Islam bans the pictorial representation of the human form, part of its fight against idolatry. So are Muslims allowed to use emoticons? The :-) smiley is a human face — and very pictorial.
Are Islamic nations doomed to second-rate communications because they can’t text as fast as Christians and Jews, for whom “:-)” instead of “I’m smiling” is as natural as “etc” instead of “and the rest”?
I just asked this question on the guestbook for John Safran’s radio program, though it may not appear immediately because it’s moderated. Will he answer?
Well John Safran ignored my comment, but Richard found this opinion by Mufti Ebrahim Desai confirming that “the expression of smiley faces and sad faces through Internet chatting falls in the category of drawing pictures of animate objects which is prohibited. As an alternative, one may express his/her happiness and sadness in words.”