A Muslim-Specific Streaming Service with Mir Ali

American Muslim Project

This week we are joined by Executive Vice President Mir Ali of USHUB TV, a forthcoming streaming service explicitly for Muslim content in the United States.

Growing up in the bubble of Southern California, Mir interacted with his predominantly non-Muslim community the only way he knew how—by showing that he was a friendly, typical, hard-working American first, then revealing his full identity once he’d been accepted. Like most all of our guests, it took effort to maintain his identit(ies) in these disparate circles. Though his passive approach may have successfully changed people’s mindsets about Muslims at the time, he’s now much more proactive.

Tired of our mainstream media “really just messing up Muslim narratives,” Mir decided to take on a side hustle. What started as an idea for an American-based Muslim news station has now morphed into a full-fledged streaming channel delivering the varied, rich, and diverse stories that exist within the Muslim world. Not only will the channel, named USHUB TV, broach Muslim-centered topics; it will also feature work by Muslim directors, producers, and writers across the world. Mir explains the name, which is from the Arabic word aishab meaning friends and companions, and says it’s often butchered; Asad and Rifelion relate. Launching this fall, USHUB will stream Islamic news, TV series, documentaries, and even original content, by and large in English and from a culturally Muslim standpoint over religious. His goal, Mir says, is to provide really relatable and accurate portrayals, something he didn’t grow up with.

Started by Gen Z and millennial founders, USHUB now comprises a team with unique talents, from tech to business to content creation, and a shared commitment to setting the record straight. We learn how Mir channeled his finance and real estate backgrounds into this new venture, and he provides advice about relationship building and how to create a phenomenal team. The motivation behind the project and the impetus for starting it now are discussed. He touches on the gravity of Muslims being favorably regarded in our country. And explains why he didn’t make a fellow Muslim friend until age 25.

Subscribe to USHUB this fall to see their full line of content, including the films Valley of Saints, Bilal: A New Breed of Hero, The Drone and the Kid, and Marjoun and the Flying Headscarf.

See previews, announcements, and their final launch date by following them on Instagram @ushub.tv and Twitter @ushubtv. And see what Mir is up to @mrmirali.

American Muslim Project is a production of Rifelion, LLC.

Writer and Researcher: Lindsy Gamble

Show Edited by Mark Annotto and Asad Butt

Music by Simon Hutchinson

Hosted by Asad Butt

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