Indonesia, we've got great news!

Kita punya info seru untuk teman-teman kita di Indonesia! Alhamdulillah, kita mendapatkan dukungan dari Republika untuk membuat dan menjual produk yang sudah lama ditunggu - 5Pillars ! Buat yang belum pernah dengar, 5Pillars adalah papan permainan yang terinspirasi dari 5 Pilar Islam. Tujuannya untuk menguji pengetahuan pemainnya tentang islam dan juga untuk mendapatkan pelajaran baru di dalam suasana menyenangkan bersama teman dan keluarga. Insyaallah, produk ini dapat memberikan pandangan bagi umat Muslim untuk lebih memperdalam keyakinan mereka akan Islam.

Exciting news for our friends in Indonesia! We're happy to announce that our 5Pillars games have been endorsed by Republika - an Indonesian publishing company. We have seen the boardgame in action in Jakarta with a small group of friends, and it was lots of fun! And now, with the help of Republika, we look forward to sharing our new boardgames, fun box, and trivia burst series with everyone else in Indonesia. 

Our vision with 5Pillars is to help inspire Muslims reconnect with Islamic knowledge through fun — and friendly competition — with family and friends.
 

A Brighter Future By Design

Zileej acquires internationally recognised design firm, Gould.Sydney

Zileej, a Dubai-based inspired innovation company, announced the acquisition of Australian award-winning design studio, Gould.Sydney. This expansion allows Zileej to help build and launch innovation-led brands, products, and experiences for clients that share the vision of enabling a bright shared future for everyone, including Muslims.

Uniquely guided by Islamic Design Thinking, Zileej identifies innovative ideas and brings them to life by creative design, a strong product development team, and capability to create and launch original brands and experiences. Zileej is able to help clients stay ahead in a changing economic landscape that continues to experience disruptions through new technologies and trends.

The founder and director of Gould.Sydney, Peter Gould, is a co-founder of Zileej, “bringing our two companies together in a formal capacity was a natural transition.” For the past 15 years Gould.Sydney has a developed a strong international reputation for strategic branding and creative design. Working with companies from Etihad Airlines and Thomson Reuters, to successful startups in the Islamic Economy such as Hijup, and many government programs including the Sultanate of Oman.  

“We are excited to welcome Peter’s pioneering design team as an integral part of our company,” shared Ansarullah Ridwan Mohammed, CEO of Zileej, “so we can continue working together to create brands and experiences that enrich our global communities.” The expanded Zileej team now consists of 15 staff with diverse professional and cultural backgrounds, across 5 regions including MENA, ASEAN and Europe.

To learn more about the acquisition, Zileej's services, or for interview enquiries, please contact Subhi Bora at subhi@zileej.com 

Click here to read Salaam Gateway / Thomson Reuters' coverage on the acquisition.

The New Stars Of The Islamic Economy: Zileej Wants To Make Smart Lifestyle Products For Muslims

"Zileej wants to marry innovation, technology, design, and creativity with Islam to make smart lifestyle products for Muslims across the world."

Interviewed for Inc. Arabia about Zileej, as part of their series on “New Stars of the Global Islamic Economy. Read the full article here

Ramadan at Westfield

Designing an experience to share the Islamic month of Ramadan with the local Westfield shopping centre community in Sydney, Australia.

The outcome: A colourful and fun pop-up stall celebrating Ramadan and educating shoppers about the Islamic month of fasting, receiving press coverage and broad reach through social media.

Shopping centres are not only places of convenient necessity, but also places to build a sense of community. Westfield Hurstville embraced this potential for a positive community experience by inviting Arkana College, a local Islamic primary school, to share their tradition of Ramadan.

Our challenge was to design an experience that encouraged confidence in the young students representing their school and their faith, while sparking the interest of Westfield Hurstville shoppers to create a space of conversation and connection.

