Muslims Like Us is a fascinating new two-part series exploring the different experiences of Islamic life in modern-day Australia.
Bringing together 10 Muslims from across the country to spend eight days living together in a conservative Sydney suburb, the show suggests that despite being united by faith, members of the Islamic community continue to struggle over the notion of what constitutes a "good Muslim" - splintering, as with most other religious communities, into "progressive" and "traditional" camps.
One such rift appears in the first episode, when, three days into their stay, 23-year-old medical student Fahad Ali polarises the group by opening up about his homosexuality. While some members of the house believe homosexuality is compatible with contemporary Islam, others are vocal in their disagreement.
"Now that it’s over and done with I would say it was a positive experience," Ali tells SBS Sexuality ahead of the series premiere. "I made so many wonderful friends and it helped refine some of my ideas."
Still, Ali concedes that participating in the program came with a unique set of challenges.
Fahad in the house. Source: Supplied
"When you have 10 people living together for a long period of time you don't have any space, you can't take a break," Ali says. "We were all constantly together and things were always happening and it really wears you down a bit. I think the most challenging thing was just fatigue, there was always something going on. It was easy to feel a bit overwhelmed, we didn’t get enough sleep."
When asked how it feels to struggle for acceptance within a community already under siege, Ali admits it's "insane".
"We’re currently experiencing all this anti-Muslim sentiment. As this is happening, we have this entire sub-section being told to, basically, leave," he explains.
He continues: "While we should be finding strength in numbers and celebrating diversity, this is not the case. A lot of it is not warranted. It can be really stressful and draining, having to experience that prejudice. It takes a lot of energy."
While studying at Sydney University, Ali served as a Student Council's Queer Officer and established the University's first official Sydney Mardi Gras float. He would later work with the AIDS Council of NSW to establish a workshop for young Middle Eastern gay men.
Muslims Like Us Source: Supplied
"When I was a teenager, I was very obviously gay, I was not able to do anything about it," Ali explains. "I didn’t have a teenage exploration of my sexuality. I talked to nobody about it, I was oppressed. So when I turned 18 I went overboard, I got involved in everything I could."
Describing his first Mardi Gras as "a brilliant experience", Ali recalls that "it demonstrated to me something which I think is absent from both the Muslim and Queer communities, we had so many people from different walks of life coming together, including allies."
So what advice would Ali offer young Muslim men and women currently struggling to reconcile their faith with their sexuality?
"I’d tell them to take it slow," he says. "A lot of the time, we feel we have to rush through questions of faith, but for a lot of people it’s more of a journey."
"It was a journey for me."
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