Waleed Aly grew raised in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and attended Wesley College. He is a lawyer and a journalist, as well as a member of the Islamic Council of Victoria’s board of directors and its spokesperson.

His rise to fame, on the other hand, has been as a youthful, articulate advocate for the Australian Muslim community, owing to his thoughtful comments on human rights and multiculturalism in Australian society. We’re sure you’re keen to learn more about him, so these 8 unknown facts will come in handy.

8 Things You Didn’t Know About Waleed Aly

1. Guitarist And Song Writer

Aly is the lead guitarist and songwriter for Robot Child, a Melbourne rock band. In June 2014, the band released its debut album, One More War. The band impressed the audience at the 2015 Walkley Awards with a cover of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb. Aly wowed everyone with his amazing guitar solo. ^[1]

2. What Inspired Him To Religious Preachings

After visiting his family’s home nation of Egypt at the age of 20, Aly was inspired to undertake religious preaching. The trip enabled him to “arrive at a new level of religious consciousness,” rather than avoiding his faith as he had done in Australia. ^[2]

3. Rejected By His Now-Wife

When Aly first asked his now-wife Susan Carland out, she turned him down. Carland said, “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last person on the planet.” ^[3]

4. Passionate About Cricket

He had a passion for cricket. Aly consoled himself by telling himself that even if he never made the Australian cricket team, he could one day captain Egypt. He defined his ability to play sports as “social capital” while growing up as an ethnicity in a predominantly white area. ^[4]

5. Music Nerd

Aly said that he is a music nerd, particularly for Queen. In year 12, he created a 4000-word study of the song Bohemian Rhapsody and then answered a series of questions about the band from Zemiro nearly accurately.

6. His Favourite City

Despite living in Melbourne, he believes Adelaide is the most liveable city in Australia. He also revealed to Burn Your Passport podcast host Nazeem Hussain that he’d “rather live in Melbourne,” but that Adelaide was “really taking off.”

7. His Early TV Roles Give Voice To Muslim Community

His first television appearance was as a producer and panelist on Salam Café, a comic chat program that aired on Channel 31 and SBS. It offered Australian-Muslim talent a platform and earned community television honors.

8. Hosted A Primary School Radio Show

At Vermont Primary School, Aly hosted a primary school radio show. It aired while students were finishing their lunch before going outside to play.