About a year ago, Ibrahim Al-Amin was walking along Columbia Pike and decided to make a video.
One of the owners of Charga on the Pike, Al-Amin was as frustrated as other business leaders in the area with years of disruptive roadwork that were affecting commerce in the area. When he uploaded the video to the restaurant’s Instagram, it got a lot of positive feedback.
“That showed me that people were really interested in hearing more about what’s going on in the area,” the 42-year-old told ARLnow.
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At the time he made his Columbia Pike video, Al-Amin had been creating pretty standard content about Charga on the Pike, which opened in 2024 as an extension of Charga Grill on Langston Boulevard. Al-Amin’s content has since evolved — not only highlighting the Pakistani and Indian restaurant on Columbia Pike, but letting people know what’s going on in the neighborhood.
Al-Amin said he has always felt politically inclined, especially in conversations with his grandfather, who opened the landmark Green Valley Pharmacy. But it wasn’t until his videos started taking off that Al-Amin really felt he could truly connect on a local level. He’s now making videos about local issues and even went to his first Arlington County Board meeting.
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“I just went in that direction and it felt more natural for me,” he said. “It’s been good for marketing, but it makes us feel like we are part of the community.”
He’s done videos about a variety of topics, including Flock cameras and the $1 million bus stop at Walter Reed. Al-Amin doesn’t know exactly what he’s going to talk about next, but he’s riding the wave.
“At this point the content I’m doing is taking me where I’m going,” he said.
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After seeing his videos, Al-Amin was contacted by Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE), which has put him in touch with activists and advocates related to many issues.
“It’s just doing the content that I’m doing, I’m meeting people who are working on those issues,” he said. “Just from learning from them it gives me ideas of other things to cover.”
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Al-Amin doesn’t see himself as an activist, more as an observer just having a conversation or thinking out loud.
“I look at myself as a curious person who wants to share whatever I learn with whatever audience I have,” he said. “I think of it almost as talking to my audience as opposed to lecturing them or trying to sway them.”
