It's Time for Muslim Comedians to Stand Up

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Egyptians show sense of humour as stand-up comedy gets an Arab twist
Ashraf Khalil, Cairo
April 16, 2010

The room was badly ventilated and swelteringly hot. But, despite the stuffy conditions, raucous laughter filled the room as more than a dozen comedians took to the stage to give an Egyptian twist to a decidedly Western art form.

The scene — the largest stand-up showcase in Cairo to feature local comics — marked a radical social and comedic experiment. Tamer Farag, a 35-year-old tour guide, riffed on the bizarre linguistic games that Egyptians play, incorporating English words into Arabic then randomly applying Arabic grammar rules to them.

“So what’s the plural of jacket?” Mr Farag asked the crowd. “No, it’s not ‘jawaacket’. That’s low class! All the chic people say ‘jacketaat’. What’s wrong with you?”

Noha Kato, a young comedienne who wears the hijab, joked that because she is 22 her parents are already fretting about her never getting married. “I feel like a yoghurt cup with an expiration date stamped on my forehead,” she said.

By almost any standard, the experiment was a success, with the 500-seat venue sold out for both performances. “This shows people want to laugh. They know stand-up comedy and they love it,” Maha Hosni, the organiser, said. “All the university students know this culture and watch the comedy channels.”

Egyptians are no strangers to comedy. The country is famous for its comedic actors and Egyptians are known for their humour. But that spirit of comedy has, until now, been channelled into slapstick films and plays. “We’ve always had comedy but it wasn’t an individual thing,” Mr Farag said.

Now, the stand-up model is gradually taking hold, with a growing pool of local comics eager to hone their craft. “It’s gaining momentum,” said Mohammed Shaheen, a 29-year-old network engineer and comic. “I really believe it’s going to grow in Egypt. There’s a huge market for it.”

The concept came to Egypt in 2006 when a quartet of Arab and Iranian-American comedians gained fame in the US with the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. The group soon began performing gigs in the Middle East and made a point of holding open auditions to encourage and develop local talents. “We’re trying to build a comedy infrastructure” in the Middle East, said Dean Obeidallah, a Palestinian-American comic who helped to found the Axis of Evil tour. “I tell people we’re comedy missionaries.”

After the success of the showcase Ms Hosni is thinking big. She plans to hold several events a year and build up the local stand-up scene. Once the talent pool is ready, she wants to launch an international tour before “invading London and other places with Egyptian talent”.

Ali Qandil: It always bothers me here when people hang their laundry off the balcony and they hang the men’s underwear on the outside. I think they do that just so that the neighbourhood knows there’s a man around the house.

Noha Kato: When I told my father that being a comedian was like being an actress, he freaked out and said, “What! Will there be any kissing or love scenes?”

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Comedian under fire for Burka Woman version of Pretty Woman
A stand-up comedian has become a hate figure in Pakistan after his cheeky remake of Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman, with the title Burka Woman, became an internet sensation.
Rob Crilly,
21 Dec 2010
telegraph.co.uk

Saad Haroon has been accused of mocking Islamic values prompting bloggers to call for him to be stoned to death. The video follows his tongue-in-cheek efforts at serenading a "sexy ninja" or "mystery prize" hidden beneath a black niqab, with only her dark eyes visible through a narrow slit. "Burka woman, in your black sheet," he sings, "Burka woman, with your sexy feet, "Burka woman my love for you it grows, every time I see your toes." He even describes going home to "practise flirting with my living room curtain".

However, the video has caused a storm in Pakistan, the cradle of the Taliban, where conservative religious leaders hold considerable influence. Earlier this year, access to YouTube, Wikipedia and Facebook was blocked after cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed were published online. "You should be stoned to death Saad Haroon Hell to You," reads one comment on YouTube, where the video has been posted. Others have chastised him for giving the West a chance to laugh at Islam. He has also been deluged with threats sent by email.

