Worth: $15.50
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Cast:
Kamel El Basha, Osamah Sami, Maia Abbas, Safia Arain
Intro:
Teeming with intrigue, both political and personal, this family drama is a tightly woven web that will no doubt be a delight to untangle.
The ripple effect of one seemingly innocuous event has life-changing repercussions for Sheikh Mohammad and his family in this new Sydney-based series.
On the day that The Messenger Mosque is set to announce the results of their election for Head Cleric—a race Sheikh Mohammad was set to win—the celebrations are stopped dead in their tracks by a leaked Instagram post. One spontaneous moment caught on camera, an insensitive stranger crossing a boundary and kissing the Sheikh on the cheek (when physical touch between strangers of opposite genders is forbidden within the Shi’ite Islam religion) causes widespread upset within the local Muslim community.
A stranger’s thoughtless actions serve as the catalyst for one ambitious rival’s desperate bid for power, while a devoted family, struggling to contain secrets of their own, all must face the consequences of their father’s actions.
Co-creator and writer Osamah Sami takes on the role of Isa, the adopted son of Sheikh Mohammad. As the real-life son of a Shi’ite Cleric from Iraq, Sami, together with co-creator Shahin Shafaei, builds a world for his characters that stems from a place of familiarity and deep affection for the story that he’s telling. The script does a solid job of balancing plots for power and genuine familial emotion, as the Sheikh’s son Isa, and two daughters Batul and Hind, shine with an easy chemistry that lends a natural rhythm to their long-suffering sibling dynamic.
The females of the series notably avoid devolving into the kind of stereotypical tropes we so often see in media portraying Muslim women. Both Batul (Maia Abbas) and Hind (Safia Arain) are fully fleshed out, ambitious and complex, with their own specific drives. Neither fall prey to becoming glorified extras or caricatures of either female oppression or empowerment.
The lynchpin of the story is of course Kamel El Basha as Sheikh Mohammad, a role imbued with such gentleness and sincerity that you find yourself holding your breath alongside his most devoted followers as you wait for the election results to be announced.
House of Gods is a fresh and complicated take on what it means to live as part of the Muslim Australian community. The care and attention that has gone into the production is clear: from the authentic Muslim representation in both cast and crew, the intricate costuming, all the way to sets built to transform the inside of a sports club in Western Sydney into the stunningly detailed interior of a Mosque, complete with traditional calligraphy adorning the walls.
Teeming with intrigue, both political and personal, this family drama is a tightly woven web that will no doubt be a delight to untangle.
