It was pandemonium. Unsuspecting locals in the British city of Birmingham would have been forgiven for thinking a member of One Direction was making an impromptu visit earlier this month – such was the sudden rush of hundreds of screaming teenagers who flocked, after a Twitter post, to swamp a rather shocked young man who happily posed with them for selfies.
The young man’s name is Adam Saleh and the American video blogger came to face to face with his international fame – so much so that police were called in to give the young chap some breathing room.
So who is he? And why is he one of the biggest Muslim YouTube sensations?
Some background
Saleh is a 21-year-old American of Yemeni descent and hails from the New York borough of Brooklyn. Since 2012, he has been using social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Tumblr to spread the peaceful message of Islam – while having some fun along the way. His YouTube channel, TrueStoryASA, run with his partner-in-crime Sheikh Akbar, has more than 600,000 subscribers and he has uploaded nearly 90 videos. His Twitter account, @omgAdamSaleh, continues to grow rapidly, with close to 90,000 followers.
The Beginnings
Like most restless kids, it was sheer boredom that initially drove Saleh to create crudely shot videos on his mobile phone in which he discussed the comic side of being an American Muslim. Underneath the humour, however, was a desire to break the misconceptions surrounding his faith. Interviewed as part of a 2012 photojournalism essay conducted by Columbia University, Saleh spoke of the painful childhood memory of a former friendship cut short due to the friend’s discovery of his Muslim background. “He saw that my mum had a headscarf and realised that I was Muslim,” he recalled. “Ever since that day, he never spoke to me again. He tried to avoid me at all times.”
The YouTube videos
Saleh's videos are a mixture of intimate family moments, public pranks, impressions and skits dealing with serious issues. Take them all together and it forms a great indicator of the interests and topics followed by social network-savvy young Muslims. In a 2012 video, Arab Facebook Parenting: For the troubled Arab teen, Saleh dresses up as a conservative mother who records a video message to her daughter to confront her about her Facebook posts disparaging her parents. "I have an iMac computer, five thousand dollar, and you put the block on me on Facebook?" he says in a heavy Arab accent. "But I am not a khabla [stupid], I have my ways." His most popular video, uploaded in November last year, has racked up more than 11 million views. It follows Saleh as he conducts a social experiment to see whether public misgivings about his ethnicity would take a back seat if he was driving a brand-new Ferrari.
Star power
You know you are doing well when the comedienne Ellen DeGeneres takes notice. The talk-show host and star-maker picked Saleh as a finalist for her Dance Dare competition. A popular feature of her television show, the talent quest encourages people to be filmed dancing behind unsuspecting members of the public. Saleh’s non-rhythmic high jinks were broadcast on the show in May 2012. His skills have also been acknowledged by the regional broadcasting industry – he was invited to be a guest speaker at the Arab Media Forum in Dubai in May, where he discussed his career as a “new-media personality”.
What now?
While his own television programme could be a tempting proposition, Saleh seems perfectly happy in the YouTube and social-media landscape. For one thing, it preserves his total creative control, with new material arriving at a time of his choosing and not to a deadline set by someone else. Saleh has also become a live performer. He and his crew can now be booked to recreate the TrueStoryASA experience on stage. Judging by the fan reaction in Birmingham, however, don’t be surprised if your future selfie with Saleh may be spoiled by the burly hands of a security guard.
• To see Adam Saleh’s videos, go to www.youtube.com/TrueStoryASA
sasaeed@thenational.ae
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.