Mr Haroon said that he had simply set out to make people laugh. "I don't know if I'm brave or not. I'm a comedian. It's my job to make jokes about things," he said. But he added that he was pleased his video had received supportive comments and started a debate about whether the burka had any place in Muslim society.

"Everyone has a right to say what they want. The crazies always shout loudest but I've also had positive comments from women in burkas who have come up to me after shows, saying how funny they found it," he said.

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How many unimaginative hacks have also cracked jokes relating women in burkas with ninjas, while thinking they're funny? Hundreds. And not one of them has done anything but reinforce ignorance and division, so I've no idea what this guy thinks he's doing.

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Muslim comics crack cultural jokes
Comedy tour packs house at MTSU
Scott Broden
dnj.com
Aug. 14, 2011

MURFREESBORO — "The Muslims are Coming!" comedy show, with jokes celebrating cultural differences, pleased a diverse crowd Saturday, packing most all 450 seats at MTSU's Wright Music Building. “We try to bring people together,” show host Dean Obeidallah told the audience at the free show and noted he was raised by a proud Christian mother and Muslim father. “Everyone has the same rights and religious freedom.”

Obeidallah got several laughs when he did his own version of comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck if ... ” shtick. “You might be an Arab redneck if your trailer faces Mecca,” Obeidallah said. Obeidallah took turns doing stand up comedy with fellow Muslims Omar Elba, Negin Farsad and Maysoon Zayid.

Audience member Bill Larson said he saw the show as a way to bridge the gap in a community divided over issues surrounding the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro. The local congregation seeks to build a bigger place of worship on Veals Road while facing fierce opposition, including 17 residents who filed a lawsuit seeking to stop construction of a mosque off Bradyville Pike southeast of Murfreesboro city limits. “I support the Muslim community here in town and their right to freedom of religion,” said Larson, a Murfreesboro resident who is a retired engineer. “I’m not even religious.”

The Muslim comics were joined by Peter Depp, a gay Jewish comedian, and Monty Mitchell, who identified himself as being the Christian part of the show. “I don’t have that many good jokes because I’m not that good of a Christian,” said Mitchell, who described his Southern accent as being Appalachian “with a hint of incest.”

Elba cracked jokes about coping with moving to the United States as a child from Egypt a few days before Sept. 11 and living in Texas. After terrorists attacked America, he recalled what the school sign said the next day. “We don’t let terrorists interfere with our class schedule,” he said. “Yee-haw!”

Zayid scored the night’s biggest laughs with her stories about getting married to a Palestinian man and feeling pressure to find someone even as a free-spirited 33-year-old American from New Jersey with many Christian friends. “Thirty-three in Arab years is 67,” said Zayid, who let her long, brunette hair flow freely while telling the audience how she got even after being a bridesmaid in ugly gowns 17 times. “I decided to dress my bridesmaids in burqas.”

Farsad told stories about how tough it can be for an American Muslim such as herself to visit family in Iran who mock her for using modern toilets or imply that she’s promiscuous. “Iran is an Islamic Republic, which means alcohol is banned, but people still get wasted,” Farsad said. “It’s like the roaring 1300s.”

When it was over, all the comedians came out on stage to answer audience questions. Obeidallah polled the Muslims in the audience to ask them if any of them wanted to impose Shariah law on America, and none of them applauded. “It’s ridiculous,” said Obeidallah, who added that the goal of the touring show is to make sure everyone’s “rights are not diminished by those on the far right.”

Audience members Rita Jones and friend Don Lockridge enjoyed the show in which the comedians talked about religion, sex, politics and many other sensitive subjects. “It’s so real,” said Jones, who is an MTSU junior English major. “We really need this,” said Lockridge, who resides in Nashville. “It’s awesome to throw it in our face. It definitely illustrates that we have to express our thoughts in sensitive matters.”

MTSU senior aerospace major Robby Deaton said he came to the event with fiancee, Emily Cardwell, after hearing about it on a morning news show. “We’re pretty open-minded and interested in broadening our horizon,” Cardwell said.

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