‘Why I created a social network for Muslims’

UK-based Nigerian apps developer, Yusuf Hassan has created a social network for Muslims. Having delved into Islamic music and creating Islamic content for mobile network providers in Nigeria, Hassan, who holds an LLB (Hons) degree from the University of London and LLM in International Commercial Law from Brunel University, London, settled on creating Tutlub, a […]

UK-based Nigerian apps developer, Yusuf Hassan has created a social network for Muslims. Having delved into Islamic music and creating Islamic content for mobile network providers in Nigeria, Hassan, who holds an LLB (Hons) degree from the University of London and LLM in International Commercial Law from Brunel University, London, settled on creating Tutlub, a social network for Muslims. In this interview, he talks about the app and his dreams.

Daily Trust: How did the idea of Tutlub occur to you?
Yusuf Hassan: Five years ago I started a company in Nigeria called with the primary aim of changing the mind-set of Islamic leaders in relation to the use of new technology and media in Nigeria. The advent of mobile phones in Nigeria brought about the use of caller tunes and other value added services. In the beginning, Muslim contents were disallowed by network operators such as MTN and Glo because of the directives by some scholars on whether or not Islamic contents are appropriate for such purposes.
I discussed this with Islamic scholars in Nigeria concerning the appropriate use of Islamic contents and got approval from the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) before the network operators could agree to use the contents. As a result of that, I successfully pioneered the religious part of the VAS (Caller tune) business for mobile network operators, including MTN, Etisalat, Airtel and Glo. I have since then engaged in the distribution of different religious contents.  
This is the background that helped and steered me to the development of Tutlub – a social network platform that connects Muslims with other Muslims to supplicate, communicate and learn. My personal experience on Facebook – misinterpretation and stigmatisations that originate from posting too much Islamic content on a social network formed part of the reason I started Tutlub. This stigmatisations and misrepresentation discourages some of us from posting and engaging with Islamic contents as much as we would like to.
Further to that, employers nowadays do check potential employees’ Facebook page and a Muslim candidate with a page full of Islamic contents might be misconstrued. Muslims have two major categories of social groups. The first being our Muslim social group where we meet up with friends and families who share the same belief with us and it’s the religious affiliation that forms the basics of our social interactions.  On the other hand, we also mingle with classmates, colleagues at work, business partners and extended families who might or might not share the same religious belief as we do. The way, manner and the amount of religious discussions with these two sets of social groups will be different. Tutlub represents the first Muslim social group whilst Facebook exemplifies the second mixed social group.
DT: What were the challenges faced while developing this app and what were the special considerations?
Hassan: First, lack of Muslim market tech expertise. We have heard from quite a number of investors and big name potential tech advisers who said to us that they love the idea. They believe it will work and they have the social network knowledge but they don’t have the knowledge of Muslim market. This is a hurdle when you want to bring on board such caliber of people.
Secondly, the same goes for funding, especially in the UK where I am currently based. Most of the well-known investors here are not Muslims and some said they would not mind investing but they don’t know how our users will feel when they hear that some of the investors are not Muslims. We believe that the success of enterprise such as Tutlub will usher in experts such as myself with knowledge of the Muslim markets and give the ability to the next generation of Muslim startups and entrepreneurs.
DT: How many people do you have registered on the platform now?
Hassan: In terms of numbers, we have put a pause on user acquisition as we have a large enough number needed to test-run the app and we are gathering data on the usage and features that are of most importance to the current users in order to make the app better for full launch. As for growth and acceptance, we went from 0 users to 2nd trending app on Google Play Store listing for Muslim social network within one week and became one of the top 20 social apps in one week in Nigeria according to analysts. The engagements on the app too are going great. We have over 30,000 prayers posted with over 100,000 amins.
DT: There are fears of extremist groups using social media to recruit members. How is Tutlub going to check this?
Hassan: Through this beta testing and user metrics, we have realised that we can also use this platform to solve the problems that the current social networks are unable to solve; the use of social networks by terrorists for indoctrination. The terrorists’ first attempts at infiltrating social media sites like Facebook consisted of ‘Facebook raids’ or campaigns aimed at disseminating their propaganda. Today, they are creating groups and virtual communities affiliated with terrorist web sites. This allows the terrorists to bridge the gap between sympathisers and leadership. The social networks are routinely trying to shut down these groups, pages and channels that are affiliated to these groups. However, they make use of instant messages, which are mostly in between parties, and at this stage the sympathiser is already initiated.
As a solution to this, Tutlub will be connecting users with verified and vetted religious leaders to request for prayers or advice. By so doing we will be helping in our own way to solve the problem of indoctrination through social network. This will show true modern values of Islam and support Muslim individuals at risk of misinformation by extremist groups. And also instant message functionalities will no longer be available as we believe that is the main channel used for indoctrination and it is not a core functionality for Tutlub.
DT: Is there any chance non-Muslims can benefit from this?
Hassan: Tutlub is not a Muslim-only social network. A non-Muslim can also use the platform. The major difference here compared to Facebook is that Tutlub is more akin to a Muslim gathering – a mosque or Muslim community centre or a religious society. Just as one will not go on LinkedIn to post holiday pictures because it is a professional and business environment. The same approach goes for Tutlub. The mood, the design, the purpose and environment are religious. A non-Muslim that wants to learn about Islam and Muslim ways of life can definitely go on the platform too.
DT: What is the commercial imperative for this app? Where do you see this app going to in the next few years?
Hassan: In the next few years, Tutlub will be the main social network app in what we call the Emerging Muslim Markets (EMM), including Nigeria with over 80million Muslims; India with over 190 million Muslims, Indonesia with over 200 million Muslims; Turkey 80 million Muslims; Morocco with over 30 million Muslims and Russia with over 17 million Muslims. We believe we will be able to dominate these markets.
DT: How much work do you have to do to keep this app afloat at all times?
Hassan: At this moment majority of our work is on development and fundraising. So we are redesigning, developing and testing the app based on user metrics. I am also concentrating much on the fundraising aspect of the business. We recently won a place in the ‘KPMG Presents: The Best British Mobile Startup 2016.’ This gives us the opportunity to be presented by KPMG as Best Mobile Startup at the Mobile World Congress 2016.