Abdul Raman, reveals deeper personal purpose of 'Legal Wives'

Kapuso actor Abdul Raman is set to appear on his first-ever regular teleserye after joining the seventh season of reality artista search StarStruck.

He is part of upcoming cultural drama series Legal Wives top-billed by Kapuso Drama King Dennis Trillo, Alice Dixson, Andrea Torres and Bianca Umali.

It tells the story of a Maranaw man who marries three different women for various reasons.

Abdul shared that when he first found out that he will be part of the show, he saw it as a chance to showcase his talents and to prove his worth as an actor.

But while working on the series itself, he realized that it had a deeper personal purpose for him.

Abdul is a practicing Muslim and has spent a big chunk of his life in the United Arab Emirates.

"Noon pa kasi I only wanted this for myself and my family. Pero the more I did it--kasi I was experiencing the racism or Islamophobia from people--parang sabi ko maybe this is my objective in life na I represent my religion in a good way, in a good light," Abdul shared in an online interview with select members of the media, including GMANetwork.com.

For him, the show is one of the steps towards showing diversity on Philippine television.

"Tapos dumating nga 'yung 'Legal Wives.' Sabi ko, wow, the stars are aligning. It is a good thing. Diversity in general is a good thing. Lalo na with Islam, it's misrepresented talaga a lot. With all the bad things happening in the world, this is a good show na ipakita ang good side ng Islam," he says.

Abdul also shared his thoughts on the sensitive topic of polygamy, one of the focal points of Legal Wives.

"As a Muslim myself, I was raised in a Muslim country as well and Arabian pa nga. I know all about it. I know people that practice it in my area. It is not as common as you'd think. Kasi the common misconception is everyone should do it," he explains.

"'Yun ang mga naririnig ko from the moms na sinasabi, 'Huwag ka lumapit diyan. Muslim 'yan eh.' Ang masasabi ko lang is no, we're not forced to marry up to four. It's a choice. There are certain circumstances, like kailangan you are able to provide the same equal amount of love to every single wife. You need to able to provide and you need the approval," Abdul adds.

According to Abdul, it is not something that he wants to practice.

"I personally wouldn't do it kasi kontento na 'ko sa isa. Ganoon talaga," he says simply.

He also hopes that people will be more educated about Islam and Muslim culture through Legal Wives.

"What I like about the show is that it's education na rin to the people that don't know. Para lang mawala and matanggal 'yung line ng discrimination," Abdul says.

The show sees Abdul play Hammad, an impoverished young man. He will fall in love with Jamilah, a daughter from a wealthy Maranaw clan, played by StarStruck season seven Ultimate Female Survivor Shayne Sava.

Check out why Abdul and Shayne are a perfect match ahead of their Legal Wives team up in this gallery: