shahed com
Shahed.com: How a Halal Food Nerd Helped Shape the Digital Islamic Economy
If you’ve ever searched for a halal burger joint at midnight and actually found one, chances are you’ve benefited from Shahed Amanullah’s work — whether you realized it or not.
A Halal Food Map That Turned Into a Movement
Back in 1998, before apps and algorithmic restaurant recommendations were a thing, Shahed Amanullah did something simple: he listed halal restaurants online. He called it Zabihah. No fancy branding, no massive funding rounds, just a problem he faced — finding halal food — and a solution.
But here’s the twist. That list didn’t stay small. It exploded. Muslims across the U.S., and eventually the world, started relying on it. Fast forward to now: over 50,000 halal spots are mapped globally. In cities like Chicago, London, and Kuala Lumpur, Zabihah is often the first stop for hungry Muslims — or curious foodies — trying to figure out where to eat without compromising values.
That’s not just clever. That’s infrastructure.
More Than Food: A Blueprint for Muslim Tech
Amanullah didn’t stop with menus. He understood something deeper: Muslims around the world weren’t just looking for products. They were looking for systems they could trust. And there weren’t nearly enough.
So he built. Altmuslim gave the Muslim community a voice in digital journalism before platforms like Medium even existed. Affinis Labs, his startup incubator, backed ventures that aimed to serve real-world Muslim challenges with real-world business models. Zakatify reimagined how Muslims could give zakat, the annual charitable donation, with transparency and strategy.
Instead of treating Muslim consumers as a niche, Amanullah treated them like any other community: diverse, dynamic, worth building for. That mindset is exactly why his ideas scale.
Silicon Valley Meets Ramadan
At some point, the State Department noticed. Between 2011 and 2014, Amanullah served as a Senior Advisor for Tech under Secretaries Clinton and Kerry. He brought a combination of startup thinking and global Muslim insight to a space that usually doesn’t understand either.
His job wasn’t just “Muslim outreach.” He helped shape tech diplomacy and digital engagement strategies at a time when trust in U.S. foreign policy was scraping the floor across much of the Muslim world. You want smart power? Start by understanding who actually holds the attention of young Muslims building startups in Cairo, Jakarta, and Lagos. Hint: it’s not always politicians.
Why This Matters: The Rise of the Digital Islamic Economy
Here’s what’s changed. Global Muslim consumer spending is projected to hit $2.8 trillion by 2025, according to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report. Halal food alone? Over $1.3 trillion. Add in modest fashion, Islamic finance, travel, media — this isn’t a niche anymore. It’s a market force.
But digital trust is still lagging. Halal certification is inconsistent. Zakat is often opaque. Financial tools can feel awkwardly retrofitted. That’s where Shahed.com fits in. The site isn't a startup or a marketplace. It's a central hub for all his projects — and a sandbox for new ideas.
Scroll through and you’ll find reflections on digital equity, video clips from BBC and CBS interviews, startup lessons, and posts that break down global protests or cultural flashpoints with a builder’s mindset. It’s personal, sure, but also strategic. He’s clearly still building.
Systems Over Slogans
What makes Amanullah interesting isn’t just the projects. It’s his systems thinking. He doesn’t just say “Muslims need X” and slap together an app. He looks at the bottlenecks — policy, funding, culture, tech literacy — and tries to build scaffolding that lasts.
Take Zakatify. It isn’t just a donation platform. It’s designed to show impact. Think of it as a mashup of Venmo, GoFundMe, and ESG dashboards for Muslim charity. That kind of visibility turns giving from obligation to opportunity.
Same goes for his incubator work. Affinis Labs launched or supported over two dozen ventures. These weren’t feel-good nonprofits. They were market-driven, socially aware businesses — some tackling Islamophobia, others focused on refugee employment, financial literacy, or halal investing.
The Strategy Behind Shahed.com
Shahed.com itself feels almost like a GitHub repo of his career. It’s part blog, part archive, part digital footprint. It reflects a belief that transparency, storytelling, and public iteration are part of leadership — especially for marginalized communities.
There’s no high-polish PR team writing copy. The posts are raw, sometimes opinionated, often strategic. He’ll write about how digital capitalism can be a force for good — but then he’ll show you what he’s building to test that theory.
This matters because too often Muslim entrepreneurs are asked to explain, justify, or sanitize. Amanullah skips that. He builds, writes, critiques, and keeps going.
The Challenges No One Likes to Talk About
Nothing he’s done is without friction.
Certifying halal at scale? Nightmare. Standards vary by country, even by city. Fraud exists. Trust is hard.
Zakat? Deeply personal. Also wildly fragmented. Many Muslims don’t even know how much to give, let alone where. Platforms like Zakatify solve some of that, but not all. Cultural habits run deep.
Tech inclusion? Great on paper. But VCs don’t always get it. A Muslim founder building a prayer app in Berlin? That’s still a harder pitch than yet another crypto wallet.
That’s what makes Amanullah’s work feel different. He’s not just addressing the pain points. He’s been living them.
Why His Approach Works
He’s fluent in startup lingo, understands Islamic ethics without commodifying them, and knows how to speak policy when it counts. That trifecta is rare.
More importantly, he doesn’t treat Muslims as a monolith. A 24-year-old Syrian developer in Istanbul and a 50-year-old Somali shop owner in Minneapolis have different needs. Shahed gets that. His platforms don’t assume universal behavior — they allow customization, community-driven content, and layered trust mechanisms.
He doesn’t just build for Muslims. He builds with them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Shahed.com?
Shahed.com is the personal site of Shahed Amanullah, a serial entrepreneur and digital strategist. It serves as a portfolio, blog, and archive of his work across the Islamic economy, policy, and tech innovation.
Who is Shahed Amanullah?
Shahed Amanullah is best known as the founder of Zabihah, the world’s largest halal restaurant guide. He also co-founded Affinis Labs and Zakatify, and served as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. State Department.
Why is Zabihah important?
Zabihah was one of the first platforms to make halal food searchable and reviewable online. It has mapped over 50,000 halal eateries worldwide and is widely used by Muslims looking for compliant food options.
What’s Zakatify?
Zakatify is a platform that lets Muslims give zakat with greater visibility and strategic impact. It brings donation tracking, social features, and curated charity lists into a modern app experience.
What’s the future of Shahed’s work?
His ongoing projects focus on scaling the digital Islamic economy, addressing structural gaps in trust, funding, and representation, and incubating startups with global Muslim relevance.
Final Thought
Shahed.com isn’t just a website. It’s a window into the architecture behind a more digital, transparent, and empowered Islamic economy. It’s the kind of thing that starts with a dinner craving — and ends with reshaping how 2 billion people engage with tech, money, and each other.
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