JACQUES Faty just can’t stop exploring. A career that has taken him to many quarters of the globe has barely begun to sate the curiosity of an enquiring mind that can’t stop asking questions.

It’s why Sydney FC’s defender has travelled so much, forgoing a career at the very top to see what other challenges there might be in life. It’s why he converted from Christianity to Islam, but is just as fascinated by every facet of human nature.

And it’s why he came to Australia, to feel for himself the welcome of Australian people that friends and colleagues had told him about years before..

media_camera Jacques Faty and friends at Mecca.

That thirst for experience is why his Instagram account carries selfies of him and friends, including the former Chelsea striker Demba Ba, in Mecca two months ago, after they accepted the invitation of Saudi football officials to talk with younger players and visit Islam’s holiest site

When you make the point that most footballers prefer to spend their holidays on the beach in Dubai, Faty laughs and points out that the week before, that’s exactly where he was.

“But I was very curious to visit this place (Mecca) - you watch it on TV, you see pictures, but to be there myself was a very important moment. I was 20 years old when I converted to Islam. Before that I was very Christian in my heart. I think that Christianity actually pushed me to go further in my knowledge.

“I read the Bible and that pushed me to read other books and open my mind. My mother was Christian and my father was Muslim so I was open already. I pushed myself to read the Koran, and I kind of found my way. Even my view of soccer changed - I knew a little about the religion, and now I wanted to know about the people.

“We talk about a religion, but sometimes people inside a religion are not all the same. That’s why I moved to Turkey (in 2011), to meet people, see how they lived and acted. It’s a very nice thing when you discover something in life.”

Discovering has been the theme for Faty throughout a career that has taken in the Champions League, the African Nations Cup, a stint in China and now the A-League, where he has quickly become both a senior voice in Sydney’s dressing room, and also one of its most popular figures.

“Just becaause I’m Muslim it doesn’t mean I can’t have a good time!” he grins.

“It doesn’t mean I have to be negative or angry. Sometimes the main image of Muslims is of angry people. I am just a simple Muslim you know - my cousin (Sydney midfielder Mickael Tavares) is a Christian and he’s my best friend.

media_camera Jacques Faty takes on Besart Berisha in last season’s A-League grand final.

“I want to enjoy my friends, it doesn’t matter if they’re white or black, Muslim, Christian or Jewish. What I want to see is the attitude of people more than anything. Some days I see people who do not believe in God act better than some people who do. They’re all just human beings. It’s their attitude (to other people) that matters.”

It’s the attitude in Australia that has blown him away since arriving in January - though he had been alerted to it before.

“People had told me overseas, that how people are in Australia is amazing. My friend Jonathan Bru, when he played for Melbourne Victory, told me to come to see for myself.

“Honestly when I came here for the first time, you see how people smile, how they are open. Even last week, I was with Mikey (Tavares) and we were looking for a store we couldn’t find. One guy came to us and said, Are you looking for something? You need some help? He gave us the directions.

“In a lot of countries that would never happen, you know? People here in Australia, I don’t know what they eat every morning, but I like it! People act in the way people should.”