Muslim Matchmaking Is Big Business, Non-Muslim Entrepreneurs Need Not Apply?
Online dating has become increasingly popular among Muslims and non-Muslims…
…There are also broader considerations on what these sites reflect. For example, we should ask who is behind the modern Muslim matchmaking industry? Online matchmaking proves to be a heavily male-dominated environment. For instance, Baba Ali founded halfourdeen.com; Shahzad Younas created muzmatch.com; Jamal Mohsin runs Millanus.com while also holding matchmaking events for Muslims in different locations; and Adeem Younis owns singlemuslim.com.
The lack of women seems to be unimportant for some of these men. When I conducted interviews with Baba Ali and Shahzad Younas, both seemed unaware of the lack of female leadership in the online matchmaking industry. While Younas asserts that there are many women “involved ‘on the ground’” (performing in-person matchmaking services), Baba Ali explains that what is more worrying for him is the fact that a number of Muslim matchmaking sites are owned by non-Muslims.
Read more at Muslimah Media Watch: http://bit.ly/uSOiAj
Muslim matchmaking is big business and based on recent projections it’s poised to get much BIGGER. According to new population projections by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, “the world’s Muslim population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years, rising from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2030.” This growth is roughly at twice the rate of the non-Muslim global population for the next two decades.
That said, there was a quote in the article by the halfourdeen.com founder that struck a nerve: “Baba Ali explains that what is more worrying for him is the fact that a number of Muslim matchmaking sites are owned by non-Muslims.”
Mmmm, what exactly is worrying about non-Muslim owned sites? I’d love to hear his perspective on this. The Muslim market is a big pie; is Baba Ali implying that non-Muslim entrepreneurs should not have the opportunity to sit at the table and have a piece of this pie? I’ll give him a pass, but if he does indeed believe this to be true, I take exception with that position.
The issue is not who’s behind the service, but rather how you are serving your customers. Can you, as an entrepreneur, meet your customers where they want to be served? Do you have effective channels for customer feedback where they can tell you the boundaries of what does and does not work for them? Have you done your due diligence in understanding the nuances of the niche(s) you’re serving? A good example is Ted Rheingold, the founder of the popular & recently acquired doggie social network Dogster. Guess what, Ted did not even own a dog, but that hardly prevented him from, a) having a right to serve the doggie market, and b) achieving great success in this market. Again, it’s not the who, but rather the how that matters.
The Muslim matchmaking lot is fast becoming a crowded one. Does Baba Ali voice a concern because he wishes to appeal to a customer base that only patrons Muslim owned businesses? It’s certainly possible. Or perhaps he wants to shame Muslims for using non-Muslim owned services? Or maybe, he simply feels that the non-Muslim owned sites do not properly reflect the ideals of Islam? If the latter is true, let’s cut to the chase and nip it in the bud. Online matchmaking, let alone making a profit from it, is widely regarded as haram. Period.
Judging by how quickly this market is growing, there are millions of Muslims online who are individually redefining what is or is not acceptable in their own hearts. The opportunity for entrepreneurs, Muslim or not, is to listen and to serve them brilliantly well.
