How are Muslims around the world experiencing the holy month of fasting amidst the war on Gaza? Sara and Mitra are joined by Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh, the founder and editor in chief of Muslim. The brand is a thriving digital space – with an audience of six million on Instagram and 2.4 million on TikTok. Ameer shares his mission, the spirituality of the month and how this year, all eyes are on Palestine.
Ramadan is the month-long observance of fasting from sunrise to sunset for Muslims. It is the most spiritual month for believers, marked by generosity and charitable giving (zakat), acts of community service and devotion to God. Beyond the daily five prayers, Muslims attend special nightly prayers (taraweeh), where one chapter of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, is recited each of the 30 nights of the month. Muslim.co published a video from Gaza, on the first night of taraweeh prayers, amidst the rubble of a destroyed mosque.
Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh founded Muslim.co in 2019 as a news site that would serve the Muslim community–away from mischaracterizations in mainstream media. It’s a digital gathering space for news and storytelling by and for the Muslim community. He explained Ramadan is a major traffic spike. Last year, his audience grew by one million followers during Ramadan, because Muslims are seeking content connected to the faith. During the Israeli war on Gaza, audiences are seeking accurate and timely updates on Palestinians living under bombardment.
Al-Khatahtbeh described one strategy of seeking user generated content to amplify protests and events not covered by mainstream media. Muslim.co published this video by user @GerardDalbon of 50,000 protestors marching for Palestine in New York City on March 3, 2024:
Muslim.co’s coverage has kept an unflinching eye on Gaza beyond the past six months of bombardment. They’ve tracked the occupation of Palestine in years past, with Al-Khatahtbeh reflecting on the theft of homes in Sheikh Jarrah in 2021. Here are photos of the destruction, one year apart:
For Palestinians in Gaza, the routine of daily life has been destroyed by war. Here is a photo of a family breaking their fast during iftar, the sunset meal, surrounded by the rubble of their home.
From URL Media, we wish you Ramadan Kareem. For more independent coverage of Muslim communities in the United States, check out Sahan Journal producing for and with immigrant communities in Minnesota, the podcasts by Immigrantly Media, and news on the Bangladeshi diaspora by TBN24.
