Muslims Like Us, SBS preview: ‘That’s OK in Saudi Arabia, but this is Australia’

A YOUNG Muslim woman has hit out at advocates of the freedom to wear religious face coverings, saying the headscarves her friends and family wear have no place in Australia.

CANBERRA mother-of three Mina is an out-and-proud Liberal voter.

However it wasn’t her political leanings which saw her at loggerheads with some other Muslims she lived with for more than a week.

The Afghanistan-born woman is strongly opposed to head coverings calling it un-Australian, a view which sparked controversy in the house.

Mina is one of 10 participants who feature in eye-opening SBS show Muslims Like Us, which airs tonight.

The show draws together Australian Muslims from all walks of life and puts them together in a house on Sydney’s North Shore for eight days with revealing results.

The two-part show questions what it means to be Muslim in modern Australia and sees the participants clash, discover, and come together despite their differences.

The housemates debate some of the big issues facing Aussie Muslims from head coverings and terrorism, to praying, sex, and alcohol.

Canberra mum Mina believes wearing the face covering goes against the teachings of the Koran. Picture: SBS

Speaking to news.com.au ahead of the show going to air, Mina said her views on the headscarf may be controversial.

However she “can’t see a place” for it in modern Australia.

Mina said she could perhaps understand wearing the covering if she was living in a strict Islamic country such as Saudi Arabia.

“If you’re in Saudi Arabia then go ahead, you know when you’re in Rome, however this is Australia and in Australia this will attract attention,” she said.

“If I see a woman in a niqab I can’t help but stare.”

The group often got into heated discussions during their time in the house with not all seeing eye-to-eye. Picture: SBS

Mina said she wanted to go on the show to prove Muslims have very different beliefs, and just like any other religious group, couldn’t be placed in the same box.

“It was tough in the sense we were a group of 10 very different people all with a point to prove,” she said.

“Islam isn’t monolithic. We all have different political preferences, sexuality and beliefs.”

By the end of the experience she even found herself making friends with Anjum, a deeply religious woman who wears the niqab and refuses to be around a male who’s not a relative.

“Anjum is hilarious, she had me in stitches,” she said.

“By the end of it she was one of the people who understood me the most.”

Mina said she doesn’t have a filter but believes Muslims should be discussing issues such as head coverings without being guarded or worrying about what they say.

A strong advocate for same-sex marriage, she sees herself as a progressive Muslim who celebrates non-Islamic traditions like Christmas and Easter as well as Islamic ones.

“Islam is essentially a religion that preaches kindness and compassion,” she said.

The group, who come from a mix of conservative and liberal backgrounds lived and socialised together for eight days. Picture: SBS

The 33-year-old said she feels some Muslims misunderstand the religion and believed the conversation about Islam in Australia needed to be brought forward.

She wasn’t the only housemate to have caused controversy on the show as fellow participant Fahad discovered when he came out to them.

Sydney-based Fahad said he was nervous about revealing his sexual orientation and was well aware it wouldn’t be accepted by conservative members of the group.

However he saw comfort in housemates such as Mina and Bianca who believe homosexuality can have a place in modern Islam.

The 23-year-old said he wanted to go on to the show to challenge the perception of being gay and a Muslim, two groups he was proud to belong to.

“At one stage I was completely terrified and I didn’t know how it would be taken,” he said.

“But when I saw Mina with a marriage equality pin I knew I’d have allies.”

Fahad came out to other contestants on the show and received a mixed response. Picture: SBS

To his surprise most of the people accepted it better than the medical student thought even if they didn’t agree with it.

“Anjum overwhelmingly was a lovely person but she couldn’t get past it,” he said.

Fahad said he believed this conservative view about homosexuality and Islam would change, but it would take time.

“This used to be the way in Australia in the 60s and 70s, it didn’t change overnight,” he said.

“I just want to prove you can be Muslim and gay.”

Mina and Fahad aren’t the only participants who are forced to challenge what they know and believe.

The woman greets Anjum with a friendly hello before asking her why she dresses the way she does. Picture: Screengrab/SBS

During one scene Anjum is asked why she wears the face covering by a woman who admits to being a Pauline Hanson supporter.

Speaking at first to “feminist boxer” Bianca, the woman looks at Anjum sitting on the sand nearby and asked if she’s wearing the covering because she doesn’t know any different.

Bianca points out Anjum, who used to be a tomboy and ride motorbikes, only started covering up at 18.

“But my point is that if you come and live in our country you’ve got to do what we say,” the woman says.

Anjum explains her reasons for wearing the face covering, and insists it is her choice. Picture: Screengrab/SBS

Anjum walks over to the woman and is asked why she wants to hide “behind that mask” when she has a beautiful face.

“This small piece of clothing is not going to be stopping me expressing myself,” she responds.

“I’m wearing this completely by choice. It has a religious reason but it’s completely my choice.”

In another scene the group heads to the Sydney Lindt cafe where crazed gunman Man Haron Monis took 17 people hostage in December 2014.

The group revisited the Sydney Lindt Cafe scene and discussed its connection to Islam. Picture: SBS

The gunman forced the hostages to hold up an Islamic State flag and it was deemed a “lone wolf” terror attack.

Three people, including Monis, died in the deadly siege.

The visit sparks a mixed discussion among the group with participant and former West Tigers player Jamal questioning its relevance to Islam.

“At the end of the day he’s an idiot simple as that, he’s criminal,” he said

“Why is he (Monis) relevant? He’s a criminal, there’s jails full of criminals ... revisiting this is exactly what he wanted.”

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Muslims Like Us airs tonight and tomorrow at 8.30pm on SBS.

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