The Rise of Traditional Muslims as a Niche Market

Conventional business wisdom says that there are three ways to compete: price, quality, and by choosing a niche market. In The End of Advertising as We Know It, it says that, "broadcasters must change their mass audience mind-set to cater to niche consumer segments." Seeing that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the US and the world, marketing to Muslims makes sense. However, the specific subculture of those who identify themselves as, "traditional Muslims" in the West should be targeted more than others.

Traditional Muslims are Sunni Muslims who follow one of the four orthodox schools of jurisprudence and often have an interest in Sufism (Islamic spirituality) and stand juxtaposed to another major group of Sunnis: the Salafis. The Arabic term for a devotee of Sufism is faqir (pl. fuqara), which literally means, "an impoverished person". Far from wearing patched clothing and eating barley bread, the spread of traditional Islam in the West has bred a new class of rich fuqara. To dumb it down for non-Muslims looking to target this segment, you can think of this demographic as Muslim hippies with disposable income.

The first quality of traditional Muslims that makes them marketable is their appreciation for beauty. These are people who take the statement of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), "Allah is Beautiful and loves beauty" as a way of life. Once the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) asked a shoddily-dressed man if he had any wealth. When the man mentioned the types of wealth he had, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) told him, "Allah loves to see the effects of His blessings upon His slave." While Salafis also believe in these same teachings, it doesn't translate to practice for them in the same way it does for traditional Muslims.

Secondly, traditional Muslims draw inspiration from a large variety of Islamic subcultures, both old and new: Andalusian, Turkish, Muslim Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, North African, West African, Syrian, Yemeni. They are also not opposed to integrating elements from non-Muslim cultures. If you wanted to sell traditional Muslims an Alpaca fibre prayer mat with South American Indian designs on it, that might just work. Salafis, on the other hand, look to modern day Saudi Arabia as their cultural and religious icon, which means that the inspiration for products targeted towards them is limited.

Thirdly, traditional Muslims are generally more educated in the liberal and fine arts and are more westernized than Salafis. A lot of niche marketing has to do with producing a nice story for your products with some accompanying snooty copy. People who are actually literate in English, collect calligraphy, read mystical poetry, and buy organic are going to buy your fine products for a premium if you market them right.

Some companies that appeal to traditional Muslims include: SHUKR (which aims at being a sort of Gap for Muslims), Islamica Magazine, Oriscent, and Uns Finecrafts.