We designed an interactive daily countdown concept representing the 30 days of fasting that make up Ramadan. The students were involved creatively to share their personal experiences of celebrating Ramadan.

This was also an opportunity to share facts about fasting in Ramadan and the long history of Muslims in Australia, which was shared through flyers addressing common questions and conveying uncommon facts.

On the day, the event was live-streamed through Facebook and we created a short, easily shareable video to capture the heart-warming moments of connection that came out of this campaign. Together, these two videos were shared over 195 times on social media reaching over 100,000 views.

The Ramadan campaign also received media coverage in local newspapers to a positive response from the wider community.

“We welcome and celebrate cultural diversity at Westfield Hurstville and was very grateful to have been able to work with a local community school to share and educate the wider community on what Ramadan means to them. From shoppers’ positive response, we intend to grow this initiative and continue to build Westfield Hurstville as a place where people can come to explore and immerse themselves in social engagement with different cultural celebration. ”

— Michele Lok, Brand Experience Manager, Westfield Hurstville

Inspiring Creative Muslim Entrepreneurs

In her insightful book, Generation M: Young Muslims Changing The World, Shelina Janmohamed quotes me in the closing pages:

“We need to dream big, be bold, and spark the imagination of millions of young Muslims around the world. We must shift our mindset from reactionary projects and pessimism to raise a generation of creative thinkers and innovators solving the many, many problems we have. It’s ambitious, but I believe we have the technology, energy and drive to make it happen, inshaAllah.”

I’ve spent time with many of the founders driving this wave of entrepreneurship, innovation & creativity and feel like we’re about to hit another positive inflection point. And yet, it’s just the start of a much bigger journey. We have to think positively and optimistically about our shared future.

My hope for Zileej is to help set new standards in imaginative, fun, creative products and brands for Muslims, that will inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs. It’s a truly exciting space to be a part of.

by Peter Gould, Chief Creative Officer, Zileej

Faith-Inspired Creativity & Innovation

An important part of my personal journey towards Islam was discovering how spirituality inspires creativity.

Muslims have an incredibly beautiful artistic heritage and creative legacy. At the heart of Islamic creative expression there is a deep sense of sincerity, humility and authenticity.

If we are to honour this tradition, modern Muslim-centric creative brands must be developed with ihsaan (spiritual excellence) and intentions much deeper than ‘market opportunity’.

As individuals, families and communities, we are ready for a new wave of brands, products and creative experiences that directly reflect our aspirations and hopes for a more inclusive world.  

Zileej serves this global community with balance and purpose. Zileej lives at the intersection of design, innovation, creativity and Islam. I am deeply honoured to be a part of this ongoing journey.  

by Peter Gould, Chief Creative Officer, Zileej

Zileej team at Spielwarenmesse, Nuremberg

Attending the Spielwarenmesse fair in Nuremberg was a great opportunity to check out the current toy trends and technologies.

Among the brilliant products, we noticed one large gap — toys & games designed with young Muslim children in mind. This confirmed to us that our dedication to developing fun experiences for the Muslim community is a unique offering. 

We hope our approach will add to the growing diversity of the toy industry and inspire generations of young Muslims through positivity & play. 

We look forward to attending again in 2018!

The Zileej Journey

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When holding a great product in my hand, I have a deep sense of appreciation for the amount of thought, planning and detail that went into taking it from an idea to the shelf.

I admire the teams who build great products, and observe the loyal followers who help companies become much-loved brands.

Growing up, I wondered why most Islamic products were not as appealing, exciting and innovative as all of the other products competing for our attention.

I always had a dream of making a positive impact on the Muslim world. I wanted to find a way through which I can influence Muslims across the globe and inspire them, both the young and old, to strengthen their understanding and love for Islam starting first with myself.

Zileej is my opportunity to make this happen. I dream that it will become the global lifestyle brand that Muslims have been waiting for, inshAllah.

by Ansarullah Ridwan Mohammed, CEO, Zileej