Muslim comic wants to make us laugh, and think
Just Islam. The limits are all grey in the Middle East.
Comedian Dean Obeidallah is a New Yorkbased comedian and political commentator who has been on a decade-long comedic crusade to fight misconceptions about the Muslim community — one joke at a time.
How did you get into comedy?
I had been a lawyer, and I really hated it. And there was a funniest-lawyer competition that my local law firm was having. And the people I worked with said, “You should do this. You should do anything but law, because you’re not good at it.” I did it, for fun. And I liked it and started doing it more and more. And soon, I started doing more open mics, and I realized it appealed to me much more than I thought it would.
So, I left a job as a lawyer to work in comedy.
How did you become the Muslim comedian?
When I was first doing comedy, when I was just getting up at mics, I didn’t talk about being Muslim or Arab much. It was a part of who I was, but it wasn’t that interesting to people. Then obviously after 9/11, it became a bigger issue. At the beginning it wasn’t really about being an activist, but it was about sharing my experience as an Arab in America.
But a few years after 9/11, it became a cause for me. It became activism by intention, not just by accident any longer. After 9/11, things were changing around me and people were saying things about Arabs and Muslims that were shockingly wrong. I had to use my skills to change the discourse, and as a lawyer I couldn’t sue people to like Muslims. But as a comedian, I could try to get people to laugh about us and show how ridiculous some of the comments and accusations about us are.
Is there anything you don’t talk about, that is off-limits? How about when you do shows in the Middle East, for example?
Each comedian chooses their own boundaries. I do jokes about American politicians, I make fun of ISIS, I talk about anti-Muslim bigots. It’s important to talk about the topics of the day.
When I’m in the Middle East, the jokes I can make are remarkably more similar than you realize. You can make jokes about the Kardashians or Jon Stewart and people there will get it. The limits there are: no jokes about the leaders of the countries you are in, try to stay away from graphic sexual material, and they tend to want to stay away from religion completely, not
In the U.S., is it becoming more difficult or easier to be a Muslim comedian?
It’s hard to say. In the U.S., the view of Muslims is more negative now in polls than it was after 9/11. It’s become more challenging now than it ever has been. And we can thank ISIS and Al Qaeda for that. We can also thank the professional anti-Muslim bigots and right-wing politicians for drumming up hate. It really is a difficult time for Muslims in America. The atmosphere has changed.
Have your goals changed over time? Do you feel your job is to make people laugh or to make people hate Muslims less? Or is it the same goal?
My number one priority as a comedian goal is to make people laugh. That’s it. If within that, if I can inform them about Muslims and give them a different perspective, that’s great. To me, the highest form of comedy is when you are entertaining and educating people. Now I have a Sirius Radio show on Saturday morning, where sometimes I am funny and sometimes I’m serious.
In America, most people don’t have a Muslim friend, as polls show. I believe that human relationships are a good counterbalance to misconceptions. So on my radio show, I open with “Hi. I am Dean Obeidallah and I want to be your Muslim friend.” It’s one thing if you say it on a radio show if I showed up to their apartment and said it, that would be a little creepy. Dean Obeidallah will be performing at 10 p.m. on Saturday at Mississauga’s Celebration Square as part of MuslimFest, a celebration of Muslim art and culture.