B-boy lilou
Lilou, or Ali Ramdani, hails from Lyon, France. However, as a Muslim of Algerian descent, he is far from a typical Frenchman. Lilou lets his devotion to Islam shine through in his dance style and hip hop image.
Somewhat of a provocateur, when competing, Lilou often wears a shirt that reads “I’m Muslim, Don’t Panik!“ He does this to raise questions to the Hip Hop community about false stereotypes and perceptions of Muslims in the modern day, and make others more aware of the resurgence of truth through Hip Hop. Bboy Lilou's message centers primarily on this concept of Islamophobia, and through donning traditional Islamic garb such as the keffiyeh while dancing, he shows millions of people that it is possible to bridge these barriers on the platform of Hip Hop. He also wears these items to simply express solidarity with his Muslim brothers and sisters, as he wishes to draw attention to the great adversity they face in their daily lives due to stereotypes and racism. He recognizes that there are many wars around the world for territory or for money but his battles are on the dance floor! Lilou lists his greatest influences as Michael Jackson, Zinédine Zidane, Mohammed Ali and Jamiroquai. He admires their careers, their charisma and recognizes them for being legends in their respective area of expertise. He respects Mohammed Ali for his unwavering commitment to Islam, and for having established himself as a symbol of faith for Muslims in the modern world.
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"I can show to the people who I am. People only know me from video, or when I dance, but now with this documentary, they will know me as Ali, not just B-boy Lilou."
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Lilou wears his "I'm Muslim Don't Panik!" shirt as he competes for the Red Bull BC One Final Round in New York City in front of millions of viewers.
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