Surfing for Your Soulmate

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Jewish

Orthodox Jewish Single Personals http://www.geocities.com/yosemite
/gorge/9871/shidduch.html
The goal of this site is to arrange "a shidduch [match] for people whom Torah is #1." This personal site is somewhat hard to navigate, and it caters to an extremely specific group of people. Users can read detailed information about where potential matches grew up, what rabbis they have studied with, and what religious neighborhoods they'd be wiling to live in. ("I'm from Boro Park," reveals one male user, "but I'd be willing to live in Flatbush if my bashert [intended] wanted.")
For: Young, Orthodox Jewish singles.
Success stories: More than eight marriages or engagements in the past five months.
Fees: Free to post your information or search.
Screens out other religions? Not explicitly, though non-Orthodox users probably won't even understand most of the language used on the site (much of it is in Yiddish).
Goal: Marriage. The site's owner even tells the story of how he found and married his bashert and displays some wedding pictures to inspire others.
Special feature: If matches are made through the site, the owner expects to take in shadchan gelt -- a traditional Jewish finder's fee. "We expect nothing less than $750 to $1,500 per side, which is the going rate," he writes. The site does note, however, that for the less well-off, members' marital bliss is more important than money.

J-date
http://www.jdate.com
J-date may be the most popular Jewish singles site. The site boasts over 200,000 members and claims 10,000 new members a month. Members can search for others like them in their religious affiliation or ethnicity: Ashkenazic or Sephardic. The site puts a great deal of emphasis on the education and income levels of its members, boasting that the majority have professional degrees and make more than $60,000 a year.
For: All Jews, from unaffiliated to Hasidic.
Success stories: Claims at least 1,000 marriages since 1997.
Fees: Basic membership is free.
Screens out other religions? No, but it does ask questions about religious level, synagogue attendance, and kosher observance, questions that non-Jews would not be able to answer.
Goal: Dating.
Special feature: The site sends all married couples that meet through J-date a sterling silver-plated dreidel "to remind them that their dreams really can come true."

Mit Mazel
http://www.mitmazel.com
Mit Mazel -- Yiddish for "with luck" -- is a small Jewish matchmaking site run by Chabad, the international Jewish outreach organization affiliated with the Lubavitch Hasidim. The member questionnaire asks users how long they've been Torah-observant, whether or not they are a Kohen (a member of the Jewish priestly class), and whether they drink socially or just for religious ceremonies, as well as many other religious details, including whether it's OK to have a television in the house. Full members of the site need official sponsors -- people who are affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement who will act as go-betweens for initial contact between two interested members.
For: Claims it is for all Jews, but the vast majority of its membership is Chabad or Orthodox.
Success stories: Two marriages and one "Mit Mazel baby."
Fees: Members can browse and become an associate member for free, but to actually contact a member personally (through a sponsor), one must become a full member and must pay a one-time fee of $25. Users who find their bashert through Mit Mazel are asked to contribute to the service, beginning at $250 per couple.
Screens our others? Not explicitly, though among the required fields in the member questionnaire is "Was your mother born Jewish?" (In traditional Judaism, a person is only Jewish if his or her mother was born Jewish.)
Goal: Marriage.
Special feature: Mit Mazel claims to work in just five easy steps: 1. Browse for free. 2. Become an associate member. 3. Become a full member. 4. Make contact. 5. Get married.

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Muslim

Muslim Marriage Junction
http://www.muslimmarriagejunction.com
Muslims from around the world can find "a suitable mate or friends in accordance with what Allah has prescribed" at this site. The site warns that polygamy is illegal in the U.S., but in filling out profiles, users can select whether they are single or married. The site also warns, "Photos of naked people, topless people (male or female), and photos that include any profane gestures will be rejected.
For: All Muslims.
Fees: Free trial membership. Paid memberships begin at $29.99 a month.
Screens out other religions? No. Users can select Sunni, Shi'a, or Sufi Muslim, or other religion.
Goal: Like the name of the site implies, it's all about marriage.
Special feature: Provides the names and addresses of prisoners who converted to Islam while in prison and seek pen pals.
more...

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