Ali Ardekani ( fa, علی اردکانی; born October 11, 1974), best known by his stage name Baba Ali ( fa, بابا علی), is an Iranian-born American comedian, games developer, businessman, and actor.

Early life

Although born into a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

family from

Ardakan Ardakan ( fa, اردكان, also romanized as Ardakān and Artagan) is the capital city of Ardakan County, Yazd Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 75,271 in 22,475 families. Ardakan is the second major city of Yazd Province. ...

, Ardekani was raised in a secular

irreligious Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...

household in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. From the age of 18 he studied many religions including

wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...

. At the age of 20, Ardekani

converted to Islam Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

after attending an Islamic camp. He belonged to a wealthy family who did not accept his conversion to Islam, and subsequently disinherited him.

Career

Ardekani worked in the IT field in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

He and Mahdi Ahmad founded Ummah Films, a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

film company which provides

Halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...

(Islamically permissible) entertainment to Muslims and non-Muslims. In 2006, Ardekani rose to prominence within the online

Muslim community ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

with Ummah Films, which discusses various Islamic topics using humor. The company has produced several web series, including ''The Reminder Series'' and ''Ask Baba Ali''. Ardekani has appeared on the

Islam Channel Islam Channel is a UK-based, free-to-air, English language, Islamic-focused satellite television channel and online media platform funded by advertising and donations. It was founded in 2004 by Mohamed Ali Harrath (born 1963), a Tunisian act ...

and he has become a frequent guest at various Muslim conferences and events including the

ICNA Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is an Islamic North American grassroots umbrella organization. History ICNA is an offshoot of the Muslim Students' Association (MSA), and was founded by immigrants from South Asia. In 1971, a number of Sou ...

-MAS convention, Evening of Inspiration, the Global Peace and Unity Event Baba Ali and MuslimFest. Ardekani has also designed two board games. In 2005, he designed ''Mecca to Medina'', a board game about trading and negotiating with an Islamic-theme that can be played by all religions. Seven people invested $18,000 and made a 24% profit. In 2010, he designed ''Kalimaat'', a word game in the same genre as Taboo, about common knowledge and memory. In 2011, Ardekani founded Muslim matrimonial website, Half Our Deen. Ardekani has traveled the world doing stand-up to a wide range of Muslim and non-Muslim audiences. He has performed over 400 events across the world including the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada for audiences as large as 40,000. His work has been reviewed in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' and ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' as well as featuring in seven episodes of

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...

's ''The Fizz News''. In 2015, he starred alongside

Omar Regan Omar Laquon Regan (born June 12, 1975) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and former musician. Early life Regan was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States and was raised in Highland Park, Michigan to African American parents. Regan did ...

in the comedy film '' American Sharia''.

Comedy style

Ardekani avoids grandstanding and politicizing issues by simply telling it like it is. However, instead of mocking Islam, he uses a comical approach, without using any offensive material. His sharp-witted style takes a realistic look at the everyday issues Muslims are confronted with, including being a Muslim teen in America, attending Muslim weddings, and dealing with cultural issues that have impacted Muslims.

Videography

Personal life

In 2001, Ardekani was married. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. His studio is the second bedroom of the apartment.

References

External links

* *
Ummah FilmsUmmah Films
on Twitter
Hurray For Baba Ali websiteKalimaat websiteHalf Our Deen websiteMilo Productions Inc. websiteThe Muslim Funnymentalists website
*Tareq
Interview: Ali Ardekani (Baba Ali)
''Product Muslims''. March 25, 2010 *Hossain, Raakin
Interview: Baba Ali / Ali Ardekani
''SalaamCal''. October 23, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Baba Living people 1974 births American Muslims Iranian emigrants to the United States Converts to Islam YouTubers from California Iranian stand-up comedians American male comedians American stand-up comedians Muslim male comedians American media executives Video bloggers Iranian people in the video game industry American game designers Board game designers American music managers Iranian businesspeople 21st-century Iranian male actors Iranian male film actors American male film actors 21st-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from California Comedians from Los Angeles Male actors from Tehran Male actors from Greater Los Angeles People from Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles 21st-century American comedians American male bloggers American bloggers YouTube vloggers Comedy YouTubers Commentary YouTubers