A Muslim vegan who promotes plant-based diet for the love of animals
Ryza who loves fitness training came across a video that talked about the impact of plant-based diet on body training when he was in university, and that got him curious about veganism. After learning about the benefits of adopting a plant-based diet, he then decided to go vegan with his mother. Since then, he has been a vegan for 6 years. As a devoted Muslim, Ryza combines veganism with his religious faith and that made him an even more compassionate person. Ryza who also loves cooking and baking not only started a vegan bakery shop with his mother, but also switched his profession and participated in voluntary groups to give himself more opportunities and platforms to promote veganism. At the same time, these changes have opened up his world to a more rewarding lifestyle.
Interacting with netizens in front of a camera has become part of Ryza’s daily activities.
Vegan Muslim, Ryza : The reason I do this livestream is because I want to show people how easy it is to prepare vegan food. You don’t need to have super skills in the kitchen (to cook vegan food).
Ryza, who loves fitness training came across veganism during his university days, and that started his journey towards a plant-based diet.
Vegan Muslim, Ryza : So, what I did was, I sat down with my family, we watched a bunch of educational videos about plant-based diet, how it is much healthier not only for our body, but for the planet as well. At that point of time, me and my mom were eating relatively healthily, so we decided to give plant-based diet a try.
Muslims only eat halal-certified food. However, to Ryza, a vegan lifestyle is not a restriction, but more of a respect and love for life.
Vegan Muslim, Ryza : Malay food tends to be more on the meat heavy side, there can be a lot of animal products in it. One thing they forget is Prophet Mohammed is someone who (wishes) “peace be upon with you”. He is someone who would speak against people who do animal cruelty, whether intentionally or not. The way I feel about dogs and cats is the same way I feel about chickens, cows and pigs. So, to me there is no difference between the two of them.
In order to promote veganism, Ryza has switched his profession in the past 6 years and participated in voluntary groups in order to fuse this passion into his daily life. During which, he discovered a better side of himself.
Vegan Muslim, Ryza : I was quite a shy person. I don’t talk much. It’s been a great evolution. It really helped me to become a better speaker by being able to communicate with people in the public about such issues and approaching it in a nonconfrontational manner, developing my confidence and also my ability to speak to people about issues that I am passionate about.
Merging his faith and belief together, Ryza not only enjoy veganism, but to spread this kindness to more people.
