've already said that you can ask questions about Islam in the first sentence.
    – Muz
    Commented Aug 1, 2012 at 13:23
  • I just came to add that, please avoid using the word "proselytize/proselytizing" - it's just a charged word that is usually used when people speak in the third-person. Islam.SE must not be described in a defensive/apologetic way.
    – Caffeinated
    Commented May 2, 2013 at 16:23
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Asalamu wa alikum,

I took Swati's suggestion and presented it in chat and we gone down and concluded to this

(A non-biased site where I can ask questions and receive information on Islam. There is no proselytizing question about Islam is welcome. )

We need discussion on this because not everyone is present in chat.

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  • I believe this is a good one.
    – user44
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 22:08
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Here is a suggestion by one of the followers of the Islam.SE G+ page:

My suggestion would be:

This site is about Islam. You don't need to know, You don't need to believe, You don't need to convert, You don't need to accept, But I'm sure you have a lot of unanswered questions, right?

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From a follower of our page:

ask islam

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A High Quality peer reviewed Islamic community Question Answer site. No fatwas only quality answers!

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Here is my approach:

A site for those who wish to learn more about Islam from the experts who know it best.

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Here is an idea, from me:

A high quality question and answer site on Islam. Open to anyone who wants to participate.

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  • How about "Open to anyone who wants to participate"? As far as I can see, some of our more prolific users are not in fact Muslims.
    – user202
    Commented Nov 3, 2012 at 3:17
  • @DavidWallace edited, it looks better :)
    – مجاهد
    Commented Nov 3, 2012 at 12:23
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A question-and-answer site in the vein of other Stack Exchange sites, just focusing on all Islam and Islam-related topics. Answers should be backed by references. Users vote up good content, and vote down poor content. This site aims to be informative and comprehensive, while also being respectful of the differences within the Muslim community at large.

10-word version: A forum focusing on all Islam and Islam-related topics

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this verse of Quran is suggested to be used in it:

Quran 39:17,18

(Muhammad), give the glad news to those of Our servants who listen to the words and only follow the best ones. Tell them that they are those whom God has guided. They are the people of understanding.

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