Check Out Mahdi Ahmad’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mahdi Ahmad

Hi Mahdi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As a child of a black American father and an Iranian mother, I never felt I was out of place growing up in America, despite being a Muslim most importantly. It is because I’m a regular person who felt I didn’t need to be ashamed of who I am or apologize for something I didn’t do. This attitude got me respect from my peers and when 9/11 happened, I knew that it was important to tell people the true message of Islam and Muslims.

It was the advent of the internet and later on social media that I realized that one of the most effective tools to influence the hearts and minds of people is entertainment and using the internet and social media to disseminate this entertainment. Around 2006, I co-founded “Ummah Films” with “Baba Ali” in hopes of utilizing things like the internet (YouTube to be specific) to fulfill the vision I had.

But my vision was more than comedic skits and videos that were the main focus of Baba Ali. I later left Ummah Films and knew I had to embark on my dream of fulfilling my vision. I decided that the world — and not just the Muslim community — needed to enjoy and learn from the content that Muslims create and that Muslim content creators and personalities will be household names around the world.

There’s currently a void that needs to be filled and I felt I had to be that outlier to needed to fill in this void of quality content from Muslim content creators that can has the mass appeal to audiences around the world, regardless of their background.

I always wanted to utilize the power and influence of entertainment and social media with portraying a positive and accurate image of Muslims and Islam. Also the vision of having a platform where Muslim content creators and artists can showcase their content and talent to the world so bridges between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities can be built. Through humanizing Muslims with the power of entertainment, we can be household names anywhere in the world regarding of your religion, ethnicity, language, etc., through the power of our content.

Now my vision is encapsulated in “Haqq Entertainment”. Haqq means “truth” in Arabic and the best way to combat lies and negativity is with truth.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
So far, there have been challenges that are hindering progress of fulfilling the vision. It’s definitely not a lack of talent; there are two billion Muslims on earth and we have plenty of talent. The main issue is a lack of initiative from Muslim content creators to take action and see that the vision of building bridges with the non-Muslim world and becoming household names can be a reality. For whatever reasons, excuses are rife.

Working on breaking the cycle of making excuses is an uphill battle

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
After decades of IT and later on sales, I had an “awakening” or what some would call a midlife crisis. I knew the time was ticking biologically for me to take go all in so that I can fulfill my vision. Now the focus is solely on the vision and nothing else.

The passion to find a way foster friendship and respect amongst an all types of people from all over the world. This is what I live for. To speak the truth, even if it’s against myself. I have a knack for debating, even writing a book on the art of debating (“No Substitute for Evidence Except Evidence: The Art of Debating”).

What sets me apart isn’t talent but having vision and thinking outside the box. People have talents and gifts but very few are pioneers or trendsetters. Pioneers and trendsetters are visionaries.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Social media is the best way to contact me. My Instagram (@mahdiahmad) is the preferred platform; one can DM me to work with me or inquire about anything.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mahdiahmad