Report: The Digital Safe Haven: Why Muslim Tech Veterans are Building a ‘Halal Internet’ Ecosystem

Introduction: The Modern Moral Battleground

For the world’s two billion Muslims, the internet is both an essential tool and what co-founder Nizam Uddin calls a “moral battleground”. The statistics are stark: the average age for a child’s first exposure to pornography is now 7 or 8 years old, with 73% of teens aged 13-17 having viewed it online.

This isn’t just an outside observation. It’s an insider’s testimony.

Omar Al Zabir, co-founder and CTO of the Kahf project, spent 4 years at Meta on the “severe harm team”. He describes witnessing the “worst what humans can do online”, including “adults having sexual conversation with children,” “rampant online bullying and harassment,” and “romantic scam, destroying so many people’s lives”.

The founders believe the threat is twofold. It’s not just Shahawat (corrupt desires) like pornography and gambling, but also Shubuhat (ideological doubts) from anti-Islamic content. With teens spending an average of 4.8 hours per day on social media and the average person checking their phone a staggering 2,617 times each day, the founders saw an urgent need for a structural solution.

The Founders’ Journey: From Silicon Valley to Sadaqa Jariya

In response, a team of Muslim tech veterans from companies like Meta, TESCO, and British Telecom united to build Kahf Yazılım A.Ş..

For co-founder Nizam Uddin, who also founded weDevs, the project is a form of Ibadah (worship). A trip to Japan in 2015 gave him a “sobering realization” of the “huge difference between Halal and Haram” and how many sins he was committing online. He “thought about how to help the Ummah” from this Fitna (trial).

For CTO Omar Al Zabir, his work at Meta and TESCO, combined with “raising three kids in the UK,” gave him “first-hand experience of how much haram we are exposed to”. Their mission is not just to block harm, but to provide a complete “halal parallel universe of technology.”

The Solution: A Complete “Halal Parallel Universe”

The project’s name is its mission. It is named after Surah Al-Kahf(The Cave) because its core purpose is “protection from the Fitan (trials)” of the modern digital world.

The Kahf ecosystem is a suite of products designed to provide a safe alternative for every aspect of digital life. The core products include:

• Kahf Guard: The flagship “Haram Blocker.” A DNS-level filter that blocks over 5.5 million+ sites (porn, gambling) but also malware, trackers, and “anti-Islamic websites.” It is already blocking 2 billion site requests monthly.
• Kahf Browser: The halal alternative to Chrome/Safari. Its key feature is the built-in AI called “Safe Gaze,” which automatically blurs immodest content and images.
• Kahf Kids: A safe alternative to YouTube, featuring over 16,000+ manually curated, safe videos , non-addictive games, and full parental controls.
• Mahfil (محفل): The ethical, haram-free media platform, providing access to Islamic content from all schools of thought without “haram ads” or “haram content”.
• Hikmah (حكمة): A “Social Network Built on Values” , designed for authors, experts, and scholars to share content, sell digital books and courses, and promote halal products .
• Kahf Gold: An upcoming FinTech wallet that allows users to “Invest, Spend, and Earn with Gold” , keeping assets in a Shari’ah-compliant (gold-backed) form.

The ‘Kahf Spectrum’: A Vision from Surah Al-Kahf

The entire ecosystem is philosophically built around the “Four lessons from Surah Al-Kahf”. Each product is designed to protect a key area of a Muslim’s life:

• 1. إيمان (Faith) : Protected by Mahfil and Hikmah, which provide safe, faith-affirming content.
• 2. ثروة (Wealth) : Protected by Kahf Gold (halal investing) and Kahf Ads (ethical revenue).
• 3. المعرفة (Knowledge) : Protected by Kahf Kids , Kahf Browser , and Kahf Search, which filter harmful information.
• 4. قوة (Power) : Protected by Kahf Guard , Kahf Internet , Kahf Router , and Kahf VPN, which give users control over their digital environment.

4. Traction, Transparency, and the ‘Halal’ Business Model

To ensure its solutions align with Islamic principles, the company maintains an “internal full-time Mufti team” and consults with outside scholars.

This is not just an idea; it is “already operating at scale”. As of Q2 2025, the Kahf ecosystem has achieved:

• Over 8 million total installations.
• 2 million monthly active users.
• Over 100,000 5-star reviews.
• Over 100 million ethical ads served monthly.
• Began generating revenue in Q2 2025.

The project is built on a sustainable, three-pillar business model: Subscriptions, Ethical Ads, and Paid Content. It is backed by $900k in seed funding from over 50 angel investors from companies like Amazon, PayPal, and Visa.

Conclusion: A “Movement” and a Call to the Ummah

The founders are clear that this is a mission, not just a business. “We aren’t just a business, we are a movement,” stated Omar Al Zabir.

The goal is to fulfill the ayah (verse) they feature in their mission: “O believers! If you stand up for Allah, He will help you and make your steps firm”. This is an open invitation to the Ummah to “help us all reclaim our precious time… reclaiming the internet in service of what matters most—strengthening our relationship with Allah.”