Tag: Muslim

Singapore – Southeast Asia has once again emerged as the world’s leading Muslim tourist destination, with Indonesia and Malaysia tied for the top spot among 145 global destinations. This is according to the latest edition of the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI).

The report noted that Indonesia and Malaysia both ranked in the list of leading destinations by the Non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as scoring favourably on ease of entry and quality of tourism infrastructure for both Muslim and non-Muslim travellers.

It is also worth noting that Singapore has consistently led among OIC destinations for the ninth consecutive year, underscoring its unwavering dedication to cater to Muslim travelers by widespread availability of Halal food, prayer facilities, suitable airport amenities, and Muslim-friendly accommodation.

Moreover, Thailand maintained its position in the top five non-OIC destinations, owing to efforts towards promoting Halal tourism like increasing Halal food availability, integration of Muslim-friendly amenities at tourist spots, and enhanced accommodation and dining options for Muslim travelers. 

In addition, the Philippines recorded an increase in its score on communications compared to 2023. Among non-OIC destinations, the Philippines has steadily increased its appeal to Muslim tourists by strategically developing their Halal Tourism portfolio, enhancing halal accreditation of hotels and restaurants, and conducting Halal awareness orientations.

According to the report, the Muslim travel market is set for a significant uptick this year, with global international arrivals potentially reaching up to 168 million, exceeding pre-pandemic levels by as much as 5%. 

This growth in volume highlights the rising prominence of the segment, driven by demographic and economic expansion, cultural and Halal tourism development, and technological advancements that enable more personalized travel experiences for Muslim travelers, such as apps that locate Halal food outlets, Qibla directions, and prayer timings. The impact of artificial intelligence is also helping further customize travel experiences to simplify travel logistics while adhering to faith traditions.

Safdar Khan, division president of Southeast Asia at Mastercard, said, “According to the latest report from the Mastercard Economics Institute (MEI), travellers from and to Southeast Asia are becoming increasingly focused on getting the best value from their trips to ensure the most unforgettable experiences, a shift echoed in the rapidly growing global Halal tourism industry. At the same time, technology is helping this demographic to travel in ways that meet their unique needs, from AI-powered hyper-personalized experiences to Mastercard’s own enablement of easy and secure cross-border payments.”

He added, “Together this heralds a new level of convenience for Muslim travellers and unlocks a new era of growth and profitability for travel operators. Mastercard’s long-running collaboration with CrescentRating is both a testament to the strength of the partnership and the ongoing importance of understanding and serving Muslim travellers.”

Meanwhile, Fazal Bahardeen, founder and CEO at CrescentRating, commented, “It is encouraging to see that the travel sectors in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore not only maintained their rankings in this year’s GMTI, but also improved their individual scores. This reflects a broader trend of increased consideration for Muslim travellers, with average scores across the Index rising by 10%.”

He added, “It is also positive to see the Philippines continue to improve its score, which demonstrates the unwavering commitment of the Department of Tourism to bolstering Muslim-friendly tourism and advancing the destination’s appeal. As Muslim travel continues to gain momentum, the GMTI 2024 report provides invaluable insights for stakeholders across the travel and tourism sector to leverage the growing Muslim travel market.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Dating behaviors between Muslims have changed after the pandemic, with dwindling ‘meet-cutes’ and participants between the ages of 25 to 34 years old leaning on utilizing dating and matchmaking platforms, according to global creative agency, TBWA through its audience intelligence arm 65db Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia-based Muslim insights unit, Halal Wave.

Data from the report suggests that Muslim singles in Malaysia are increasingly harnessing the power of technology in their search for love with close to 77.8% of leveraging on matchmaking platforms such as Muzz, Salams, and BaitulJannah to search for potential partners.

However, the report highlights that the quest for marriage among Muslims is not without its challenges. As Muslims live and interact in a culturally diverse background, conversations concerning interfaith marriage are a significant topic of interest. Specifically 62.3% of respondents are concerned about marriage regulations between different faiths as well as conversion to Islam as part of interfaith marriage.

Other challenges presented were 20.6% of respondents citing lack of guidance as the second largest barrier as they are unsure whether their approach in forming an acquaintance is aligned with Islamic teachings, 3.9% of respondents citing language barriers as a challenge, 3.0% of respondents expressing fears of being scammed in online dating and matchmaking realms, and 2.6% of respondents being worried about mismatched intentions when it comes to marriage.

The report also garnered several results through the use of identifiers between Malaysian Muslims using online matchmaking, with the first one being the ‘8 Areas of Marriage Readiness’ which lists out spirituality, character, family consent and blessings, communication, financial and security, health, future home, and finally, the Nikkah/Wedding.”

In the areas of marriage readiness, the study also concurred three distinct personas representing varying levels of commitment. First, ‘Someday, InshaAllah’ individuals seek knowledge for marriage without a fixed timeline. Second, ‘One Day, InshaAllah’ individuals actively plan for a stable future and family. Lastly, ‘Today, InshaAllah’ individuals prioritize marriage with a focus on blessings over extravagance.

