The Lastprophet.info web portal was launched with a ceremony attended by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and leading names in the fields of business, art, science and thought on April 19, 2007. Lastprophet.info, founded by the Meridyen Association, started out its life with the slogan “Unbiased Islam”. In the first two days 3.5 million guests visited the site, thus setting an important national record; Lastprophet.info has continued to make important progress since its inception.
Daily and dynamic publications in four different languages
The Lastprophet.info web portal exerts great efforts to act in an international framework; currently it is being published in four different languages: English, Turkish, German and Russian. In addition, preparations are underway to launch the site in Spanish, French, Chinese and other languages.
The Lastprophet.info website, which appeals to a wide range of people around the globe, is determined to present the message that was brought by the Last Prophet to Muslims and non-Muslims alike in the most accurate and reliable fashion; this will be done by using works published in English from Europe, the US and elsewhere.
A portion of the writers at Lastprophet.info are names renowned throughout the academic world, while other writers come from a variety of walks of life; what the writers all have in common is that they share the message of the Last Prophet, transmitting it through the lens of everyday life.
Unique content, distinctive design
Both the content and design of the web portal, which was launched to introduce the Messenger of Allah from all aspects and in the light of scholarly information to the entire world, were prepared with a great deal of care. The site was launched following consultation with academics, all of whom are considered to be authorities in their own fields; it has marked a place for itself in the international arena by becoming a pioneer in the world of Internet publications. The visual layout of the site was prepared by the famous Turkish designer Emrah Yücel, who has gained a great deal of recognition in this field.
A special corner for children
One of the projects that set Lastprophet.info apart from others is the children’s corner, which has been prepared with a great deal of attention and pedagogical care. The children’s corner everyday draws an increasing number of young visitors with continually updated and unique information. The page, initially launched in Turkish, will soon attract the interest of children in other languages as well, beginning with English.
The online hadith platform
One of the important pillars of the Lastprophet.info project is the Online Hadith Platform. The platform is an information-sharing program that provides users with scholarly hadith information under the guidance of a theologian competent in this field. The purpose of the platform is to allow users to gain a level of hadith knowledge that is equivalent to graduates from theology schools. As the platform conducts its sessions over the Internet, it is possible to partake from all over the world. While the current sessions are only conducted in Turkish, work is being carried out -- preparation of content and the establishment of the infrastructure -- to start sessions in English.
An international first place award
During the first year of its launch the www.lastprophet.info web portal was awarded with first place in an international competition. Lastprophet.info won the “The Mass Media Award” for its efforts to describe and narrate Prophet Muhammad to the world. The competition was held under the auspices of Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed al-Nayhan and the honorary chairmanship of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed in
Organizational structure and financing
Lastprophet.info is a project of the Meridyen Association and conducts all of its activities under the banner of the Meridyen Association. The portal, which publishes its work under an independent civilian framework is a non-profit organization. Under no conditions are advertisements accepted. All of the project’s financing is provided by the supporters of the project, starting with the members of the Meridyen Association.
Work mechanism
The publication of the pages and projects of Lastprophet.info are overseen by a professional editorial board, which in turn is guided by a highly experienced academic consultative committee. In addition, Lastprophet.info and Meridyen Association volunteers also play an active role in publishing.
Academic projects at Lastprophet.info
The Lastprophet.info web portal, having filled a large void in the Internet world since its inception, aims to contribute work in the fields of Hadith and Seerah through various projects.
The Hadith and Seerah research awards
Lastprophet.info set forth with the mission to form a bridge to enable the accumulated academic wealth about Prophet Muhammad to be transmitted to society; however, it did not stop here. Long term projects were designed to encourage new work in these fields. The first three of the “Hadith and Seerah Research Award” competitions, which took place in 2008, 2009 and 2010, were all held in
Hadith and Seerah service honorary award
The winner of the “Hadith and Seerah Service Honorary Award” is determined every year by votes from the Turkish readers of Lastprophet.info. The award has been given to Professor Yaşar Kandemir in 2008 and Professor İsmail Lütfi Çakan in 2009; in 2010 it was awarded to the late Professor İbrahim Canan. The award is given annually to the name voted as the most deserving by the readers of the Turkish website.
The Seerah workshop
The first step of the “Seerah workshop,” an event that is to be held every year by the Turkish Sonpeygamber.info website, was made at an in-depth consultative meeting. As a result of this meeting it was decided that the main goal of the workshop will be to evaluate the literature of Seerah, which is rapidly increasing throughout the world, in terms of type and quantity and to underline the needs of this field in our current day. The workshop’s first meeting took place in April of 2009 under the banner “The Evaluation of Turkish Academic Seerah Literature in the Republican Era.” The workshop, which is to take place every year with a different theme, was convened in 2010 under the banner “The Relationship between Seerah and Literature”. The communiqués presented at the Seerah workshop sessions have been published by the Meridyen Association.
