Tariq was born in
Pakistan and moved to the U.S. with his family at a young age. He grew up in New York's
Astoria neighborhood and moved to
Houston at age 11. Tariq received a
Bachelor of Science (BS) in advertising from the
University of Texas at Austin in 2008. While in college, Tariq took a class called “Creativity in American Culture” that inspired him to start making films, which at first were corporate videos. He moved to New York again after college and worked in advertising as a copywriter at
Saatchi & Saatchi. During
Ramadan, Tariq and Ali broke their fast at different
mosques around New York each night of Ramadan. They shared their stories on a Tumblr blog. and they continued the tour of mosques around the country the following year. As they explored the different communities of each mosque, Tariq and Ali wrote about the diversity of America's Muslim population and the themes that affect the Muslim community as a whole. The blog has gotten extensive press coverage, and the response has been largely positive.
The Huffington Post called the project "visually stunning," and more communities around the world have participated in a 30 mosques project. In 2014, Tariq co-founded a halal butcher shop in the
East Village in New York with Khalid Latif and Russell Khan. The shop, Honest Chops, was initially started because of the founders' frustration with the lack of halal meat options in New York City. The butcher shop sources
organic, humanely-raised animals from the Tri-State area and attempts to make the product accessible and affordable. A portion of the profits goes toward building social services and institutions in New York City. The shop also distributes meat to soup kitchens, food pantries and families in need around major holidays. The talk explores how his eclectic career reflects his perspective on what it means to be Muslim, and he relates his disparate professions as a response to the complicated history that America has with diversity and people who oversimplify Muslim beliefs and communities. By July 2021, Tariq was in final talks to direct the film
Blade for
Marvel Studios, and was hired by September 2021. However, on September 28, 2022, Tariq stepped down as director due to further delays in the production schedule but remained on the project as an executive producer. ==Filmography==