The Muslim singles who are ditching dating apps for hiking trails
Tired of being ghosted or mistreated online, some searching for a long-term partner are stepping outdoors to find a potential match
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Rain pelts down on a group of 30 hikers as they huddle under a canopy of trees in the Yorkshire Dales. The group has stopped to take photographs of a small but beautiful waterfall called Janet’s Foss. It’s not a love of the outdoors that has brought this group together but, rather, they are all single Muslims who are sick of online dating, and long to connect with someone in a real-life setting. With ages ranging from mid-20s to 40s, they’ve travelled from across England to clamber over muddy rocks in the pouring rain on this late summer Saturday.
For Ahmed, a 33-year-old teacher from Bradford, it was his anxiety over using Muslim marriage apps that pushed him into signing up for this hike. “What I’ve heard is that people on these apps are not serious about marriage, whereas some people here are with chaperones. They’ve paid to come on a hike for five hours, so you know they’re serious.”
At the helm of this singles hike is 30-year-old graphic designer Safura Said from Halifax. This July, she launched The Connect Club, an events company with the focus of getting Muslim singles to meet through various social events and outdoor activities such as hikes, games nights and day trips.
Muslim dating apps have long been a popular choice for many people keen to find a long-term partner while not compromising Islamic beliefs. A 2023 study conducted by advertising agency TBWA Asia found that nearly eight in 10 Muslims around the world use online Muslim matrimonial platforms to find a spouse.
As of February this year, Muzz, which launched in 2015, had 10 million registered users worldwide. Other popular Muslim matchmaking apps include Salams and Single Muslim. But over the years, concerns around safety and reports of scams, alongside anecdotes of matches turning out to not be serious, have meant more and more users have begun deactivating their accounts.
The Connect Club was born out of Said’s own frustrations with the current landscape when it comes to meeting other Muslim singles, particularly as a divorced mother with a small child.
“The apps can be soul-sucking. Swiping feels like a full-time job in itself and it makes you superficial, because essentially you’re judging someone on a picture,” she says. Before launching The Connect Club, she had sought feedback from other Muslim singles via social media and discovered they shared similar views.
“Everyone was sick of the repetitive process of swiping and wanted to get away from that,” Said adds. ““Some had gone to formal marriage events and didn’t like the formal structure of sitting around a table, picking questions out of a bowl. They wanted to find someone with similar hobbies.”
Many of the hikers say online dating has been a painful experience, as ghosting seems to be the norm. This event gives them a sense of agency — which doesn’t seem to be the case when being set up with potential suitors by family. “I feel like it’s just a more natural environment in terms of trying to connect with people. This way, you get to be there in front of people and give them a bit of grace,” says Humaira, a 25-year-old paediatric nurse from Batley.
The idea for a singles hike came from a similar event Said attended two years ago — but only one man turned up, as well as 15 women. This is a regular complaint at Muslim marriage events, where women often far outnumber men. So her friends suggested she organise her own.
“Hiking as a first date is so effective; I find it’s easier for people to have deeper conversations when they’re out in nature as opposed to sitting opposite each other over dinner or coffee,” Said explains. “Plus, you get to see how people behave when there are adverse weather conditions.”
The rain eventually lightens and Safura, alongside three guides, tells us it is time to resume walking.
As we amble along a sandy path surrounded by sheep, people begin to couple up, asking each other about jobs and hobbies. I speak to 43-year-old Mash Ayub from Birmingham, who works in IT. He is the eldest in the group and tells me he is divorced. He is finding the experience of meeting a partner more challenging now — like many Muslims, when he was in his 20s he was encouraged to get married as soon as possible with the support of family.
“Even though I know I’m a bit older than the people that might be here, worst comes to worst, I am having a nice day out,” he says. “You could be here and somebody might say, ‘I’ve got a friend, I’ve got a cousin, I’ve got an aunt who wants to get married’ and you’re still networking.”
As we near the end of the trail, everyone is tired and ravenous, but in high spirits. Not all have made a match, but this has not put them off attending future singles’ hikes. Two potential couples have swapped phone numbers, but do not want to publicise anything as they are yet to see if their connections extend beyond this hike. One tells me: “I didn’t think I would come out today making a connection, which makes it even better. And I think it happened very naturally. It’s not a forced environment. So, it’s been quite nice.”
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