Inside Muslim Tech Fest 2026: faith, community and the future of Muslims in tech
Annual festival in London creates space for conversations about innovation, ethics and entrepreneurship
From workshops to sessions about entrepreneurship, Muslim Tech Fest (MTF) 2026 put innovation at the heart of this year’s agenda by making the case for values-driven tech.
The London festival, now in its fourth year, brought together hundreds of founders, investors, builders and community leaders for a packed day of ideas, networking and roundtable debate — an energetic opener to Muslim Tech Week’s citywide programme of dinners, meetups, workshops, retreats and socials.
Hyphen served as media and community partner, helping to carry MTF’s stories beyond the venue and highlight the people shaping them.
The day also brought together major names from across the tech and media landscape, including Google DeepMind, Turkish Airlines and the Financial Times.
Across keynotes, panels and those all-important conversations over chai, the mood was notably collaborative. Speakers ranged widely — artificial intelligence, startup growth, creatives, community-led innovation, the future of Muslim entrepreneurship — but a through line held that faith, values and technology can work together to produce products that serve people more thoughtfully.
MTF co-founder Arfah Farooq said: “We bring people together from pretty much all around the world and we really ask important questions and really showcase the best in Muslim talent that we have.”
Throughout the day, across 50 events, attendees compared notes; founders swapped hard‑won lessons; investors listened as much as they spoke. Hyphen also hosted a roundtable, You Run the Algorithm Now, exploring how Muslim narratives are shifting in an age shaped by AI.
“This year, we’ve done a lot of things intentionally, so there’s a lot of smaller things because people really want to find their tribe,” Farooq added.
Discussions spanned breaking into tech, building businesses and strengthening pipelines for Muslim talent. For many in the room, the festival delivered both inspiration and tangible next steps.
As MTF grows, the 2026 edition underlined its status as a fixture on the calendar. It is an important gathering for anyone invested in Muslim‑led technology, startups and digital culture.
“For us, it is really important to have Muslim Tech Fest, because often mainstream people don’t represent us and I think it’s really important to find a space to support each other,” Farooq said.
