What’s it like to be an Aussie Muslim?

That’s why Bachar Houli is such a refreshing face. As a midfielder for the Richmond Tigers, the team which just won the AFL Grand Final, he has become both an amazing footballer, and a great role model for Muslim youth in Australia, all whilst maintaining his commitment to the practices of his faith.

Sporting a big beard and a bigger smile, he has become one of the most visible Muslim faces associated with the Aussie rules football code, serving as a bridge between the very “Aussie” sport, and a community seen by many as not “Aussie” enough.

“When I entered into the system of AFL, I was 18 years old,” Houli says. “And subhanAllah [praise be to God], the majority of people knew the person I was, they knew that Bachar Houli was this person who was a practicing Muslim.

According to Houli, this commitment to and association with his faith helped him greatly throughout his journey in the sport. His reputation of trustworthiness and respect within the AFL community allowed him to be open about the things he could and couldn’t do, and even prompted his teammates to support, rather than simply tolerate, his decisions.

This attitude of mutual respect and understanding is a breath of fresh air in a media environment filled with either outright hostility or condescending entertainment. The pressure on Muslims in Australia is forcing many to try and hide their faith, with parents changing their children’s name from Mohammed to Michael, not to mention the rising levels of violent Islamophobia in the country causing many women to fear to leave their house.

Both Muslims and non-Muslims have a lot to learn from the example of Bachar Houli in both maintaining a commitment to faith and to the communities we find ourselves in, despite the challenges we face in doing so.