Interview with Hamza Zakaria, owner of IslamOrient.com which launched in March 2006 and is based in London
Brother Hamza comes from a very unique family of converts to Islam. “My family all reverted to Islam one by one, from my older brother, to me, then my two sisters and mum, grandfather, and then finally my father. Alhumdulillah!!!”
Being a tailor by trade and being a Chinese convert to Islam, Brother Hamza is uniquely situated to bring Islamic clothing with Oriental-inspired designs to the market. He is especially motivated to help some of the younger generation of Muslims to come back to wearing Islamic clothing.
It pleases him as well to be involved with one of the best occupations (tailoring) that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) mentions.
Brother Hamza hopes to complement what’s already in the market for modern Islamic clothing by offering larger sizes and styles suitable for both the younger generation and the older generation. For women, he offers clothing in color so they can accessorize the black Islamic clothing that’s so prevalent in the market.
Q: Who are some of the customers you weren’t expecting?
“We’ve had many customers we weren’t expecting—like some non-Muslims who loved and bought our Islamic clothing. They loved our clothing range; they say our designs are beautiful, yet kept simple and modern.”
“Also, what we are most happy with is that sisters who have never worn Islamic clothing before (because they never found any Islamic clothing that they feel or have the confidence to wear regarding the style, sizing, and material used) bought and started wearing Islamic clothing for the first time. Alhamdulillah, when they came across our clothing range, they loved our elegant and sophisticated designs and our use of modern fabric, such as linen. They loved the many colors we have available and our available sizing.”
Q: What’s one of your best-selling products?
“One of the best selling products is our popular Chinese Islamic clothing which we try to keep modern but with a Chinese elegance.”
Q: What exciting products do you have in the works?
“We are designing more unique designs for our clothing range, and also we will be launching Islamic t-shirts for the brothers with an Oriental theme.”