Nazirah Ashari, head of 65dB Kuala Lumpur, strategy director at Halal Wave, TBWA\Asia, said, Household management, financial planning, and cost-effective wedding planning are amongst the many services that businesses can offer for all three different segments of the marriage personas. Undeniably, there is a growing need for businesses to empower and support marriage-minded Muslims throughout their journey towards matrimony. Faith-friendly offerings customized to different life stages will certainly do well in this day and era.”

Meanwhile, Hui Tsin, Yee, chief executive officer of TBWA Group Malaysia, commented, This concerted effort to gather data demonstrates our proactive stance in crafting strategies that resonate within this thriving and diverse demographic.”

Sepang, Malaysia – Capital A has officially launched IKHLAS, its Muslim-friendly travel and lifestyle platform. The platform promises to offer convenience, affordability and accessibility for Muslims to perform their religious obligations as well as a shariah-compliant lifestyle.

Among the key highlights of IKHLAS’ offerings are the affordable and convenient IKHLAS Umrah packages in partnership with licensed umrah operator Ikhlas Com Travel and Umrah Sdn Bhd. Most importantly, Muslim travellers can now confidently travel with IKHLAS, offering a wide range of value-for-money halal travel packages with extensive destinations across the whole AirAsia network.

“We built the IKHLAS brand at the height of the pandemic. While all businesses struggle to stay afloat, we took the opportunity to re-strategise and made full use of one of the platform’s offering, Sadaqah, to run donation drives and help Muslims in Malaysia and around the globe in their time of need,” explained Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, Capital A Executive Chairman, who came up with the idea of IKHLAS with Group Chief Executive Officer of Capital A, Tony Fernandes.

IKHLAS started business in April 2020 and took the opportunity of the downtime during the pandemic to accelerate its development to be airasia Super App’s full-fledged Muslim-friendly travel and lifestyle platform. Spurred by the resumption of AirAsia X flights to Jeddah and many other interesting destinations, IKHLAS is now able to offer many affordable umrah and other travel packages. 

Other services available on the IKHLAS platform include digital access to faith-based practices such as Qurban and Zakat as well as other Shariah-compliant lifestyle services including Aqiqah, Fidyah and Sadaqah. On top of that, ‘Shop with IKHLAS’ also offers more than 1,000 products such as prayer items, groceries, fashion, books, jewellery and household it no ems.

Chief Executive Officer of IKHLAS, Ikhlas Kamarudin, said, “Within just two short years, we have managed to grow the IKHLAS platform exponentially, which supports the Muslim communities and organisations through a digital ecosystem and transforming the way they perform their Deen.”

Kamarudin added, “Besides the ready-made Umrah packages that we currently offer, we will also be introducing more flexible, do-it-yourself (DIY) Travel and Umrah options, where travellers can customise their trips by selecting their flights, hotels, activities and other add-ons that are curated specifically for Muslims.”

In conjunction with Rabi’ Ul-Awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar and the birth month of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the launch event was graced by a beautiful rendition of ‘Selawat’ by international singer-songwriter, Sandhy Sondoro who hails from Indonesia. The lyrics were written by Datuk Kamarudin and composed by Sandhy himself.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Tokopedia has launched the ‘Cash Waqf’ feature, a charitable endowment digital feature to give Muslims in Indonesia more ways to carry out their worship. The feature is part of its Tokopedia Salam ecosystem – a channel for halal-certified and Muslim-friendly products and services.

The new feature enables users to donate money helping accelerate halal economic development. This is created in collaboration with several institutions, including the Indonesian Waqf Board (BWI), Dompet Dhuafa, and Rumah Zakat. 

Director of public policy and government relations at Tokopedia, Astri Wahyuni, said that the role of technology is becoming increasingly crucial in facilitating various aspects of people’s lives, including carrying out worship. 

“Starting from Rp.10,000, now anyone can help improve the welfare of others through the Cash Waqf feature on Tokopedia,” Wahyuni said.

“We hope that this feature can make it easier for people to share their kindness, especially during Ramadan, as well as to encourage digital equalization of the sharia economy in Indonesia,” added Wahyuni. 

Meanwhile, Chairperson of the BWI Implementing Body, Prof. Dr. Ir. H. Mohammad Nuh, DEA, shared, “Apart from being a form of worship, cash waqf has a socio-economic function and role, especially in building the country’s economic independence. This has become easier through collaboration between BWI and digital platforms such as Tokopedia. It is also in line with the direction of digital transformation that we are promoting. “

“Digital platforms such as Tokopedia play an important role in socializing the halal industry as well as encouraging waqf literacy in Indonesia. Hopefully, this initiative can accelerate the development of the sharia economy in order to strengthen national resilience,” said Ventje Rahardjo, the executive director of the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS).

The presence of the Cash Waqf feature is also a form of the platform’s support for the National Movement for Cash Waqf (GNWU) initiated by Indonesia’s government.

