Consider
the ongoing hotbed situation of airport security and racial profiling. In a
time when it seems like every Muslim knows someone who has suffered through
heightened security at a US airport simply because they were, or even looked,
Muslim, it would appear as if the subject is just spoiling for a serious
dialogue.
But
can we joke about it? Maybe it wouldn’t be appropriate for a non-Muslim to
poke fun at the situation, but how about a Muslim taking on that job? Who
better to salvage some comedy from this post 9/11 Islamophobic society than
a Muslim comedian?
So
here’s humorist Azhar Usman’s take on the situation: OK, he makes it
past security, past the stares and whispers, and boards his airplane (note:
he sports a full black beard and black kufi, or hat). “I walk down
the aisle to my seat and you should see the face of all the passengers,”
Usman says.
Here
comes the hilarious impression. Usman holds up an imaginary cell phone to
his ear, screws his face up and imagines a conversation a non-Muslim
passenger is having with is wife: “I’m gonna die! Honey, I love you! Oh
my God, he’s passing me byyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” (You have to
see him do this—words don’t do it justice!)
But
what’s really funny, Usman concludes, “Is that if I wanted to be a
terrorist, sneak on an airplane and blow it up, do you think I would go
looking like this? Hellooooo?!!!!”
As
expected, Usman gets big laughs with this spiel, part of his hit comedy
routine. Usman, Preacher Moss, and Azeem make up a trio of talented, hip,
Muslim comedians known as the “Allah Made Me Funny! The Official Muslim
Comedy Tour.” And if you consider yourself a Muslim-American attune to
what is “hip” and “now” in Muslim pop culture, then chances are
you’ve heard of this comedic group.
The
“Allah Made Me Funny” tour is sweeping North America with its unique
style of Islam-inspired satire, Muslim-culture humor and “just snap!”
shenanigans. The trio took New York City by storm last week with a series of
shows in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Their
Manhattan gig, part of Shuruq Week at New York University, served as part of
a fundraising drive for Mission: Masjid, which is a campaign by NYU Muslim
students to find a permanent home for the university’s Islamic center. The
center, or IC, serves NYU students and Muslims in downtown Manhattan.
Nearly
250 NYU students and New Yorkers gathered at the Kimmel Center on NYU’s
campus to enjoy the comedic stylings of Preacher Moss, Azeem, and Usman.
This New York engagement was part of a nonstop US tour entertaining Muslims
and non-Muslims alike.
The
trio enjoys the unique situation of Muslims poking fun at their own Muslim
community. For these hilarious performers, divisive topics like 9/11, terror
alerts, airport security, and racial profiling are fuel for laughs. And more
common, Muslim-oriented subjects—like how a convert “comes out” to his
family, how born Muslims view converts, and typical Indo-Pak “desi”
jokes—also fill out their repertoire.
At
the NYU show, Azeem, a southern black Muslim convert (now there’s an
interesting combo!) who has worked with such comedic powerhouses as Steve
Harvey and David Chapelle, started the evening. He mixed humor with serious,
loving advice that struck a positive nerve with the audience.
One
series of jokes on box cutters elicited strong but shaky laughter. (Can we
laugh at box cutter jokes, the collective audience seemed to ask.) “Who
you going to scare with [a box cutter]?” Azeem asked. Then he delivered
his punchline: “Dude, I went to public school!”
Azeem
went on to gently chide the mostly Muslim audience to work towards
eliminating misconceptions about Islam. “We’re not violent! We’re the
most peaceful people on the planet earth,” he exclaimed. Case in point, he
added: “Mike Tyson ain’t won a fight since he became a Muslim!”
Next
up was Preacher Moss, a black Muslim convert of 18 years who has written for
Daryl Hammond on Saturday Night Live and George Lopez on The
George Lopez Show. He also hit upon the subject of airport security,
saying that if it were legally possible, he would change his name to Allahu
Akbar “just to hear the guys at the airport say it!”
Moss
offered probably the most sound, and humorous, advice to the audience about
how to deal with a post-9/11 suspicious culture: “If you didn’t do
anything, act like you didn’t do anything!” he said. “Have a little
attitude—just snap!”
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Indian-American
comedian Azhar Usman |
Azhar
Usman rounded out the evening and spent a few uncomfortable minutes at first
plugging himself—his recent appearance on NBC’s Nightline and his
new comedy CD. Afterwards he launched into a series of typical “desi”
jokes, which although they are not really new material for Indo-Pak Muslims,
still got a bunch of giggles.
One
small joke drew big laughs as Usman mused on how Muslims (and South Asians
in general) get excited about seeing a Muslim name in the rolling credits
that appear after the end of a television show or movie. “Look—we got a
brother in Hollywood!” he exclaimed to the uproar of laughter from the
audience.
His
airport security jokes brought down the house, but perhaps it was his
parting shot at the growing “Muslim feminist” movement that provided the
most timely, and uncertain, laughs. He drew upon the recent controversial
visit of Virginia Commonwealth University professor Amina Wadud, the first
woman to lead a group of Muslims in Jumu`ah Prayer in New York last week.
“I’ve
got an easy solution to the problem,” Usman said: Grab a transistor radio,
go on the other side of the wall in front of her, and figure out exactly
where she is. Then position yourself ahead of her. “Yeah man, I’m in
front now!” Usman cried out. The joke drew some nervous laughter, but
served as a smart reminder that no subject is taboo to these side-splitting
performers.
“Allah
Made Me Funny! The Official Muslim Comedy Tour” will be visiting
Illinois, then California in early April. For more information visit
www.allahmademefunny.com.
For more information about New York University’s Mission:Masjid drive,
visit www.nyu.edu/clubs/islamcenter.
*
Dilshad D. Ali’s writing reaches across the United States to address
lifestyle topics pertinent to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Ali has covered
movie premieres, film festivals, art exhibitions, concerts, and numerous other
cultural stories, including the effect of September 11 on New York’s cultural
landscape for IslamOnline. Ali, a 1997 University of Maryland journalism
graduate, resides in New York with her husband and two children. You can reach
her at bridge@islamonline.net
