Ubuntu regularly spawns all kinds of different derivative distros. Some are officially supported and some are not. Last week I looked at Ubuntu Satanic Edition. This week I decided to review Sabily 10.04, which is the Muslim edition of Ubuntu.
It used to be called Ubuntu Muslim Edition but the name was later changed. I’ve included that in the title of the review though to make it easier for folks that may not know the background of this distro.
Before I get into the review, here’s my usual disclaimer about religious or mystical themed distros:
Desktop Linux Reviews does not endorse any particular religion or spirituality, nor does DLR endorse no religion or spirituality.
I have covered these kinds of distros in the past and will continue to do so. If reading about them is not your thing, please stop right now and go over to JimLynch.com. You can read some of the excellent tech commentary and reviews available there (I know it’s excellent because I wrote all of it…heh).
Also, I am not a Muslim so I cannot vouch for the theological content of this distro. That sort of thing, like beauty itself, will have to remain in the eye of the beholder. If that upsets you then please click the link to my other site above and enjoy some of that content instead.
Okay, now that that is out of the way, let’s continue with this review of Sabily 10.04.
What’s New In This Release
This distro is based on Ubuntu 10.04, so all of the new features from that release are available in Sabily. Here’s a brief sample of those:
F-Spot replaces the GIMP
PiTiVi video editor added
GNOME 2.30
New themes: Ambiance and Radiance
New wallpaper
Linux kernel 2.6.32
New nVidia hardware driver
Gwibber social media application
Faster boot time, with a different look and feel on the bootsplash screen
Ubuntu One adds contacts and bookmark sharing
Ubuntu One music store integrated into Rhythmbox
Ubuntu Software Center 2.0
I’ll refrain from rehashing my commentary on those features. You can read my original review of Ubuntu 10.04 instead. I want to focus mostly on what makes Sabily Manarat unique and cover what it has to offer Muslim readers (and those who are simply curious about an Islamic version of Ubuntu).
The Zekr Quranic study tool.
Here’s a list of what’s new in Sabily itself:
- New “Manarat” pictures and wallpapers
- Zekr 0.7.6
- Thawab 3
- New offline recitation: Al-Muaiqly (48kbps)
- New parental web control application: nanny
I’ll comment on the wallpaper and pics in the desktop section.
For those who aren’t familiar with them, Zekr and Thawab are Quranic study tools. The parental controls use Gnome Nanny to filter the web, email, etc. Based on what I saw of it, Gnome Nanny looked like a reasonably good parental filter. Muslim parents will have to be the final judge of whether or not it’s really enough to make the Internet safe for Muslim children.
On the next page, I’ll look at the hardware requirements and the install routine.
(6 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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I’m not Muslim, but I’m pretty sure the Qur’an isn’t supposed to be translated, as it would be altering the word of Allah. Saying that a non-Arabic Qur’an should be included is somewhat like saying the desktop should feature a picture of Mohammad and Allah.
hi
first i want to thank the author for his review :)
second i am a muslim, u can find quran translation in zekr program, also english recitations are available
the distribution is really nice , also there is another distro called ojuba really nice = fedora based
finally thx for r review, i hope u can change that youtube video , thanks again
Basically Sabily is Ubuntu with a kind of Islamic straight-jacket. Personally I reckon software and the kind is religious free and in due consequence there is no need for a Christian, Islamic or satanic Ubuntu.
The good thing of Linux is that it allows people to do so and in that sense I am all for it. Can any of the above mentioned (Christian, Islamic and satanic) explain to me why they cannot use normal Ubuntu?
The next rhetorical question is: is there a Christian Ubuntu available in a so-called Islamic society? By the by, I know the answer already.
On another note, if the qu’ran cannot be translated into another language other than Arabic then Islam is supposed to be only for Arabic speakers. In that sense I don’t understand why they want to convert non Arabic speakers, just stay at home.
@ ductape
Qur’an was translated in many languages and will be translated in future too. From the linguistic point of view nothing matches the original work. Take for example, reading Shakespeare in German, is not the same as reading Shakespeare in English. So, the beauty, the wisdom of Qur’an will never fully be translated into any other language, only the basic, literal meaning of it. As is the case with other works too. I could elaborate on this more but I hope that I was clear.
