Leading French newspapers like Le Monde quote IslamOnline.net

By Hadi Yahmid, IOL Correspondent

PARIS, January 15 (IslamOnline.net) – Thanks to its “independence” and wide-ranging coverage of issues concerning and/or of concern to the Muslim world, IslamOnline.net has become a reference Web site for the French press.

Leading French newspapers and veteran journalists consider the five-year-old Web site as the Muslim world’s pioneering media outlet and have added it to their online favorites.

Le Courrier International magazine quotes IOL and usually translates many of its articles.

It introduces IOL to the French readership as a Web site that publishes a miscellany of items in Arabic and English, closely follows up the pressing Middle East issues and contains many links on the Muslim faith.

The weekly further highlighted the fatwa section and the earnest efforts made to enhance the Muslim-Christian dialogue.

Le Monde newspaper depended on IOL material in a profile for interim Iraqi President Ghazi Al-Yawer published on January 13.

“Of course, IOL has become an observatory for the latest developments in the Muslim world given the due attention paid by the west to Muslims and Islam,” Le Monde Diplomatique editor-in-chief Alain Gresh said.

Capping five years of hard work on the Internet, IOL was granted last month the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9001/2000) certificate in management systems.

According to the world's leading search engine Alexa, IslamOnline.net ranks first among all Islamic Web sites.

It also comes second among all religious Web sites and third among Arab news and entertainment Web sites after Aljazeera.net and Google.

IslamOnline.net also comes first among all Arabic reference Web sites, and 26 among social Web sites globally. 

Tsunami Coverage

French media outlets of different leanings usually highlight IOL’s coverage of the world’s ground-shaking events.

Mass-circulation Liberation newspaper listed IOL as one of its sources in covering the tsunami disaster that devastated south and southeast Asia.

“Some Web sites, especially IOL, have taken pains in covering the tsunami-hit areas and demonstrated an ardent desire from Muslim organizations worldwide to join the global solidarity campaign,” the daily has reported.

“Sheikhs have urged Muslims via IOL to donate for the displaced and the grief-stricken Muslims in the devastated areas.”

A new IOL page called “Share `Eid With Asia Victims” came hard on the heels of the world’s worst calamity.

IOL also comes high on the favorites of right-wing outlets such as Brouche Oriente Info Web site.

It pasted translated materials from IOL’s exclusive about the clinical death of late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat, two days before the emblematic leader was officially declared dead.

“The success and credibility of IOL lies in the fact that it is an independent Web site. It is neither a mouthpiece for political nor state Islam,” Xavier Trenisien, a Le Monde religious affairs writer, said.