Of course you can build muscle while losing bodyfat, that is just silliness to suggest otherwise. The key to that is to lift relatively heavy weights while eating a higher amount of protein.
Especially when just starting out, it's much easier for them.
I'd recommend doing the Stronglifts 5 x 5 program, it will give you a good base with compound exercises that will actually make a difference. Eat plenty of protein and sleep 8-9 hours a night. For the first 3 months I'd recommend eating 1.5-2g of protein per pound of lean bodyweight, dropping to 1.25-1.5g after that for the next 3 months and then down to 1g per pound of lean bodyweight after that.
Noobs can build some negligable muscle on a cut but nothing worth noting.
Stronglifts 5x5 is a good program for building strength but i personally would either use a straight hypertrophy rep range, ive seen a lot of dudes stall on stronglifts for months, its also wasy to get injured because you are lifting too heavy too soon before your stabalizers build up, i got injured twice on SL because i was squatting and deadlifting ridiculous weight within a couple of months.
Pryamid sets 12-10-8-6 is the way to go, i got far better gains.
Id also say you need no more than 1gm protein per lb. Again i spent months on 1.5gm before i dropped to .75gm per lb and replaced the rest with carbs.
I felt much stronger in the gym, and geavier weight plus more reps = growth.
But thats just my advice fellas