@haytham2000
+ 1 on changing the video,
How is ojuba different from sabily except that it’s fedora based?
@max – It’s not the problem for me since I have a broadband connection and I know how to work in linux. So it’s basically ease of use.
For the second and third question this is not the place and time to discuss it. I can only advise you to visit a mosque or an islamic center nearby or find some Muslims (not the ones that do things you’ve read and know are forbidden in Islam) and ask them and talk with them. Of course with an open heart, without prejudice, and with sincere intention to understand (not just to provoke, and show off your “knowledge” as many do today).
Huh, sorry for the long comment on the comments. :)
Now to the review.
In Zekr you can change to a lot of different translations. Among them is English. Just go to View>Translations and choose the one you want. Or if they are not installed go to Synaptic and search for Zekr Translations and install the ones you are interested.
There is also a Firefox extension called Pray Times. It’s function is basically the same as that of Minbar application.
You can change the mouse pointer by right clicking on the desktop, then choose Change Desktop Background. Then go to the Theme tab> Customize>Pointer and choose the one that suits you. That’s what I do.
Now to the distro itself.
I absolutely agree that there is much room for improving and adding new translations.
@semko
ojuba is different in that it has a nice control center (which is not present in original fedora itself), also the developer is active in increasing the quality of the distro and tweaking unnecessary services, for ex u can view arabic in wine
thx for r comment :)
Thanks for the info. The problem is – translation. As I don’t know Arabic, the Sabily main page is great since it’s in English but when I go to Ojuba website it’s in Arabic. I have to guess that the Ojuba distro is completely localized to Arabic. hmmm. Correct me if I’m wrong. assalamu’alaikoom :)
its fedora based , so yes it is available in all languages supported by fedora , u choose the language during install
ok thanks
thank’s for your review…
Hello,
Thanks for the review on Sabily. I have a couple of comments:
1. Thawab is not a Qur’an study tool, I would rather call an Islamic literature study tools. It can be considered an e-book viewer for Islamic literature (like Qur’an exegesis books, arabic language books, Islamic jurisprudence,…)
2. I’m afraid that the video you demonstrated is not appropriate when reviewing a religious (wether Islamic or Christian or Jewish) distro.
Thanks
Aslamo alikom, First Thanks For your beatiful review here, Secondly I was just wondering why the review becomes about muslims themselves and previewing some thoughts that muslims want to transfer non-arabic speakers into arabic speakers, This place as I think was made to judge software not to judge people who made the software and judge thier thinking .
Thirdly and finally for everybody who think that islam or quran were restricted to arabic speaker know that we can translate for you all the meaning of quran but not the quran itself, it feels like kind of weird I know,but when you was in primary school and u got some hard english books,the teacher can help you to understand and he explain teh words for u,Its teh same we can make u understand and explane quran for you by your language as we can,but we cannot translate quran itself, any witer in teh world shoulodn’b be in comparison with the writer of quran not even as examble cause the writer and speaker is the god that he sent all the profets (christ,musa,mohammed), and mohammed himself cannot be in comparison with god his name shouldnt be writed beside him like as it have the same value for muslims
yes we love our profet we respect him , he was our teacher but we should consider him only as profet and teacher cause whatever he did he still a man sent from god and he is dead but god never dies so my last word no comparison between god and any one even the profet mohammed, my prayer for god to give him the merci and peace
@ DucTape:
I disagree with you. I think translating Qur’an is a good deed. So that many people will understand more about the truth of its teaching. :)
It is nice to see such an open list of reviews, for one it makes for good reviews because readers can actually get introduced to all these different versions, and another because it shows a more diverse attitude to the world. By the way I also really enjoyed the Red Star OS review. I do not think it’s neccesary to mention what your political slant is or isn’t because it seems irrlevant to me; but great work on the review.
@ Max:
Gee,, surprised you did not complain about the African origin of the word UBUNTU.
I am sure a stormfront edition will be out for you soon.
Its a great edition, and very nice to have everything I, as an english speaking Muslim, need in a complete package.I have used Ubuntu for several years and the community (for the most part) makes it better than anything else.
i want request ubuntu sabily 10.10
thank