Uniting the Muslim community through tech
ANAS IQBAL AHMAD20 Jun 2022 03:00pm
Muslim Pro has become one of the most downloaded Islamic app worldwide
Muslim Pro is now the leading global lifestyle app for Muslims with over 100 million downloads that reach countries where Muslims are the minority such as France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Co-CEO of Bitsmedia, the company that develops and publishes Muslim Pro, Nik Emir Din said: “When we first started, it was just a one-man show and the aim was to serve the Indonesian market which is a country with the highest Muslim population”.
The early reception in Indonesia was very low. However, they quickly found out that the app was very successful in the developed market such as the UK and US where Muslims are the minority and accurate prayer times were not easily accessible.
“From that point onwards we were thrust into the global market and we have been designing our app to serve the global Muslim population ever since,” says Nik.
Muslim Pro has evolved in many ways since it first started and had transitioned from just a utility app into a lifestyle app.
“We pride ourselves in being an all-round Muslim lifestyle app to give Muslims around the world not only the religious utility tools to help them with their religious needs but also the stories, entertainment, and enriching content that they are seeking to better their faith”, he said.
Co-CEO of Bitsmedia, the company that develops and publishes Muslim Pro, Nik Emir Din
The features that the app has to offer are the Quran with audio player, prayer and fasting tracker, collection of duas, halal restaurants directory, Makkah live stream, and daily inspiration just to name a few.
“We constantly try to improve our feature offerings by implementing the latest technology available, for example, the recitation for the Quran translation in our app is powered by text-to-speech technology in order to bring Muslim Pro to as many users worldwide,” says Nik.
By positioning itself as a global app for Muslims, the team has to overcome the challenges of serving very diverse users that come from different backgrounds, cultures, and languages.
To overcome this, they provide localization for each market in order to engage with the groups. The app is fully translated into Arabic, Malay, Turkish, Urdu, and even languages that are not traditionally associated with Islam such as French, German, Chinese, and Korean.
Muslim Pro prides itself on having a diverse team which comprises of 13 nationalities, which is a strength that they use which enables them to communicate effectively with their wide range of users worldwide.
Besides providing the Muslim population assistance in practicing their faith, Muslim Pro also aims to nurture a sense of community with their global users that are united by their faith.
One feature that helps to build the community in their app is the Khatam Quran. This feature allows users to create khatam groups, and as a group, they can assign parts of the Quran to members to read, as well as nudge members to complete their assigned readings
Nik adds in by saying “we make use of social media as well by spurring conversations on topics that are important to the Muslim community”.
“We approach and had worked with relevant influencers and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) both locally and international to engage with our community and expand our reach,” he said.
When asked what they have in store for the future, Nik is very excited to share that the team has been tirelessly working on creating a digital home for all things Muslim by introducing Qalbox.
“Qalbox is an on-the-go subscription for video on-demand entertainment streaming service that celebrates global Muslim identities and cultures.
“It will complement the existing feature of the Muslim Pro app with the goal to create a holistic platform for our user’s lifestyle needs,” said Nik.
“Viewers may look forward to a wide range of interesting content, including documentaries, series, and films that cover the entire spectrum of Muslim culture” he added.
Nik then goes on to say they aim to not only provide enriching, wholesome, and positive Muslim-centred content for our global Muslim community but also to bridge different cultures and backgrounds and celebrate the diversity that is within the Muslim world.”
Qalbox is slated for a soft launch for Muslim Pro users this July, with a global launch plan towards the end of the year.
