Just for laughs
Aisha Khan
Four comedians in New York City talk about
being Muslim amidst post-September 11 fears of Arab terrorists and racial
profiling
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Palestinian-American
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Pakistani-American |
aad Sarwana jokes that he fits the
FBI’s terrorist profile to a tee – he’s in his mid-20s, Muslim and came to
the United States on a student visa. The predominantly white audience at
McGuire’s Comedy club on New York’s Long Island laughs – even as Sarwana,
who is from Pakistan, warns them they better, or he’ll put them on his
mailing list. The 25-year-old says the best way to deal with stereotypes is
to joke about them. “That’s how other immigrant communities did it. Now it
is our turn,” he says, referring to Muslims and Arabs.
Sarwana, who has a master’s degree in physics from the State University of New York, has always used his Pakistani background in his routine. “Comedy is very personal, you have to talk about your own pain and suffering,” he says. Since September 11, Sarwana talks more about racial profiling, Afghanistan and Muslims during his performances. “As a Pakistani I have a lot to say, but I try to keep it funny,” says Sarwana, who is a physicist by day.
Other comedians of Middle Eastern ethnicity share Sarwana’s sentiments. Dean Obeidalla, 33, is half-Sicilian and half-Palestinian. “I have always talked about being an Arab in my routine,” says Obeidalla, “Since September 11, I talk about it even more.” Obeidalla, who is a researcher at NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” performs as many as 10 times a week. He has appeared in many clubs on the East Coast, though he likes to stay in New York City. “My goal is to humanise Arabs and Palestinians ... Arab-Americans are good people who came here to lead a better life,” he says.
“People have said horrible, horrible things about Arabs to my face, not knowing that I am an Arab,” he says. After September 11, Obeidalla says he felt shame and guilt. “It is bizarre, I was born here,” he says, “You can’t hold everyone responsible. I haven’t met an Arab-American who hasn’t condemned the attacks.” In his routines, Obeidalla talks about what it is like to be Arab-American, to have Muslim cousins – he is Catholic – who were beaten up after September 11. “Immediately after 9/11 it was difficult to say anything, but luckily cooler heads prevailed,” he says.
Iranian-American comic Hood says there recently have been two trends in the media regarding the Middle East: “Either to demonise us, or make us angels.” Neither is true. “There are plenty of people just like myself, normal human beings,” said Hood, who was on his way to a tour of the mid-west. Hood likes to take an “in-your-face” approach. Often mistaken for an Arab, he takes personal experiences and tools them into subtle commentaries on racism and politics. He says “edginess is dissent,” adding, “sometimes I’ll say something really racist myself and I hope the audience comes away with the larger, poignant issue ... But I’m not up there to preach.”
Maysoon Zayid is a Palestinian-American born in New Jersey. A trained actress with a mild form of cerebral palsy, she focuses on comedy as “the best way for unconventional actresses to get noticed.” Zayid, 25, says that after September 11 she stopped using stereotypes flippantly. “I used to make light of them; now that they seem to have become a reality, I try not to reinforce anything negative.”
After the first anniversary of the attacks, Obeidalla says he has sensed a renewed tension in his audiences. Recently, when he mentioned he was Arab midway in his routine, someone in the audience called him a terrorist. Still he says he gets his biggest laughs from being Arab-American, though he doesn’t believe in playing stereotypes. “My mother is Sicilian, but I don’t make mob jokes,” he says, “I want it to be much more personal. The best comedy is very truthful comedy.” Zayid says she was getting laughs for her “misunderstood Muslim” routine long before September 11. One her favourite lines, is: “I’m a Palestinian Muslim virgin with cerebral palsy from New Jersey. And if you don’t feel better about your life, you should!”
As part of his routine, Obeidalla tries to think of ideas to create goodwill – he jokes about having an Arab puppet called Mustafa, or an Arab boy band, Shish Kid Bad – in order to make Arabs more familiar to an American audience. “When they read about civilian casualties, I want them to know that these are real people.” In the summer, Obeidalla teamed up with Scott Blakeman, a Jewish comedian, to hold benefit shows for Seeds of Peace, a group that brings Arab and Jewish teenagers together in summer camps to promote peace and understanding. “Any statement you make on the Middle East, make it in the interest of peace,” Obeidalla says.
Sarwana is currently working with other immigrant comedians on a “United Nations of Comedians” show to be held on October 15 at Caroline’s on Broadway, Manhattan to mark UN Day next month. Sarwana and Zayid, along with others, will be performing.