Faith aligned browser shapes muslim user trust and internet use
Imagining a Muslim Internet: Trust, Autonomy, and Segregation in a Faith-Aligned Browser
Human-Computer Interaction
Summary
The paper looks at a special web browser made for Muslim users called Kahf Browser. It studies why people start using this browser, how their trust changes over time, and how the browser supports both religious and everyday internet activities. The authors found that people like using Muslim-built internet tools but don’t want a completely separate internet. Instead, they want a protected space that still allows some access to the wider internet. The paper offers ideas on how to design technology that respects faith while giving users choices.
What this means in practice
- •For web browser developers: Design browsers that provide faith-based features while allowing controlled access to the broader web, balancing user trust and autonomy.
- •For digital platform designers: Create platforms that offer protected online environments for religious communities with selective exit mechanisms to the wider internet.
Authors
Umme Jannat Taposhi, Farhan Tanvir Niloy, Sabbir Bin Abdul Latif, Farida Chowdhury, S M Taiabul Haque
Abstract
Religiously branded platforms raise important questions about trust, usability, and autonomy when technology is built around a specific faith. Prior HCI work on Islam and Muslim technology has focused on single-purpose tools such as prayer, scripture, and health apps, leaving infrastructures like browsers, which shape a user's relationship with the Internet, unexamined. We address this gap through semi-structured interviews with 16 users of Kahf Browser, a faith-aligned browser designed to support Muslims' online activities. Findings show religious identity motivates adoption but does not sustain it. Trust is not fixed by religious branding but shifts over time based on the browser's functionality, and users take pride in Muslim-built infrastructure. Building on these insights, we introduce porous digital segregation: a model where users seek not a sealed alternative internet but a protected default with selective exit mechanisms. We conclude by connecting findings to broader issues in faith-aligned technology and offering design recommendations.