Muslim interest is booming

A surge in interest in Australian football from Victoria's Muslim community has been sparked by Essendon midfielder model Bachar Houli, afl.com.au reporter Chelsea Roffey writes.

A leading Islamic spokesperson says the popularity of Australian football among Muslims in Victoria is booming, thanks to Muslim role model and Essendon on-baller Bachar Houli.

At a diversity training session for AFL Victoria staff last week, Waleed Aly, a well known representative from the Muslim community and spokesperson for the Islamic Council of Victoria said ethnic tensions can make young Muslims feel alienated but he does not believe the current climate is causing them to withdraw from sport.

He said concerns centring on Muslim communities in south western Sydney and the ethnic divisions occurring at some rugby league matches were not issues affecting Australian football matches.

 “In south western Sydney, which is probably the hottest area for these sorts of issues, they’re [Muslim youth] fanatical followers of the NRL. They’ve got Hazem El Masri playing for the Bulldogs,” Aly said.

“The feeling around the Bulldogs is in some ways a tribal one. It’s become almost an ethnic club, and it’s been expressed in unrest in crowds.

“They’re getting into sport but not necessarily in a way that is integrative.”

Aly said football provided Muslims in Australia ‘something to hang on to’ during times when groups risked alienation from the wider community.

“My feeling is that interest in Australian Rules among Muslims in Victoria is booming,” he said.

“There are a couple of reasons for that: One, increased numbers of the community are being born here, into their local game. It’s not a game they have to learn.

“Two, the emergence of Bachar Houli at Essendon has just set a fire through young sectors of the Muslim community, and the Lebanese community in particular.

“People who had no interest in football are suddenly mad Essendon supporters.”

He said role models like Houli provided young Muslims the opportunity to see themselves succeeding.

“That’s important because if you feel your identity prevents you from achieving anything then what you usually do is you construct an identity that’s much more antagonistic and oppositional,” he said.