Filipino TikToker embraces Islam with the help of Pakistani friend

Famous TikToker Fiona James, who is based in Dubai and originally from the Philippines, has converted to Islam during the holy month of Ramadan. With almost 800,000 followers on TikTok, Fiona changed her name to Zainab after accepting Islam at the Islamic Information Centre in Satwa, Dubai. She had been living in the UAE for over eight years and had always been fascinated by the call to prayer from the mosques. Hearing the azan made her feel calm and curious about the religion, and she even memorized parts of it. Zainab shared her story in an interview with Khaleej Times.

According to reports, Zainab, the TikTok influencer who recently converted to Islam, is currently taking online classes from the Islamic Information Centre to deepen her understanding of the religion. She aims to complete the course within a month while also studying and memorizing smaller chapters of the Holy Quran. Zainab’s family is said to be happy and supportive of her decision to embrace Islam.

“I feel very nice and very calm inside me. I embraced Islam on my own. No one forced me to accept this religion,” she added.

Zainab’s Pakistani friend Salman, who is also a TikToker with two million followers, helped her learn about Islam. The two friends have created several videos together for the social media platform.

“We are friends for five years. In Islam, one cannot be forced to embrace religion. Instead, it’s all about getting the right information and meeting the right people. Sometimes we used to discuss it also as she used to ask me questions time and again. I believe this encouraged her to come into the fold of Islam,” said Salman.