Introducing Travel Moor: Muslims connecting beyond borders
“The Muslim world” is a phrase often thrown around in media, but it’s really a misnomer because it perpetuates the idea that Muslims reside in our own world, separate from the rest. The truth is, Muslims make up a third of the world’s population, residing in nearly every country, from America to Zanzibar. And while we share some religious beliefs and practices, they obviously vary from individual to individual, and we certainly don’t share one culture based solely on our faith.
When marketers lump us together, we’re all left out.
Now, I understand this may be complex for non-Muslim businesses to understand, but if seen from a purely marketing perspective — it makes no sense to treat Muslims as a monolith, the same way that some mainstream news outlets do by painting us all as terrorists.
Perhaps I’m being a bit unfair. Obviously, businesses want to go after the largest and most lucrative market, and that’s fine. In the case of Muslim travel, thin survey data shows that this market would be the affluent Muslims in the Gulf whose primary travel concerns include finding halal food and feeling safe as Muslims when visiting other countries — absolutely valid concerns, and ones that Muslims the world over share, but certainly not the only ones for Muslims outside the Gulf. (Although, I only know this based on informal polling of my Muslim friends — because currently there’s no data to back up the fact that there is any other kind of Muslim traveler! That, in itself, says a lot!)
However, based on the abysmal number and quality of travel blogs, social communities, and tourism companies targeting Muslims (both Muslim and non-Muslim owned), the travel industry is currently only offering luxury or religious tourism options designed for wealthy Arabs in the Gulf. But I’ve learned from my conversations with Muslims outside the Gulf that there’s strong interest in veering off this traditional tourist trail for an experience unfiltered by hotel corporations and worn out guidebooks — but only if other paths were easier to come across.
Paving new roads for Muslim travelers to engage with the world
That’s the first of two problems (In a future post, I’ll elaborate on the second problem: lack of spaces for young Muslims to connect outside religion or politics.) I’m trying to solve with my startup, Travel Moor: the only community that publishes underrepresented travel narratives of Muslims of all backgrounds, and organizes unique travel experiences for them. Besides self-identification as Muslims, the unifying factor among our community is a social consciousness that influences our style of travel.
On a surface level, Travel Moor may appear to simply serve a niche community’s need to be acknowledged.
Given that I’m a journalist with international reporting experience beginning a business venture, you didn’t think I would simply start up something that looked inwards and existed only to make a profit, did you? If so, then you really don’t know me! :)
My big picture vision for Travel Moor has been one that’s underscored every path I’ve taken in my career over the last decade: dispelling stereotypes.
We can spout statistics proving all Muslims are not terrorists and even that not all terrorists are Muslim, but the fact remains: data doesn’t change people’s minds. Knowledge doesn’t reframe perceptions as we expect it to. It’s *relationships* that change minds. But data can be helpful! There’s actually a statistically strong correlation illustrating that if someone has met a Muslim, the more likely they are to like Muslims as a whole.
The writer and traveler Mark Twain summed it up quite well when he said “travel is fatal to prejudice.”
When the travel industry ignores Muslim markets and travel styles outside of luxury and religious tourism geared toward affluent Muslims in the Gulf — it could endanger communities of all varieties, by not encouraging travel out of comfort zones.
“You cannot cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ~Andre Gide
Exploration, as opposed to passive consumption tourism, is meant to illicit a bit of discomfort, and it is in this state where travelers often not only “discover themselves” but also challenge their biases.
When Muslim travelers accept or push this “exclusive” standard of travel, it’s a disservice to not only Muslims, but our greater community, because it ultimately furthers our isolation from the world we live in. There’s a huge, but severely ignored opportunity in travel for Muslims to act as ambassadors for a faith that’s been unfairly maligned around the world.
And I believe the best ambassadors of Muslim culture are our young Muslims: socially conscious, engaged, and innovative.
Now all we need is a place where all are welcome to meet, exchange ideas, and encourage each other to go beyond borders: Travel Moor.
