i wonder what some folks will make of this. i think some will argue it’s wrong and they shouldn’t be making fun of these issues… Others will say humour is the best medicine. It’s not as though they are making fun of Islamic principles (like that British? American? chick - Shazia Mirza or whatever her name is). i think these individuals are trying to expose some of the absurdities behind some of the current issues…but there is an appropriate way to go about doing this. Some of the “jokes” may infact cross the line. That’s a subjective choice though. Where does it cross the line and where is it appropriate?
**Laughing Matters: Arab-American Comics Poke Fun at War, Terrorism — But Is It Funny?**, John Stossel
Hood Qa’im-Maqami is a stand-up comic who hails from Iran. One of his signature routines is to open up his jacket to expose what looks like explosives.
“I’m glad you guys are laughing,” he said at a recent performance. “Half of you are laughing. The other half’s like, Whoa!!”
A growing number of performers with Muslim or Middle Eastern backgrounds are trying to turn fear into funny.
“I’m normal, people, just like you. I put my pants on one leg at a time, strap on a bomb, go to work,” said Helen Maalik, a Syrian-born comic.
Then there’s Saad Sarwana, who is the kind of man we’ve learned to worry about. “I fit every terrorist profile you can imagine,” said the Pakistani-born Sarwana, who came to the United States on a student visa to study physics. “There’s only one thing I’ve got to say about racial profiling: It’s awesome. Seriously. Look at me. I got my ass kicked all through high school. And now, people are actually scared of me,” Sarwana said.
Terrorism humor? Apparently, people are eager to hear Muslim and Arab comics joking about fear and hatred. The comics challenge people to think about stereotypes in new ways.
Some of the comics with Muslim or Middle Eastern backgrounds spoke with ABCNEWS about the issues they raised. Most were angry about being singled out because of their background.
“It’s just difficult to deal with it,” said Dean Obeidallah, a half-Palestinian, half-Italian who was born in New Jersey. “We hate terrorists just as much as an American who lives in the middle of the country.”
On stage, Obeidallah jokes about a gas station clerk, who took a look at his credit card and said: “‘What kind of name is this Obeidallah thing?’ I’m like, ‘Sir, it’s an Arabic last name.’ I’m like, ‘literally translated from Arabic to English it means peaceful, friendly Arab who denounces terrorism and loves America.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, what Arab country’s your family from?’ So I choose the most peaceful popular one that he’d like. I’m like, ‘We’re from the same Arab country that Aladdin is from.’”
Dan Ahdoot’s family is from Iran, though he was born in the United States. “No guys, that’s a lie. I’m not Iranian. I was Iranian for 23 years up until Sept. 11th and now I’m Puerto Rican because that makes life a lot easier.”
“That’s what’s happened to the entire Middle Eastern population: they’ve all become blacks, Latinos and dark Italians,” said Nasry Malak, who was born in Egypt.
Malak said the the best thing about being Egyptian is that he has what he calls an "ambiguous face where the average racist doesn’t know which racial slur to call me.
“We want to become more American than Americans. So, me and my family have been discussing it and we’re actually thinking about turning in my father. Not because he did anything, but it would just make us look so f------ patriotic,” Malak joked.
Many of the comics talked about being victimized — reported hate crimes against Arabs and Muslims did increase sharply after Sept. 11, 2001. But the truth is, there are more reported hate crimes against Jews, gays, or blacks than Arabs. [This is doubtful - CAIR has reported a huge increase in hate crimes against Muslims]
“It starts off very small but where does it go?” Maysoon Zayid said. “I have people literally freaking out at my shows because I say I’m Palestinian.”
The manager of the Stand Up New York comedy club, where ABCNEWS taped part of this story, said he got threatening phone calls.
The callers said things like, “You can’t be doing that show, that’s unpatriotic. What are you doing?” he said.
And some may consider part of what these comics say to be unpatriotic.
“Did you guys see this Dan Rather interview with Saddam Hussein on prime-time TV, right before we’re trying to kill the guy, he’s on prime-time TV, and he challenged President Bush to a debate. Did you guys hear about that? How unfair was that?,” Obeidallah said. "Going right for our president’s weakness — speaking English.
Ahdoot joked about the U.S. “shock and awe” military campaign against the Iraqis.
“What do you think about that name? The ‘shock and awe’ campaign. Shock, I understand. Awe, don’t really get it. I don’t think there’s some guy standing outside of his … ruined house going, ‘Oh my God! Look at what they did. They killed my parents, my son, my daughter, my wife. Everybody! But what a fireball. I mean … I shed a tear. It was, Kodak moment, seriously. Wow,’” Ahdoot said.
The comics deny any suggestion they are being disrespectful, especially to American troops.
“Making fun of President Bush and making fun of the troops are completely different in my mind and I think in most people’s minds. I think they understand that,” Obeidallah said.
“We love what we see here, this is like euphoria for us, comparatively speaking, to where we come from,” Malak said.
Some of the comics joke about being thrown in jail.
“We’re all going to be arrested by the FBI after the show. I hope you guys enjoyed, hope you’re enjoying the show. Hope you’ll visit me in the detainment camp,” said Obeidallah.
But they acknowledged that one of the wonders of being in America is that all speech is allowed.
Vijai Nathan, an Indian, said she feels “like stand up comedy is the most American thing you can do, to get up on stage and speak your mind and say whatever you want to say.”
“There is some hate, and only if you acknowledge the hate, if you acknowledge that the hate might be there is when you can get rid of it,” Sarwana said.
People who saw the shows liked them. “I think it’s great. I think laughing is much better than fighting,” one man said. Another talked about the need to break stereotypes.
“We need laughter at this time more than anything, more than any other time,” Maalik said.
Nasry Malak said comedy is needed to open a dialogue. “Or else it’s going to get uglier. It’s the antidote. It’s just gonna get uglier and uglier unless we start talking about it,” he said.