Good Muslim Boy is Osamah Sami’s true depiction of his life as a young Muslim man. From his early life with his family in Iran during the Iran/Iraq war, to their migration to Australia, his tale is in turns comic and tragic, and explores the universal truths of growing up, falling in love and marriage, family and following one's dream.
Osamah begins by recounting his youth under Islamic rule in Iran: the mischievous antics that he and his friends would get up to, and the lengths they would go to for a little contact with girls, including the subsequent (and hilarious) reprimands they'd receive from the ‘Piety Police’. Osamah also addresses the inescapable impacts of war: describing the trauma his family suffered from the violence in Iran— the death of his younger brother, his uncle’s suicide, and his mother’s displacement.
The crux of the story takes place in Australia where Osamah pretends to attend university after lying to his family about his final high school results, afraid of the shame it will it cause to learn that their son didn’t make it into medical school. It is there that he falls in love with Dianne, who, unlike Osamah, is actually enrolled in the course. What ensues must be read to be believed, an arranged marriage is escaped; true love is embraced; and an acting career evolves, as Osamah goes on the road staging a show entitled ‘Saddam The Musical’.
With a distinct authorial voice, Osamah Sami’s A Good Muslim Boy unfolds and enchants us; both funny and entertaining, we are enlightened, shocked, saddened, made to laugh, and ultimately uplifted in a tale that couldn’t come at a more prescient time.
