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Most people dream about finding their perfect partner. Some join dating sites, others go out and join groups to meet people. But this young man has put himself out there in a rather big way.
Muhammad Malik from London, England, has put up billboards advertising for a wife. The giant advertisements features Muhammad lying down with a friendly smile, pointing to text that reads, “Save me from an arranged marriage.”
The 29-year-old is so serious about finding love he's put up billboards in London, Manchester and Birmingham.
He's also started a website, findmalikawife.com, to help him find his ideal partner.
“It’s tough out there,” he writes on his website. “I had to get a billboard to get seen!”
“Traditional methods such as rishta aunties didn’t work for me, so thought why not take it to the billboards?” he adds.
A rishta auntie is often a matchmaker between Asian singles. It's not that Muhammad doesn't respect the Muslim custom of arranged marriages.
“They have a place and tradition in many Islamic cultures,” he says, but he's hoping to find love on his own.
Singleton Muhammad Malik is looking for a partner to "keep up with the bants," so he's advertising on billboards in London and Birmingham https://t.co/WbPUh8uxYB pic.twitter.com/Z6lXGhiky3
— Jennifer Hassan (@GuinnessKebab) January 5, 2022
Muhammad, a businessman, says his last relationship ended just before the pandemic.
Things were pretty serious. He was planning to propose, but when work became scarce during the pandemic, he chose to focus on his career instead.
“After finding my feet in my new work, I began looking again after the second lockdown, but without luck,” he recalls.
When his friend suggested he try his luck with billboards and a website, he jumped at the chance.
“I'm a creative and I love doing the most random and absurd things – as long as they're 100% halaal, of course.”
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Muhammad describes himself as a foodie who loves “good bants” (banter).
“My ideal partner would be a Muslim woman in her 20s, who’s striving to better her deen (faith)."
Though he's open to dating outside his culture, he comes from a loud Punjabi family, "so you'd need to keep with the bants", he quips.
Above all, he's looking for someone with a great personality.
Muhammad admits it took some convincing to persuade his mother to support his idea, but now his whole family has come around.
He says he's received a great response since putting up the billboards a few days ago.
“It's early days, but responses thus far have been in the triple digits, and from some really lovely people."
The billboards will be up until 14 January.
Interested women can fill in a form that's available on his website, he says.
SOURCES: BBC.COM, DAILYMAIL.CO.UK, FINDMALIKAWIFE.COM
