Muslims Like Us is a British reality television series shown on BBC Two 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.
The ten housemates came from various backgrounds and beliefs: Nabil Abdulrashid, a comedian of Nigerian heritage; Abdul Haqq, a black former boxer born Anthony Small who believes in strict gender segregation; fashion follower Mehreen Baig; Saba, a 76-year-old white convert born Hilary; Ferhan Khan, who is gay; and Zohra, a Shia Muslim.[1] [2] [3]
Events in the series included the housemates going to feed the homeless, with Baig responding to anti-immigrant sentiments from some of them;[1] Bara hugging a member of the English Defence League in an attempt to change his views;[1] and Abdul Haqq's strict views on gender being challenged by others.[2] Abdul Haqq also refused to give an answer on whether it would be wrong to kill Zohra's Shia family.[3]
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.[1] [2] [3]
The series won Best Reality and Constructed Factual at the 2017 British Academy Television Awards.[4]
In February 2018, a Sydney-based version of the show was shown on Australia's Special Broadcasting Service. This version included a gay man, a bisexual Sufi woman, a woman in a niqab and a non-practising Shia.[5]