Allah Made Me Funny are an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

comedy troupe consisting of Bryant "Preacher" Moss,

Azhar Usman Azhar Muhammad Usman (born December 23, 1975) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer of Indian descent. He is a former lecturer, community activist and lawyer and has been referred to as the "Ayatollah of Comedy" and "Bin Lau ...

, and Azeem Muhammad, who was later replaced by Mohammed "Mo" Amer. They are the longest-running artistic collective of Muslim comic performers in the world.

History

2003–2007 (formation and early underground work)

In December 2003, Preacher Moss founded the act and made the debut at a club in Washington. In 2004,

joined. In May 2004, Moss, Usman and Azeem Muhammad launched a comedy tour titled 'Allah Made Me Funny'. In 2005, Usman explained the rationale behind the troupe's name saying "Well, the word 'Allah'... is actually beautiful. And it is nothing more, nothing less than the Arabic word for God. So Allah Made Me Funny is the Muslim answer to God Made Me Funky." Their show was modeled on

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

's '' The Original Kings of Comedy. Allah Made Me Funny started out in purely Islamic gatherings, such as the annual

Islamic Society of North America The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a non-profit Muslim religious organization based in the United States and serving North America. It provides a number of programs and services to North America's Muslim communities and broader societ ...

conference. During its first year, they toured 30 US cities, and also in Canada, Europe, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East. They performed more than 50 shows across the US and Canada in their first year. They have also performed at the Global Peace and Unity Event in the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

organised by

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 acti ...

. In June 2005, The Funniest Muslim Comedy Show - Now Out on DVD The Funniest Muslim Comedy Show - Now Out on DVD '' Allah Made Me Funny: The Official Muslim Comedy Tour'' DVD was released, which features Muhammad, Usman and Moss performing live stand-up at

The Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. History Originally, it was a 50-seat single venue (whic ...

in Brea,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In November 2006, they toured Australia. In April 2007, they performed in UK cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford, Cardiff and Glasgow. In November that year, they performed in UK cities including London, Cardiff, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Bradford.

2008–present (mainstream success and critical acclaim)

In October 2008, '' Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert'' film was released at 15 screens in U.S. cinemas. The documentary/concert film, which was created from the longest-running comedy tour in America, follows Amer, Moss and Usman as they perform at comedy clubs around the country, and mostly features a performance before an audience at the Heritage Forum in Anaheim, California in August 2007. The film pauses between acts to chronicle how they make comedy from their personal experiences as Muslims in

post Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

America, behind-the-scenes footage into the comedians' day-to-day family lives, the work that goes into their show and how they prepare new material. In April 2009, Allah Made Me Funny toured the UK, where they performed in cities, including London and Manchester. In October 2010, they took part in a one-off concert with

Aamer Rahman Aamer Rahman (; born 17 October 1982) is an Australian stand-up comedian of Bangladeshi descent. He is best known as one half of comedy duo Fear of a Brown Planet, along with Nazeem Hussain. Early life and education Rahman's parents, Rezina ...

and

Nazeem Hussain Nazeem Hussain is an Australian comedian, actor, television and radio presenter. He is best known as the creator and star of two television comedy shows, '' Legally Brown'' and '' Orange Is the New Brown''. He has also has multiple comedy sp ...

( Fear of a Brown Planet) at the Athenaeum Theatre in Paris. In September, October and November 2011, they toured the U.S. and UK with their "Word Domination Comedy Tour", where they performed in cities including Washington DC, Manchester, London, Birmingham and Glasgow. Allah Made Me Funny have been featured in over 100 major world media, including ''

CBS Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (frequently shortened to ''Sunday Morning'') is an American television newsmagazine that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and E.S. "Bud" Lamoreaux III, and originally hosted by Ch ...

'', ''

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'', and a whole episode of ''

ABC Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...

''. In June 2013, Amer and Usman featured on an interfaith special ''What’s So Funny About Religion?'' which was broadcast on the

CBS Television Network CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. Allah Made Me Funny have toured in over 30 countries in four different continents. They have been featured reviews and interviews from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

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'' and US television, plus international coverage on the ''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'' and in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''.

Comedy style and reception

Allah Made Me Funny shows have offered non-Muslims a chance to get to know about Islamic culture and have provided a place where Muslims can gather to share humor about their own lives and experiences. Their goal it is to break down racial and cultural stereotypes and foster understanding across cultures, while educating both Muslims and non-Muslims about tolerance and acceptance through comedy and break down barriers no matter what peoples' beliefs or backgrounds are. Whilst on the tour the comedians ensure that their jokes are respectful and do not include sexual references, profanity or backbiting. To ensure that Muslims will be comfortable attending their show, the comedians request that comedy clubs do not serve alcohol or pork, or allow smoking during performances. Their routines mostly includes stereotypes, misunderstanding and fear mongering over the Muslim faith in the world today. They talk about being Muslim in America, portraying the challenges and pitfalls, while simultaneously poking fun at Muslims in a light-hearted manner. The comedians' most popular jokes are about common Muslim stereotypes, with each comedian adding their own ethnic twist. Their routine includes jokes about themselves, their communities, 9/11, customs, religious holidays, family, marriage, popular culture, the government, and the complications of being Muslim in post 9/11 America.

Reviews

* "This is where mainstream America meets Islam, not with conflict but with laughter." – ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'' * "Allah Made Me Funny is funny...refreshing, respectful, and irreverent look at religion." – ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' * "...achieves it declared purpose." – ''

'' * "The title doesn't lie." – ''

'' * "The response from the audience is overwhelming." – ''BBC News'' * "Three Muslims walk into a theatre. Everyone laughs with them." – ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' * "Allah Made Me Funny has been a huge success by challenging stereotypes and giving people permission to relax and laugh." – ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

Awards

In October 2005, Allah Made Me Funny were honored at the annual media awards dinner of the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based Muslim Public Affairs Council.

References

External links

*
Allah Made Me Funny
on ''Chortle'' * Jalil, Jannat
Muslim comedians laugh at racism
''

''. June 15, 2004 * Ludden, Jennifer
Allah Made Me Funny: Muslim Comedy
''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

''. August 14, 2005
Comedy of terrors
''

''. July 1, 2006 * Welch Dylan
Allah Made Me Funny
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

''. November 17, 2006 * Aedy, Richard
Allah Made Me Funny
''

ABC Online The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the Australian Government, federal government and is administered by a government ...

''. November 22, 2006 * Manzoor, Sarfraz
Funny old world
''

''. April 6, 2007 * Ali, Wajahat
"Allah made me funny" comedy tour: “We’re trying to bring an expression about us, to us, from us”
''Altmuslim''. October 25, 2007 * Hall, Julian

''

''. November 13, 2007 * Martin, Michel
Poking Fun At Stereotypes In 'Allah Made Me Funny'
''

''. October 6, 2008 * Kettle, James
Comedy preview: Allah Made Me Funny, London
''

''. April 11, 2009 * Kieran, Fox
Muslim comedy trio take on UK
''

''. April 17, 2009 * Coleman, Michael
Allah Made Me Funny at Riot Act Comedy
''On Tap''. September 1, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Allah Made Me Funny 2003 establishments in the United States American comedy troupes American male comedians American stand-up comedians Muslim male comedians

History

2003–2007 (formation and early underground work)

2008–present (mainstream success and critical acclaim)

Comedy style and reception

Reviews

Awards

See also

References

External links