On a Thursday evening in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, about 250 Muslims gathered in a halal Italian restaurant for a singles dating event. Some of them shied away from cameras, citing privacy concerns, while others said they were afraid of appearing “desperate.”The event was hosted by Muzz, a Muslim dating app based in London, with eight million users worldwide, according to the company. Prayer mats were set up in an outdoor dining tent for Maghreb, the fourth of five daily prayers for Muslims. Inside the restaurant, tables and chairs were cleared to make space for the mingling guests, and platters of hummus, chicken kebab wraps and Mediterranean salad were being served. ‌Topics of conversation included halal Thai food in New York (“Top Thai — we should go check it out,” one person said to another) and the difficulty of meeting new people while working remotely.

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Organizations: Muzz Locations: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, London, Maghreb, New York