By Farrah Hamid
October 19, 2009
As you may have guessed from our polls and blog posts, it’s no surprise that we at elan are Twitter-happy. But among the constant updates from the likes of CNN, BBC, Anderson Cooper, not to mention the numerous celeb Twitter-wars, finding the quality updates that matter to young Muslims can be a tough task.
Don’t worry though - elan has done the work for you. Check out our list (the first of it’s kind, as far as we can tweet) of the 10 Best Twitter Accounts that Muslims should follow. Our list includes the best of the best - from royals to athletes, to maybe even your Mom.
As always, leave your comments and don’t forget to tell us who we may have missed.
1. Queen Rania - @QueenRania
The Jordanian royal might as well be dubbed Queen of Twitter. With almost 950,000 followers and regular, daily tweets on her many philanthropic endeavours, this queen reigns over our list for sure.
Sample Tweet: Arrived in NYC for work. As always, excitement and trepidation. Will I be able to champion the causes & people I represent well enough? 7:44 AM Sep 21st from mobile web
2. Reza Aslan - @aslanMedia
Sure, HuffingtonPost dubbed him as one of “12 Media Professionals on Twitter Who Rock the Planet”. But it’s his honest, intelligent insight on US relations with the Middle East, and continued support for young Muslims, that landed him on our list.
Sample Tweet: Empire State Building lit up in GREEN (for Wizard of Oz, but who cares). Welcome to New York Ahmadi. Don’t look up! 10:53 AM Sep 23rd from web
3. Aziz Ansari - @azizansari
Between being buddies with Kanye West and starring as the funny-man on Parks and Recreation and Funny People, this comedian is our favorite go-to guy for laughs on Twitter. His latest war of tweets with a fan of the TV show Bones is especially a winner.
Sample Tweet: Dude sitting next to me on my flight is watching Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. I want to switch seats to be further away from that movie. about 16 hours ago from web
4. Muslim Voices - @muslimvoices
Helmed by Indiana University, Muslim Voices aims to promote dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims. In the process, they’ve become one of our favorites for regular updates on the news that matters for young Muslims.
Sample Tweet: IslamOnline wants to know: #Jerusalem, What Does it Mean to You? http://ow.ly/u9df Share your views whether #Muslim, #Christian or #Jewish1:05 PM Oct 13th from HootSuite
5. Kareem Abdul Jabbar - @kaj33
The only thing better than a royal on Twitter is an athlete on Twitter. With just a hair few followers as Queen Rania, Kareem Abdul Jabbar is social media’s sportsman to beat. Not only does he post fun TwitPics on the celeb staples at Lakers games, his thoughtful reflections on issues such as race, healthcare reform and social change are refreshing to see amidst the usual steroid drama in the sports world.
Sample Tweet: Why do you think Mr. Limbaugh has to blame this incident on issues of race? Lets start a discussion on this. I need to understand this. 3:10 AM Sep 23rd from web
6. The people of Iran - @Iranelection, @iranriggedelect and @irannewsnow
Over the summer, we all heard the tremendous impact that Twitter and other social networking sites had to mobilize protests against the Iranian election. These are a few of the best accounts to follow, amongst many more.
Sample Tweet: Stay Vigilant Sea of Green. The power is yours. #IranElection #Iran
7. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum - @HHShkMohd
We really can’t get enough of the Middle Eastern royals on Twitter. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed may not be the first royal on our list, but the Dubai monarch’s daily updates not only keep us informed of the great progress in the UAE, they bring a stereotypically stuffy institution one step closer to the real world.
Sample Tweet: http://twitpic.com/ka27p - thought you would enjoy seeing a nighttime astronaut photograph of the city of Dubai - the first photo of its kind taken by NASA
8. TheMuslimGuy, Arsalan Iftikhar - @themuslimguy
Really, his name says it all. International human rights lawyer Arsalan Iftikhar has become one of the most widely quoted experts on international affairs in the media, along with his regular gig as a commentator on NPR.
Sample Tweet: on President Obama winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize: “Don’t hate the player...Hate the game...”11:11 AM Oct 9th from web
9. Muslim Mums - @MuslimMums
Don’t worry, your Mom’s not on Twitter (maybe). But this fun group of South African moms are tweeting their musings and frustrations for all the world to see.
Sample Tweet: Guess where I am now, with my laptop? on top of a ferris wheel. Multi tasking - kids having fun, mom busy working.
10. Al Jazeera English - @AJEnglish
One of the best sources for Muslim news outside of mainstream media. With updates every 2-4 hours, AJEnglish is our Twitter media pick.
Sample Tweet: Raid reveals Taliban’s Punjab links: Rawalpindi attack demonstrates Pakistani Taliban’s reach beyond northweste..http://tinyurl.com/yjugu62"> http://tinyurl.com/yjugu62
P.S. Oh yeah, we’re on Twitter too! Follow us at @elanthemag and @elaneditor.
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