''Muslims Like Us'' is a British

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series shown on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

in December 2016. In the show, ten British Muslims of varying beliefs and backgrounds were placed in a house together. It was produced by

Mobeen Azhar Mobeen Azhar (born 1980) is a British journalist, radio and television presenter and filmmaker. He produces investigative reports and films for the BBC exploring themes related to politics, true crime, extremism, counter terrorism and sexuality. He ...

Synopsis

The ten housemates came from various backgrounds and beliefs:

Nabil Abdulrashid Mohamed Nasir Nabil Abdul Rashid bin Suleman Obineche, known as Nabil Abdulrashid (born 3 September 1985) is an English comedian of Nigerian descent. In 2010, at the age of 25, he became the youngest black comedian to perform stand-up at the Ham ...

, a comedian of Nigerian heritage; Abdul Haqq, a black former boxer born

Anthony Small Anthony Small (also known as Abdul Haq) is a retired professional boxer and Islamic political activist who was born 20 June 1981 in Lewisham, London, England. He held both the British and Commonwealth belts at light middleweight. His was also r ...

who believes in strict

gender segregation Sex segregation, sex separation, gender segregation or gender separation is the physical, legal, or cultural separation of people according to their biological sex. Sex segregation can refer simply to the physical and spatial separation by sex w ...

; fashion follower

Mehreen Baig Mehreen Baig (born 28 November 1989) is a British television presenter. She has presented several documentaries on topics relating to Britain's Asian and Muslim communities. Biography Baig was born on 1989 in London to Pakistani parents. Baig h ...

; Saba, a 76-year-old white convert born Hilary; Ferhan Khan, who is gay; and Zohra, a Shia Muslim. Events in the series included the housemates going to feed the homeless, with Baig responding to anti-immigrant sentiments from some of them; Bara hugging a member of the

English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom. A social movement and pressure group that employs street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presents itself as a single-issue movement ...

in an attempt to change his views; and Abdul Haqq's strict views on gender being challenged by others. Abdul Haqq also refused to give an answer on whether it would be wrong to kill Zohra's Shia family.

Reception

There was significant debate from Muslim columnists on whether it was appropriate and representative to include a hardliner such as Abdul Haqq, although it was also pointed out that his fellow housemates disagreed vehemently with his views. The series won Best Reality and Constructed Factual at the

2017 British Academy Television Awards The 2017 British Academy Television Awards were held on 14 May 2017 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. They were hosted by Sue Perkins. The nominations were announced on 11 April, with ''The Crown'' nominated for five awards. The BAFTA Fello ...

. In February 2018, a

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

-based version of the show was shown on Australia's

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...

. This version included a gay man, a bisexual

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

woman, a woman in a niqab and a non-practising Shia.

References

External links

* {{British Academy Television Award for Best Reality and Constructed Factual BBC reality television shows 2010s British reality television series 2016 British television series debuts 2016 British television series endings