Funny man, Nazeem Hussain, who is currently a contestant in the Network 10 reality series I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! is the first and only Muslim cast member ever to be part of the show over the course of its three seasons.
Known for his success as a stand-up comic, the 30 year-old Muslim was asked to talk a different kind of audience about a more serious subject in an episode of the show this week.
Journalist Steve Price invited Hussain to a make-shift stage 'in the jungle' to tell his fellow contestants about his faith. Hussain went on to explain what it was like for his sister, who wears a hijab, during the Lindt Chocolate Cafe siege.
My sister then texted me and said, 'Nazeem, I’m scared to wear the hijab home because I think people are going to attack me'.
"One of the things that made me feel positive about Australia going forward was, remember that thing with the Lindt Cafe?" Hussain says during the show.
"So that was horrific. It was very frightening for a lot of people. My sister then texted me and said, 'Nazeem, I’m scared to wear the hijab home because I think people are going to attack me'."
Hussain told the audience that even though his sister was a successful lawyer, she might be vulnerable to racism given the attack and her religious beliefs.
"I said, “Just take it off, don’t wear it, you don’t need to wear it if you’re feeling scared, go home'. Then throughout the day, that hashtag started trending #illridewithyou.
We don’t see Australians coming together for each other. And that man wanted to divide Australia. He wanted us to turn on each other, but what he did was make us come together.
"People were volunteering to support each other, non-Muslims were volunteering to sit with Muslims and make them feel more comfortable. She then messaged me later on and said, 'You know what, I now feel comfortable and safe that my fellow Australians are willing to stand up and support me'.
"And that made me, it actually made me cry when it happened because we don’t see that enough. We don’t see Australians coming together for each other. And that man wanted to divide Australia. He wanted us to turn on each other, but what he did was make us come together."
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Hussain also referenced the desire of ISIS to split the world into Muslim and non-Muslim factions, with the behaviour of Australians after the siege going against their objective.
"I always think, 'What’s going to happen to us? Are we just going to become what ISIS wants us to become? A world where there is Muslim and non-Muslim?' You know, when Pauline Hanson says things irresponsibly what she’s doing is exactly what ISIS is doing, splitting Muslim and non-Muslim.
"But what happens time and again, and this just shows the Australian spirit is, [and] that we actually find ways to use that opportunity to strengthen bonds."
The positive attitudes displayed emphasised the capability that Australians have to come together in tough times, with Hussain delivering his speech beside fellow cast member Price, a prominent broadcaster recognised for his right-wing views.
Price appeared moved by the speech, in addition to other cast members who were tearing up in tandem with Hussain.
