The Rise of Muslim Social Media Influencers

THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS by AISHAH aSHRAF

Yusuf: @yusuftruth Sana: @salehfamily

Sajid: @sajidibrahimee

Islam is the fastest growing religion across the globe, accounting for nearly 25 per cent of the world’s population. But this statistic translates poorly to the representation of Muslims on social media. As the creative space is often overlooked, it is important that we celebrate the individuals who dedicate their platforms to portray the community in a positive way.

How did you get started on social media?

Yusuf: It definitely started off as a joke. I kinda just casually posted on TikTok. I gradually started growing my audience that way. It wasn’t until recently, when I started to hit 150,000 to 200,000 followers on TikTok, that I started realizing that there’s a Muslim community. Then I started realizing I can actually provide benefit and value in an Islamic way to the consumers. Then one morning I decided to recite some Quran. I recited Surah Fatiha and posted that impulsively. And that completely just took off— I started attracting more of a Muslim audience and the journey kind of started from there. I started understanding the impact and the influence that I could have on a younger generation. Sajid: It’s kind of a funny story. I have a friend named Yusuf - him and I actually memorized the Quran together 10 years ago. One day he came to visit me in Texas last December and he was like “Bro just start posting stuff, no one’s doing it” so I just started posting on TikTok. I posted one video, and it did okay. I was just posting random stuff and then I posted this one reminder - but it was a merge of different ayat and hadith - and it went viral. I was like okay, this is how it works. I started making content like that primarily.

Sana: My husband and I jointly do content creation together online, primarily on TikTok. I feel like our audience really connects with us on a whole different level because I’m Pakistani and I was born and raised here in Canada. My husband on the other hand, is white and a revert of 11 years. So it’s that aspect of being a born Muslim and a non-Muslim becoming Muslim and having a relationship and having children. We get hundreds of messages a day from people saying, “It’s because of your content that I either have accepted Islam” and it’s just crazy to see like what a simple TikTok video could do for people.

Sajid: When I think of Muslim creators who have a presence, it motivates the younger Muslim generation to dive into what their deen says. Even culturally as well, it’s important for us to have someone representing the culture and the deen that I’m taught at home. It’s okay pray salah in public, it’s okay to be a Muslim, it’s okay to be a hijabi. It really helps not just motivate, but also support the idea of acting on your deen, and acting on Islam when people are doing it so publicly.

Falafel Kimchi: If you don’t represent yourself, someone else will. It’s definitely imperative to have Muslim representation online. It didn’t work out 10, 20 years ago and now alhamdulillah there’s more representation. There’s more diversity, it’s normalizing it, like “okay, they’re normal people like you and me.”

How did you manage to refrain from compromising your Islamic beliefs and continue to practice humility being so young while having a sizable platform?

Yusuf: I understand that it all stems down to how much you believe Allah is in control. So for me, I have a big audience, I have this and that but at the end of the day, I have things that I want to achieve. So I know that if I let those things get to me, it can lead me to forget about Allah. What keeps me grounded is that Allah is in control, and I always say that if Allah is happy with me, then my life will be happy. That’s kind of like the silver lining and what keeps me anchored to my beliefs.

Sajid: The problem of having a big head due to numbers or people giving you ‘clout’ comes from a deeper issue actually of insecurity in self and personality. When a person is insecure in themselves, who they are and what they believe in, you’ll find them attaching themselves and being supplemented by other things. Allah SWT gave you value so what more value do you need? Do you need someone else who is an equal to you to validate you? The whole idea of being secure in yourself goes a long way. So regardless of

What is the message you hope to convey or impact you hope to have on your audience?

Hümeyra: The impact that I want to have on people is to spread my mindset. There’s so many negative people and I would love to tell them “Hey, everything’s fine you don’t have to be negative, it’s just life.” I want to like convey my mindset on one hand and also the importance of Islam nowadays. Especially if you live a western life in a western country, you have to hold onto your religion to live here in a good way.

Sana: I would say to be proud to be Muslim. If we can influence one Muslim to make that step in committing to their faith and not being embarrassed about it. Sharing that with the world especially living in the West in today’s day and age - I think that is truly why we do what we do.

What advice do you have for other Muslims aspiring to join the creative space?

Sidra: Just be your authentic self. Find your niche. The more specific you can be, the better it is. Do it for the right reasons and make your intention clear. I told my husband if I even help one person, I’ll be happy. So the same thing goes for my Islamic channel. I’m doing it for Allah SWT, I’m doing it to help others, I’m doing it to break stereotypes so have your reasons there… and love what you do, because it takes a lot of time, effort and dedication to do this.

Yusuf: I would say be very mindful. You can have fun as an influencer and you can show your personality, but be very careful when it comes to not compromising on your Islamic beliefs. Be very careful about how you go about your approach. My advice to all my fellow Muslim Tik Tokers and influencers out there, all my brothers and sisters, is to think about how what you put out will impact audiences. It’s one thing to know how to put things out, but it’s another thing to know how it will affect your audience. How I can bring value to their lives with the things that I put out?