Don’t Advertise These To Muslims

As with most companies, who want to grow and get as many customers as possible - you market your products to potential buyers.

This is pretty standard and it makes sense, but it gets a little confusing when your product is potentially inappropriate or offensive to certain buyers. Your company might have products or services Muslim customers like, but make sure it's those products they are presented and messaged about and not the ones that could upset them.

You can’t stop us by Nike - This caused controversy after they transitioned a Muslim skater into an LGBTQ flag-bearing skater. 

In the Muslim market, there are some products which are best to avoid when working with influencers, paid social or just advertising towards this demographic. In this article, we’ll go through them briefly to minimise the chances of a PR catastrophe and maximise authentic engagement with your Muslim market.

1. Immodest clothing

The Muslim faith is very particular about clothing for both males and females. Modesty is a spectrum but when targeting a Muslim demographic specifically, it is best to avoid blatantly immodest products entirely.

There is a way around advertising immodest products, showing them being styled modestly - for instance, a tank top for a female being layered. This is also where influencers come in, Muslim influencers will be able to style products and showcase all the hard work your brand puts in.

2. Silk & Gold for men

This is one of those nuances you won’t know unless you’re told. Silk and gold can’t be worn by men in Islam (females can wear them). This means mainly jewellery in all its forms as well as those really flowy shirts, unfortunately.

This is a well-established and understood belief, so there is no room for interpretation here.

3. Music

There is an overwhelming majority of Muslims who believe that Music is haram (forbidden) in Islam. That being said, it is still enjoyed by lots of Muslims worldwide - this doesn't mean it’s allowed.

Brands such as Spotify, Amazon Music or Apple Music can still engage this huge demographic because of the halal (permissible) content it also has e.g Quran, nasheeds and lectures.

4. Alcohol

Alcohol is haram and it would be very out of touch for a brand to even consider engaging the Muslim demo with that product. We now have 0% alcohol commonly advertised as an alternative to normal alcohol. Whilst an argument can be made for 0%, it’s best to avoid the Muslim demo with these products.

With a good understanding of the Muslim demographic, brands have access to multi-billion dollar markets. Use the expertise of consulting groups and agencies like Modest Influence to better understand these markets, and how your brand can make its mark amongst Muslim buyers.