Save me from an arranged marriage: Bachelor advertises himself on big billboards

An unusual step has been taken by a lonely 29-year-old Muslim man — Muhammad Malik. He has displayed an image of himself on several huge billboards across Birmingham and advertised a self-created website ‘findmalikawife.com’ to look for a prospective life partner, Birmingham Live reported on Wednesday.

Malik said that he is not against the idea of an arranged marriage but wants to “try and find someone on my own first”.

“I just haven’t found the right girl yet. It’s tough out there. I had to get a billboard to get seen!” he said on his website.

He said: “I think arranged marriages have a place and tradition in many Islamic cultures.”

“In fact, there are many studies that show that arranged marriages have many advantages. I just want to try and find someone on my own first.”

So what does Malik desire in a life partner?

“My ideal partner would be a Muslim woman in her 20s, who’s striving to better her deen,” his website states. “I’m open to any ethnicity but I’ve got a loud Punjabi family, so you’d need to keep with the bants.”

Since New Year’s Day when the billboards began displaying his advertisement, Malik says he has received hundreds of messages.

“I haven’t had the time to look through [them] yet,” he told BBC. “I need to set some time aside — I hadn’t thought this part through.”

He said that he had tried several other things, including dating apps and a few dating events, before a friend suggested that he should literally advertise himself.

“I’m creative and love doing the most random and absurd things,” he said, and so he gave it a shot.

The billboards will stay up till January 14, NDTV reported.