In 2013, a small project called aladhan.com was created. It was a simple website that provided prayer times for Muslims around the world. This eventually grew into Islamic Network, a network of websites and services that provide Islamic content and services to Muslims around the world, and serves up to 40 million requests a day.
In December 2022, we began work on some applications that would potentially require collection of user data. In order to do this in a way that would be legally compliant and protect the team from any personal, legal obligations, we set up Mamluk. At the same time, we started to build a new API framework and platform that would free us from using third party services to complete calculations required for Islamic Network services. This platform is 7x.
In October 2023, we conceptualised Bahriya to address a growing need for a platform that would allow developers to deploy distributed containers at edge. This would also help address the complexities that are created in the container management world and distributed systems, and allow developers to focus on their applications.
We take our name from the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo, which was established in 1250 and ruled Egypt and Syria until 1517. The Mamluks were a class of slave soldiers who were freed and trained to become one of the most powerful military forces in the world. Among other things, they were known for their tolerance and acceptance of other religions and cultures, and their patronage of the arts and sciences.
But more than anything else, the Mamluks were known for their chivalry and have often been termed as the Knights of Islam. It is in this spirit that we chose to use the name Mamluk for the company, especially in light of the fact that we were created, as a first, to enhance the ecosystem of Islamic services provided by Islamic network.
It's also important to understand that the word Mamluk in Arabic might literally be translated as one who serves, and was also used to describe the class of soliders who eventually rose to become the Mamluk Sultans. This concept of being one who serves is very important in Islam (for a variety of both exoteric and esoteric reasons), and one that we take very seriously. We are here to serve our customers, our community, and our team.
In line with the above, you will, therefore, see our stress on integrity in any interactions with us. You'll also see a theme of references to the Mamluks across our products and services, and Kipchak, Bahriya, Aybak and Qutuz are examples of this.