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Ozman ‘Oz’ Abu Malik has become a household name after he won The Block with his best mate Omar Slaimankhel on Sunday night.
But fans may be surprised to learn ‘Abu Malik’ is not really Oz’s surname, but is in fact just a nickname that means ‘father of Malik’ – referring to his eldest son.
The building maintenance manager’s real last name is Said, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
Ozman ‘Oz’ Abu Malik (pictured) has become a household name after he won The Block with his best mate Omar Slaimankhel on Sunday night
In Arabic tradition, ‘Abu’ is a common nickname that is usually followed by the name of a person’s first-born son, but can also be used in a more colloquial sense.
Oz, who hails from western Sydney, has been using the name since he was announced as a contestant on The Block.
It’s understood ‘Abu Malik’ is how close family and friends refer to him.
Fans may be surprised to learn ‘Abu Malik’ is not really Oz’s surname, but is in fact just a nickname that means ‘father of Malik’ – referring to his eldest son (left), who is seven
In Arabic tradition, ‘Abu’ is a common nickname that is usually followed by the name of a person’s first-born son, but can also be used in a more colloquial sense. (Oz is pictured with his sons Malik, and Zayd, five)
Ozman Abu Malik is also the name he uses on his social media accounts.
During his time on the show, Oz and his teammate Omar, who are both married with children, expressed their concerns about young Aussies perceiving them poorly, and said they were keen to present the Australian Muslim community in a positive light.
This is why they confronted foreman Dan Reilly halfway through the season about being casually referred to as ‘dodgy’ on the building site.
‘We genuinely don’t want to sit down on TV and our family and friends are watching this, and another million or so people, and they be like, “Those two f**king w*** on the show being dodgy all season,”‘ Oz explained.
During his time on the show, Oz and his teammate Omar, who are both married with children, expressed their concerns about young Aussies perceiving them poorly, and said they were keen to present the Australian Muslim community in a positive light
‘The word “dodgy” is coming out a fair bit, which is completely against what Oz and I do,’ Omar said.
‘We were extremely thankful to get on a show to express ourselves, and just the fact you guys keep mentioning that [word] which is most likely gonna be played on TV, and it’s just gonna look like “two w*** again doing dodgy s**t on TV”, and that part is the most hurtful for us.’
Omar, who grew up in New Zealand after arriving as a refugee from Afghanistan at age three, added that both he and Oz experienced racism growing up and that many young Australians feel the country is ‘fully racist’.
