💰$8 million side hustle

In a week when the world’s largest halal food festival arrives in London (get down there!) and an NFL linebacker got fined for honoring Hind Rajab (then went on to honor Wafaa Akila anyway), Musletter tried to get hired on the Ed Sheeran tour just so it could quit.

Here’s what we have for you in this edition:

Plus: Our recommendations on what to read, watch, and buy!

Let’s jump right in!

🐓🗽 Muslim teacher by day, halal foodpreneur by night: You know how movies like Dangerous Minds make you want to pull out your own teeth? This is the exact opposite. New York public school teacher Taha Alassari works in one of the city’s toughest neighborhoods and has quite the side hustle: an $8.4 million halal chicken wing business. Founded with his three brothers, the House of Wings restaurant has grown to ten outlets in just three years. Day job: Doing important work with at-risk young men, helping them get to college. Night: Making wings and smash burgers with family-style hospitality. Oh, and the brothers got their mom the ‘platinum’ Hajj trip she always wanted.

🚀 A new approach to hijra: You’ve seen it on social media: the amazing food, the stunning views, the spacious houses. Then the ‘We made hijra!’ pictures stop, followed by a sad-face post about moving back to the West. Was it the wrong place? Wrong time? Wrong intention? Today, there are new ways of thinking about hijra, with platforms like hijra.city which cover visas, residency, cost of living, and Islamic lifestyle. Importantly, it has a ‘test before you go’ ethos, plus specific routes for those working in tech and the chance to speak to people who've already made the move. Need some prep? Check out Hijra Plan’s courses and consulting.

💸 Ayan scores $100 million to become a full digital bank: Start small, then expand. That’s the lesson from UK-based Islamic fintech Ayan Capital, which has just secured $100 million in financing as it prepares to apply for a banking license. Launched in 2024 by the founders of Alif Holdings, Ayan initially offered interest-free weekly payments on the way to vehicle ownership. But this new cash injection enables Ayan to expand into other financial products and ultimately develop a digital bank. Starting out with a specific service before growing into a wider offering worked in the UK. Is this a blueprint for Muslim entrepreneurs looking for opportunities in the West?

🇸🇦 The Saudi business giant whose name you may not know: Okay, you might know the name, but do you know the man? Suliman Saleh Olayan was born in 1918 and lost both parents at a young age. It didn’t stop him. Suliman studied in Bahrain, worked at Aramco, then in 1947 launched a trucking and supply business. Expanding over the decades, the $40 billion Olayan company became a crucial middleman between Saudi Arabia and international businesses. The company won the contract to distribute Coca-Cola in KSA and acquired stakes in Chase Manhattan and Visa. Still a family business, it’s been run by Suliman’s children since his death in 2002.

🇦🇪 UAE tourism gets a new look: The UAE wants you to visit all the Emirates. Even the ones you can’t name. To that end, the country launched a new Visit UAE brand at the Arabian Travel Market 2026. It aims to bring all seven emirates under a single banner, helping you plan just the right itinerary with the new UAE Grand Tour platform. Promising ‘one country, seven movements’, there’s no excuse for visiting Dubai thinking you’ve seen the whole place. These initiatives sit under the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, which aims for a $122 billion contribution to GDP from tourism by 2031.

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