In HCMC, Haji Basiroh, 70, is known as the person who laid the foundation for "Saigon Halal Street" or "Malaysia Street" located on Nguyen An Ninh Street (Ben Thanh Ward). She was the first developing restaurants and Islamic attire on this street.

She was born into a disadvantaged Cham family in the former Chau Doc City, An Giang Province. With a father who was a teacher, Basiroh was taught to read and write from a young age, becoming one of the few people in the region who could read and write both Vietnamese and Cham.

At the age of 12, Basiroh began teaching literacy to poor children for free. In 1974, her family moved to HCMC. There, she studied English and computer skills.

Thanks to that, when she grew up, she was accepted to work at a foreign diplomatic agency. However, because of her father’s wish, she had to give up her dream job.

She recalled: “If I went to work, I would no longer have much time to teach the children. My father told me to keep teaching for a few more months. After he recovered from his illness, he would teach in my place.

But my father suddenly passed away. Before closing his eyes, he still hoped that I would continue teaching the children. Because of his wish, I turned down my dream job to continue teaching for free.”

After nearly 10 years of teaching for free, she went on to work for an Indonesian oil and gas company, a US-based market research company, and later a British market research center. During that time, she had the opportunity to meet many foreign visitors, including many Malaysian Muslims.

Once, when a foreign guest saw her wearing a tudung (the traditional Islamic headscarf), he came to talk to her and asked for help finding Islamic clothing. She agreed and managed to find a stall selling such clothing at Tax Trade Center.

However, both she and the customer realized that the products there were not authentic. From that moment, she came up with the idea of making and selling Islamic clothing for Muslims.

She ordered sample products from Malaysia and had them replicated. She then rode her bicycle around the city to learn and study tailoring methods so that the clothing would follow the proper principles while still maintaining fashion and creativity.

In 2002, she began making and selling Islamic clothing at her home in the former Phu Nhuan District. She chose good materials and created many beautiful patterns, combining them with diverse and delicate hand-embroidered details, which made her products popular with customers.

However, because she sold them at home, far from the city center, customers who needed the products found it difficult to locate her. In addition, many people impersonated her and sold poor-quality products under her name.

Building “Malaysia Street”

In 2011, she rented a space on Nguyen An Ninh Street to sell her products. Being close to Ben Thanh Market, her Muslim fashion shop attracted a large number of foreign visitors.

With good materials, beautiful designs and reasonable prices, her products drew customers from many places. Her shop became one of the most reputable and well-known Muslim fashion brands in HCMC.

From that fashion shop, she has developed Halal food business for Muslims.

“One day, foreign customers came into my shop to look for clothes. At lunchtime, they asked me to help find a restaurant suitable for Muslims.

My family has a tradition of cooking, so I confidently invited them to have a meal with me. After eating, they said the food was very delicious and encouraged me to open a restaurant serving food for Muslims.”

At that time, however, Basiroh had not yet thought about opening a restaurant. She simply placed one or two small tables inside the fashion shop to serve meals for customers who needed them.

Unexpectedly, more and more people came to eat. The fashion shop gradually became messy and filled with food smells.

Therefore, she rented a space opposite the fashion shop to sell food for Muslims. As the number of customers grew over time, the small eatery expanded into a spacious three-storey Basiroh restaurant.

Later, her business activities attracted and paved the way for many individuals and organizations to open fashion stores and Halal cuisine to serve Muslims. Since then, "Basiroh Street" has become "Malaysia Street," attracting a large number of Muslim tourists as it does today.

Ha Nguyen