HOD: Revolutionizing Matchmaking for Muslims

Matchmaking is one of the oldest traditions known to man.

Yet just as times have drastically changed over the centuries, so has this age-old tradition of pairing boy to girl and praying for a blissful outcome. Traditionally, each culture, faith and region carried its distinct method of going about the marriage business, yet with the globalization of nearly everything due to Internet culture; matchmaking has also developed and found a comfortable and appropriate place in cyber world.

A decade ago, ”finding someone online” may have raised eyebrows in many Muslim circles, but with the growing role the Internet and the advancements it has made within our social lives, it almost seems natural that finding an appropriate match online was just another development in our ‘e-lives.’

And just like every other product and service provided online, the quality provided by Muslim matrimonial sites run the entire range from complicated and over-priced to secure, up-front and affordable.

A new player on the field that’s shaking things up is HalfOurDeen.com. Recently launched in the Summer of 2010, the site was created from scratch, disregarding the traditional formula used by established matrimonial sites—Muslim or not. Renowned Muslim comedian, YouTube celebrity and co-founder of UmmahFilms, Baba Ali, is the mastermind behind the site.

“I myself was tricked into a runaround of sorts many years ago when I registered for a matrimonial site that advertised ‘free registration’ only to realize 20 minutes later that the only thing really ‘free’ was me providing them with my private information,” says Ali who has both registered for a traditional matrimonial site in the past as well as attempted (without success) to create a matchmaking site that followed this same formula of withholding subscription price until nearly all information has been given.

“The lesson I learned, says Ali, “[is] when you sacrifice something for the sake of Allah (SWT), then He will replace it with something better, and Alhamdullilah Half Our Deen is better than its initial skeleton so many years ago.”

One of the most notable features on the site, include an affordable price at $9 for month-to-month subscriptions and $5 per month for annual subscriptions. Privacy has also been given an important place in all this. No bored internet browsers or snoopy community members can get access to the site or the profile pictures without being a legitimate paying member. This allows members to rest assure that the only people who have access, are people who should. A recent poll taken by Half Our Deen members found that a majority of subscribers are exclusively on Half Our Deen because of the site’s privacy standards.

Just as important as privacy is the accuracy of matches made on the site. In order to delve deeper for substance, members are asked more than just the surface level questions of; ‘height’, ‘weight’, ‘ethnicity’ or ‘eye color’. Since the goal is to find members their life-long partners, profile questions involve aspects such as family expectations, personality type and personal approach to Islamic issues, revealing the person behind the profile.

Since everyone is looking for something different, members are also asked what they are looking for in an ideal match as well. This priceless data is fed into an algorithm which calculates the optimal percentage matches. This feature is popular and helpful with members allowing a user to see that they may have matched 83% with someone in the personality department but only 23% in the religion department—very useful information to know from the start. In addition to this feature, members are provided with a database of 100 questions by Baba Ali to pick and choose from, possibly providing members with aspects they should consider in asking that never crossed their minds.

Another unique feature members have access to on their profile are quizzes they create themselves that are up to 21 questions. Quizzes can be taken by an interested member and are more personally-tailored to the individual who wrote them. Questions like, “Would you relocate to Seattle?” and “Are you a cat-person?” can be answered up-front making the get-to-know-you process easier and clearer– something highly valued by anyone in the matchmaking arena.

A female subscriber who is currently active on the site explains, “It is really cool because once the person answers those questions, you can really get a feel for whether you want to start communication with them or not. For example you may ask what is that you expect from your wife financially, they might say lots of money, and that will immediately put you off. Or you might say what is your definition of wealth, and they answer lots of savings, but in your head your thinking love for family, husband, love for life, happiness, inner peace…”

With over 1,000+ members strong and growing by the day, HalfOurDeen has proven to be a worthy competitor for many of the leading Muslim Matrimonial sites. Ali explains that even though a rapidly growing membership count is great on some accounts, he’d prefer a steady flow of subscribers in order to maintain a high-level of communication and customer service with the members. Ali explains, “The main reason behind that is when you grow too fast, you lose the connection with your members. I want to be closely knitted with my members and their concerns. Being able to give a generous amount of attention to all members new and old, helps me build a relationship with them.” This approach has also lead to constant improvements on the site. In addition to customer service representatives on-call ready to answer any concern by members, they have also added yet another server to insure the ease and fluidity of the site.

And as if the developers of the site are saying “we’re sure you’ll find your mate here,” they have even incorporated original, entertaining videos featuring Baba Ali as he shares his honest, humorous insight on what to expect after the wedding bells fall silent. He helps to give newly-married couples an idea on what they can expect in terms of living together, communicating and getting along—things many mothers and fathers may have forgotten (or avoided) to address before the Nikkah.

And with all these cutting edge innovations coupled with the constant improvements to the site, Half Our Deen has seen a steady flow of successful matches made. “Just yesterday, one of our customer service agents reported that another match was made on Half Our Deen,” says Ali. “This completely made my day and put a huge smile on my face. People ask me if I get excited like this for every match that is made on [the site]? My answer, ‘“Yes, very much so.’” The little part that Allah swt has given me the privilege to play in people’s lives, means a lot to me and is a very big deal, Alhamdulillah.”

To Follow Halfourdeen.com on Facebook, click here.