Besides ‘Cash Waqf’, the platform also has other charity features in Tokopedia Salam, such as Donation, Zakat, and Fidyah, as well as Charity Box, and Qurban.

Jakarta, Indonesia – MuslimKids.TV (MKTV), a Canada-based entertainment platform focused on delivering Muslim-oriented entertainment and content for Muslim families, has officially launched in Indonesia. This comes after the success it has seen in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Malaysia.

With more than ten thousand videos, games, eBooks, and do-it-yourself (DIY) content, MKTV celebrates Muslim values and faith from a child’s perspective.

The launch was facilitated last 19 March by Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno, Canadian Ambassador for Indonesia and Timor Leste Cameron MacKay and Consul General of The Republic of Indonesia in Toronto, Canada Leonard F. Hutabarat.

“I’m so pleased that Canada’s Muslim Kid’s TV (MKTV) is now available to audiences in Indonesia. Freedom of religion and expression helps to drive creativity and innovation, enabling a Canadian company from Edmonton, Alberta, to create a platform to celebrate and promote Muslim culture around the world,” MacKay stated.

He also noted that the launch also initiated a collaboration agreement with Garis Sepuluh and other Indonesian content developers “to showcase Indonesian talent to a global audience, facilitate knowledge transfer, and deliver top-quality child and family-friendly entertainment.”

Meanwhile, Hutabarat commented that the most important thing for Muslim Kids TV is to invest in Indonesia in producing animated films with selected local partners that promotes history, cultural and local wisdom. 

“I also hope that Muslim Kids TV could engage with Indonesian universities that have the best animation programs. This means that Indonesia should take advantage of Canada’s strength in animation to enable technology transfer in the animation industry and give opportunities to young Indonesian talent,” Hutabarat stated.

He added, “Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim population in the world with more than 225 million potential customers. MKTV hopes that its presence in Indonesia can help develop the digital creative industry that the Indonesian government has been promoting. The strong partnerships being developed by MKTV and local production companies align well with the Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.”

MuslimKids.TV is accessible for the Indonesian market through partnerships with Indonesia’s largest mobile providers and mobile wallets including XL Axiata, Indosat, Tri, Telkomsel and OVO for mobile financial services.

For Michael Milo, CEO of MKTV, their Indonesian presence responds to the greater need for Muslim-oriented content, as the content should be safe to be viewed by Muslims and abides by their faith.

“What we found is that Muslim parents whether in Indonesia, Canada or in any other parts of the world want Muslim values reflected in the media they provide for their children. We took up the opportunity and are now the category leader with a large and loyal following in over 60 countries. It is a major milestone for us to launch in Indonesia, the country with the highest Muslim population,” Milo explained.

Meanwhile, Flordeliza Dayrit, co-founder and COO of MKTV said that while they may not be able to compete with large streaming platforms like Disney+ and Netflix, MKTV aims to address the faith and culture of Islam among Muslim children.

“We know from our audience this is tremendously meaningful. We produce about 40% of this content ourselves. We also offer a platform to upcoming producers from Muslim countries to tell local stories. This is something that Disney+ and Netflix are not doing, especially when it comes to faith-based content,” Dayrit said.

MKTV is affiliated with TEC Edmonton, the technology accelerator of the University of Alberta, and is in the works to bring Canadian stories on the platform as well, as they have tied partnerships with Canadian producers and distributors including 9Story Distribution, CBC & Radio-Canada Distribution, Gumboot Kids Media, Lofty Sky Entertainment and Snow Angel Films.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – IKHLAS, the Muslim-friendly business line under airasia, has announced a new e-commerce platform called ‘Shop with IKHLAS’ in response to the growing demand of Muslim customers in the online market.

Through the platform, Muslim users can choose from a wide range of products from praying mats and amenities, dry food, and pre-packaged meals, as well as halal fresh meats, beauty, health supplements, books, and Islamic art, garments, merchandise, and much more.

With the initial launch of the e-commerce platform, IKHLAS is offering a 10% discount on products in Shop with IKHLAS from 15 – 31 March 2021.

“We are thrilled to introduce this marketplace on our site, focusing on Muslim friendly products. Most importantly, we are pleased to be supporting local businesses through this platform so we can continue helping them to stay afloat during these challenging times,” said Ikhlas Kamarudin, head of IKHLAS.

‘Shop with IKHLAS’ is also running a Mystery Box campaign for a limited-time only from 20 March – 30 April 2021. Twenty (20) lucky winners will stand a chance to receive a Mystery Box prize worth RM300 each. Customers can enter the draw by posting an unboxing video of any products or services purchased via IKHLAS’s website on their Instagram with their own hashtag and tagging IKHLAS and five (5) friends and share why they use IKHLAS’s products and services.

“The launch of ‘Shop with IKHLAS’ is timely with Ramadhan around the corner and we aim to be a one-stop Muslim-friendly lifestyle platform that provides affordable products and services for the Muslim community nationwide,” Kamarudin added.

Every purchase in the e-commerce platform will a portion of the sales be donated to its Sadaqah service and will be used to purchase basic necessities for people in need nationwide.