.islam

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Status:	Proposed
Type:	Community
Category:	Culture
Priority #:	564 - Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti.

.islam is a proposed Community TLD in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti..

Application Details

The application is a Community Priority Application. The applicant notes that they are a Muslim-owned and operated company, and that they reside in a predominantly Mulsim country, Turkey. "Registrants must electronically accept that they have pronounced the Shahadah (declaration of faith) which states, “I testify that there is no god except for the God [Allah], and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of the God... We will ask all members to honor Islamic Culture, Heritage and rules. We will also require registrants to ensure that websites hosted within the .ISLAM gTLD do not violate the sensitivities of the Muslim Community. These requirements will be enforced through the [Acceptable Use Policy] and other contracts registrants must sign with their registrars prior to the registration of a domain name...AGITSys will randomly audit domain names registered in the .ISLAM gTLD to ensure compliance with all eligibility and use criteria. If a violation is discovered, an investigation will begin immediately to rectify said violation. Penalties for violation range from suspension of a domain, to removal of the domain name from the TLD and blacklisting of the registrant, preventing them from being able to register any other names in the .ISLAM TLD."

The applicant has also applied for .pars, .halal, and .shia

Objection

Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) filed an objection against the TLD.

The application was issued two GAC Early Warnings, from India and the United Arab Emirates. The warning system is noted as a strong recommendation on behalf of national governments to the ICANN Board that a given TLD application should be denied as it stands. Applicants are encouraged to work with objecting GAC members.

The Indian warning states that the applicant does not at all address the over 120 million Muslims in India and that there is the possibility of creating tensions in the country's Muslim and non-Muslim populations through the implementation of the string. It claims that the string is too sensitive to allow remediation of the issue and recommends withdrawing the application.

The UAE warning states that the applicant is a commercial entity with limited community support coming largely from one country, not the International Islamic community. It notes the size and diversity of the community and the difficulty to represent it, especially by commercial entities. It notes that it could support this string if it was submitted by a reputable IGO with community support.

Independent Objector

The Independent Objector (IO) is a non-partisan, contracted appointee whose role was mandated by the applicant guidebook for ICANN's New gTLD Program, and who is responsible for officially objecting to new gTLDs that are dangerous to the public good. This process also involves reviewing "controversial applications," those that have received significant public comments, and investigating whether a public need for objection is provided for tin these comments. Thus, the Independent Objector issued a preliminary report on .islam, noting that most of the comments against the TLD focus on the lack of legitimacy the private entity has in representing a diffuse Islamic community with the .islam TLD. The IO works through the arguments and importance for internationally recognized rights for religious diversity, and his correspondence with the applicant to assuage any concerns, and concludes that the .islam TLD will not be objected to by him given that it seems like a boon to religious diversity on the Internet and not a detriment.