Online dating with a little spin? Salams (previously known as Minder) is an online dating app for Muslims interested in meeting other Muslims for the purpose of marriage. Similar to many dating apps out there, the process of finding someone on Salams is easy. You swipe right if you’re interested in a person, and left if not. Your swipes remain private and will only be revealed upon being matched (aka if the other person swipes right on you too). We sat down with the Salams team to chat with them about the idea of the app, and the concept of dating in the muslim community.
1. As people already know, Salams is a rebrand for the iconic muslim dating app Minder. I want to take it back there, how did the idea come about?
Minder was created in 2015 to make it easier for Muslims to get married. If you’re Muslim in a non-Muslim country, it’s difficult to get married if you can’t find anyone through your direct network — Minder was created to connect Muslims who may not have met otherwise.
Of course, Minder was a play off of Tinder and it quickly became known as the Muslim Tinder. However, even at the very beginning the intention was never for the app to be used like Tinder. Minder was a catchy name that many people fell in love with when they would hear it. It made people laugh and it served the purpose of having people understand that it was an app for you to connect with other Muslims.
2. Was there any reasoning you’d like to share behind the rebrand to Salams?
After several years of beng called Minder, it was a household name. Parents, college students, and even non-Muslims knew about Minder. However, as a company, we asked ourselves if the name “Minder” fit with our purpose and mission which is to help connect and get Muslims married in a halal way. And the truth to that answer is that Minder was not the best name for that. We didn’t want to be known as Muslim Tinder. We wanted people to respect the app and use it properly. Therefore, despite us being a household name our entire company had to make the very tough decision on changing our name. We went through tons of surveys to come up with another name. We asked thousands of people for their opinions. Then one day, we suggested the name Salams. It was short, simple and beautiful. Salams – to spread peace and a phrase used to open a conversation.
3. Going into dating in the muslim world, why do you think a dating app like Salams is needed in the muslim community?
An app like Salams is needed because Muslims now-a-days want to proactively search for a spouse on their own time who they believe is the most compatible for them. The traditional ways of getting married, like using a matchmaker, took power away from single Muslims. Oftentimes matchmakers would find someone who is good for the family or good on paper but not good for the individual getting married. With Salams, users fall in love with the person that best fits their criteria on their own schedule without pressure from friends and family to settle for someone.
We hope and pray that Allah allows this app’s dynamics to create halal and meaningful relationships in this life and the hereafter.
4. Why do you think there’s stigma that comes with dating in the muslim community (especially online dating)? How is Salams working on breaking this stigma?
We have been dealing with this stigma for years. We have had tens of thousands of couples get engaged and married using Salams. They will reach out to us and thank us but the minute we ask for a testimonial they get shy. This is no blame on them, however, it is because of the stigma of meeting someone online. This is something new for the Muslim community. However, with social media becoming such a powerful tool and with apps becoming the norm, we believe this stigma is slowly going away. Our goal at Salams is to showcase how many happy couples get married off the app so we can continue to break this stigma.
5. Which countries do people mostly use Salams? Is it mostly eastern or western countries?
We have a global user base but certainly we have a heavy focus in America, Canada and the United Kingdom.
6. Any last words you’d like to leave for muslim youth thinking about using dating apps but are hesitant?
Times are changing very fast and the way things are done are changing drastically. Salams is a new way to get married. We are not saying it is the only way to get married, but as a Muslim it is certainly a very good option. With over 2,000,000+ single Muslims worldwide, it’s a great way to improve your chances of getting married.
What an inspiring mission and journey from the Salams app team. If you’re Muslim and looking for a longterm partner from within your faith, then we definitely recommend you to check out their app. Don’t forget to DM us your experiences, we’re looking forward to hearing from you how it went.
