Young Muslims helping to expel the myths

By Shaun Inguanzo
A DANDENONG man will star in a new television series produced to break down stereotypes adversely affecting the lives of young Muslims in Australia.
Hesham Habibullah, 24, appears in the new SBS series, Halal Mate, a four-part documentary which began showing on Wednesday night.
Mr Habibullah is one of four young Muslims in the rap band The Brothahood. The band’s members, including Narre Warren man Ahmed Ahmed, 23, join Mr Habibullah in the visual insight that hopes to expel the myths and misconceptions wrongly tagged to the term Muslim.
Mr Habibullah said the young quartet was chosen by the film’s maker to demonstrate that people could be both Australian and Muslim.
“We blend in well with Australian society. We speak like Aussies, do the same things normal, everyday Aussies do, and we like the same things Aussies like,” Mr Habibullah said.
Mr Habibullah said the only difference was that the foursome practised Islam, which required them to pray five times a day at a mosque and to respect the religion’s values.
“We pray once at sunrise, once after the sun has reached its peak, then just before the sun goes down, once just after it sets, and a night prayer once all light is gone,” he explained.
Mr Habibullah, a personal trainer, said young Muslims were integrating into Australian society better than older generations, many of who had migrated from other countries.
“If you looked at me, you wouldn’t think I am a stereotypical Muslim,” he said.
“Although I am practising the religion, I don’t look like most religious Muslims you can find. I look fairly ‘Aussie’, and I have travelled to Malaysia and didn’t have any issues (at the airport) until they saw my (Arab looking) name.”
Mr Habibullah said he was happy to speak out and show the rest of Australia that being a Muslim here was no different from anyone else practising another religion.
But he said he understood peoples’ concerns given media coverage of Muslims that linked them to terrorism.
“(The perception) is something you can’t really change overnight, and I really don’t blame people for thinking that way with the amount of news and media coverage,” Mr Habibullah said.
“But what I want to do is to show them through my example.”
Mr Habibullah said he was rapt to be on television, but did not want his newfound fame to get in the way of the message.
“Ultimately, (The Brothahood) wants to show people what Muslims in Australia are.”
Halal Mate is showing on SBS at 8pm on Wednesdays.