Ever since the US tragedy of 9/11 struck the super power country the USA, the world has been on the edge with how they treat us Muslims. Plenty of people from the Western and European countries view Islam as a medieval, violent and extremist religion hell bent on destroying the world. It’s sad that none of them want to look past the extremist and terrorist groups and simply focus on the beauty of Islam and its decent followers. Despite the prevalence of Islamophobia, somehow, by the grace of Allah SWT, we have managed to produce some truly amazing and estimable Muslim startups. Here are our top 20 pick.
Our first startup is one that has many a person sing them praise. The Halal Guys are a renowned food cart in New York city. They are impossibly famous even amongst non-Muslims for their food is crazy good which many customers have exclaimed that they can’t stay away from it. The food cart soon grew into an empire with over twenty carts and restaurants now open. The Halal Guys are known to serve delicious food and have been credited with influencing the decline of the hot dog’s popularity. They serve chicken, gyro with rice and pita bread. Chef Christopher Lee has even claimed that he “can’t stay away from it”.
The next Muslim startup is the IFDC, otherwise known as The Islamic Fashion and Design Council. This is a business that is dedicated in helping Muslim designers, Upcoming Muslim talents and so on become a more successful in the eyes of the world.
The third one on our list is Urban Halal, another similar app that is there to help Muslims find the right places to eat, pray, live and shop. Founded by Javed Ali, this is one startup that is definitey extraordinary as it is a story telling like app that means to connect users through their passions; food and culture.
Number four on this list is Haute Hijab, an online modest clothing store that aims to dress Muslim women with modern clothes. Their clothes are known to be of the highest quality with readymade skirts, blouses and dresses. They also of curse sell hijabs as part of their products. A booming startup, it has now opened up a retail store in Kuala Lumpur and is looking to expand their business to other locations.
Next up is the very well-known Have Halal Will Travel app which is one app that truly helps Muslim travellers find Halal food and visit must-see places of the country they are in at that moment. This app claims to help inspire Muslims all over to try and go see as much of the world as they can. This is not only so that we Muslims can become more learned and open minded but also to show the rest of the globe that we are not some power hungry, extremist terrorist.
Wafaa is a startup founded by Zed Ali who created Wafaa to build stronger connections. Connections between what you may ask? Well, Wafaa strives to build an IOT for mosques with the intention of connecting one mosque to another, so that the people in those mosques can connect with one another and so that these people can connect with Allah. “Wafaa is all about connections,” Zed says. Well, we’re all about it too.
RUH is a fashion startup that combines ethics and Islam. This is one fashion company that really makes sure that all of their products are made through ethical means, ensuring that they treat their employees fairly and that the products are all natural. Their brand name is a reflection of their ethics as RUH means soul.
One truly cool Muslim startup is Shade7 Publishing. Shade7 aims to introduce Islam in a fun and engaging way to children so that they grow to love the religion. They have published all kinds of cool and cute books such as the beautifully illustrated The Story of the Elephants and the wonderfully magical My First Wudu’ Book, a children’s book that changes colours when you dip it in water.
Up next is a startup that is more social than technological in terms of nature. We have with us today I’Slam, a pun on Islam and the word “slam” which is indeed a clever play on words as the very nature of i’Slam is for Islamic and non-Islamic youths to participate in poetry slams. Their founder Youssef Adlah claims that what they are doing here is to take art and turn it into a message for the whole world to witness.
- Enter Islam In Spanish
Ever wondered what would happen if the popular Betty of Yo Soy Betty la Fea of fame were to be a Muslim? Or is Rosalinda from the show of the same name was a Muslimah as well? Enter Islam In Spanish, a startup dedicated to the ever growing number of Muslim Latinos. Based in Houston, Texas, this startup is determined to reach out to their audience via television shows and documentaries, educating Latinos on Islam.
My Muslim Wedding is one startup that Muslimah everywhere are going to go Gaga over. Rooful Ali, their founder, made My Muslim Wedding not just a business of taking gorgeous shots of the wedding but also a proper wedding planning service as well as a ‘concierge’ service. Can we say “I do!”?
We are always proud to present a local one as that just reflects our sense of patriotism. Peace Be Upon You Clothing is a Kuala Lumpur startup that so far has a series of tshirts with their brand names written right across the chest. Peace Be Upon You Clothing is simple yet direct.
BookMEDS is a startup founded by Mohammed Abubakr. The idea of BookMEDS is to help smooth the delivery of medicine right up to the customer’s doorstep. How do they do this? Simply by teaming up with nearby pharmacies to help give them the contacts of possible customers and rewarding said pharmacies by giving them a commission.
Modanisa is a fashion online shopping site founded by Kerim Ture. Modanisa sponsored the London Modest Fashion Week in 2017 and is fast growing to become one of the top global online sites for modest Muslim wear. This is one startup that isn’t going to back down any time soon, if anything business seems to be growing stronger.
One other startup is Zileej and this strives to give Muslims a fun and interactive games and toys as well educate Muslims simultaneously. It incorporates the Five Islamic Pillars concept in its board games ensuring an extremely fun learning experience.
Productive Muslim was a blog in the beginning but now has grown to become a company that helps provide online courses for Muslims to do more productive things. This is definitely a startup that aims to help our Muslim brothers and sisters to become better Muslims by educating them with the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah. Truly admirable and noble.
For Muslims who have caught that wandering desire and want to see the world more, TripFez is the startup to go to as they are the leading traveling site. The website helps you find the cheapest hotels, places you want to visit and view reviews focusing more on the Islamic perspectives. A most convenient Islamic website for Muslim travellers.
Port of Mokha is one startup to admire. When their founder Mokhtar was stranded in Yemen, he was practically running around to escape the brutality of war with only a suitcase of coffee samples in hand. Somehow or other, these coffee samples became the most expensive and sought after coffee in the world propelling Port of Mokha into a successful startup.
Mystic Man is a startup aimed for men who keep beards as part of the Sunnah. The product is basically an oil made from organic materials designed to help tame a beard into shape as well as keep it healthy. They also sell shampoos. This is one unique Islamic startup especially since it is devoted solely to Muslim men in comparison to the many booming Muslimah dedicated products.
Sapelo Square is one startup that is ultimately devoted to erasing discrimination against Black Muslims in the USA. Basically, this startup is created to study the lives of Black Muslims in America and how this can help minimise racial and religious discrimination.
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Article is written by:
Nur Jalilah Binti Abdul Aziz, freelance writer of this blog at Zaahara. Interests include blog writing, academic writing and creative writing.
-Photos are taken from google images
© 2016 Zaahara Ventures Sdn. Bhd.
Comments
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Great Article.
My name is Hussain and I am from Crave Halal (www.cravehalal.com). Halal food market is a growing industry and our startup caters to that market.
I like to tell you more about our app. We have over 15,000+ restaurants in our database and our app is very steadily gaining popularity in U.S. and Canada. We launched in June 2017 and have grown very steadily and we do aspire in becoming the biggest halal app in the U.S. We are currently ranked #2 in app store for the keywords “halal restaurants”.
Knowing about Crave Halal is something that your audience will appreciate.
I wanted to get in touch with you to discuss how can we be featured in one of your posts. If you’re interested please email us. We can also set up a phone call to discuss the posting that would bring value to both our audiences.
Sincerely,
Hussain