The Rise of Muslim Comedy in the Wake of 9/11 - GQ

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9/23/2015
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The Rise of Muslim Comedy in the Wake of
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Photo: Egyptian-born American comedian Ahmed Ahmed
Image: Getty
Post 9/11, there has been an upsurge in Muslim comedy helping rebut the limited Arab
stereotypes perpetuated by the media. Fourteen years ago today, the world woke up to the shocking footage of four coordinated terrorist
attacks by terrorist group al-Qaeda on the US. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third
plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in
Pennsylvania. http://www.gq.com.au/success/opinions/The+Rise+of+Muslim+Comedy+in+the+Wake+of+911,38925
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Over 3,000 people were killed, including more than 400 police officers and fire-fighters. For many
Americans, there is life before 9/11, and life after. These tragic events triggered a global campaign against terrorism. In America, this included the Bush
doctrine alongside an increase in domestic measures by institutions like the FBI against so-called
‘home-grown terrorism’.
Unfortunately, precipitated by networks like Fox News, the concept of ‘terrorist’ was frequently
conflated with the Islamic religion. To put it in perspective, around 1.6 billion people in the world are
Muslim. This erroneous image of the erratic, dangerous Arab has led to an increase in Islamophobia in
Western countries like America, England and Australia. In his book “People Like Us”, Waleed Aly said
“the public conversations that surround Islam and the West often reveal little more than the deep
inability of each to comprehend the other;; a world of much mutual stereotyping and consequent
ignorance. Ignorance can, with will and effort, be cured.” Interestingly, the people who have answered the call to cure Western ignorance have often been
comedians. Mucahit Bilici argues that since 9/11 there has been an upsurge in Muslim comedy – for
example, Ahmed Ahmed, Allah Made Me Funny and Axis of Evil. Axis of Evil’s very name is taken
from George Bush’s use of the term to describe Iran, Iraq and North Korea – a reclamation of the
term that shows a high awareness of the political context within which their comedy is read. Comedians Ahmed Ahmed, Maz Jobrani and Aron Kader of Axis of Evil Bilici says that: “Muslim comedy is a journey from fear to laughter, it aims to bridge the divide that
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separates Muslims from the rest of American society by reaffirming both sides’ common humanity”. In Australia, comedian Nazeem Hussain dresses up as a stereotypical bearded, ranting Arab in his
series “Legally Brown” to expose just how ridiculous these conceptions are. He hyperbolizes the
clashes between the perceived ‘Islamic way’ and ‘Australian way’, using laughter to diffuse tension
and facilitate mutual understanding. After all – here’s a guy who’s able to make fun of himself. What’s
more Australian than that? This is the question audiences must now ask themselves. Hussain’s very
act of taking the mic and entering comedy actually rebels against the media’s portrayal of the ‘serious’
Arab, as such, exposing it to be essentially bullshit. Nazeem Hussain in comedy series Legally Brown
Axis of Evil’s Aron Kader tells a joke at the start of one of his stand-up routines where he imitates a
stereotypical Arab man watching a comedy show. “Usually Arabs don’t come to a comedy show. I mean, it’s really difficult. In the past, Arabs would
come to a comedy show but they’d sit at the back and say ‘yah that was really funny, I liked that. Very
funny, very good. Hilarious my friend, seriously, you can almost hear me laugh, it’s that good. Anyone
who thinks Arabs don’t have a sense of humour I will kill you and burn your family [audience erupts
with laughter].”
This audience response no doubt stems from recognition of the tired trope Kader parodies – the
unsmiling Arab. Similar to Hussain, Kader’s very presence on stage as a comedian rebuts the Fox
News stereotype. http://www.gq.com.au/success/opinions/The+Rise+of+Muslim+Comedy+in+the+Wake+of+911,38925
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Palestinian-American comedian Aron Kader
Paradoxically, Islamophobia has actually increased mainstream audiences interest in Arab
comedians. Who are these people? Do they ever laugh? What are they really like? Dean Obeidallah
of "Axis of Evil" has stated on countless occasions that before 9/11 he was just a white guy in
comedy. Post 9/11, he claims he lost his white status and became Arab – a cultural conversion he
didn’t ask for but one that has in fact benefitted his career. By far one of the edgiest comics in the business is Shazia Mirza, a British stand-up of Pakistani
descent. “I've been brought up to believe, you marry the first man that you meet. If that was the case I would
have married my Uncle Shazad. But at 13, I think I was too old for him,” she jokes. Mirza has been frequently lauded as “the only female Muslim stand-up comedian”, a fact she links to
the cultural aspect of many predominately Muslim cultures that don’t like women being in the public
eye. “There have never been any Muslim women in positions of power. There was Benazir Bhutto, who
was the prime minister of Pakistan, but that was it. I could never tell a man, look, she did this and she
did that, why can’t I do it? People question me and criticize me... I have to justify what I’m doing,” she
says. http://www.gq.com.au/success/opinions/The+Rise+of+Muslim+Comedy+in+the+Wake+of+911,38925
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Shazia Mirza In the tragic wake of 9/11, Muslims everywhere were undoubtedly amongst the victims of that attack
as they suffered the burden of a growing, intensified fear of Islam. Through comedy, Muslim
comedians have helped counteract many of the harmful ideas about their faith and culture circulated
by the ignorance and bigotry of certain politicians, journalists and citizens. Let this not be a day to cement our hate, our vengefulness, but a day to practice love and acceptance
so that through mutual understanding, we can all live in a better world. Login
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The Rise of Muslim Comedy in the Wake of 9/11 - GQ

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