Most Shias prefer to marry other Shias for many reasons. And with 200+ million Shias in the world you’d think it would be easy to find the one — right?
But for many Shias, it turns out to be a major challenge. Many of us have been there ourselves, or have a friend or relative who has.
We at ShiaCafe feel strongly that if a Shia prefers to marry someone Shia, we want to help make that happen.
(Note: We do not judge anyone or impose any sort of belief system anywhere — if a Shia wants to marry somebody non-Shia or non-Muslim, more power to them.)
So we looked closely at this situation, and discovered there were two main problems:
Problem #1: The nature of Shia populations in most countries
There are just four countries in the world that are majority Shia.
In all other countries, Shias are minorities and their populations are:
a) big enough so that not everybody knows everybody, but small enough so that Shias are not everywhere you turn.
b) not just a minority, but a minority within a minority — and not always easy to identify.
c) divided into multiple ethnic, national, and linguistic groups who rarely overlap or connect.
So Shias end up knowing some other Shias in their close circles, but beyond that it’s a big void. Even though there are many Shias looking to meet someone, they are spread out enough that they don’t connect.
Problem #2: Flawed current ways of looking and meeting
For those who can’t find anyone through their close circles — local communities or family friends — searching becomes tricky. The options are:
a) Informal (and random) connections and searches. You know this struggle! Friends or relatives who live in other cities and may know of someone. Or the friends of those people. So hundreds (and thousands) of pictures and bios get emailed, texted, and WhatsApped around.
b) “Dating” websites and apps — we won’t name them, but you know who they are. And they all suffer from the typical challenges of dating sites and apps: defunct or fake profiles, spam from all over the world flooding inboxes, un-vetted creepy individuals, and an overall poor user experience. Plus you’re uncomfortably exposing yourself to the world.
So we created a solution to both these problems. How?
First: We’ve created a central place for all Shias who are looking.
You can’t know everyone. But we can. We know who’s looking and who they are looking for.
Second: We’ve developed a better way to connect and introduce individuals.
We get to know you and your preferences. We do the same for everyone else who comes to us. So we only introduce you to real people with whom you are compatible.
The result: ShiaCafe. The better way to meet your Shia match.