Are Arabs funny? With comics like Syrian Daraid Laham, Egyptians Ismail Yassin and Adel Imam, Lebanese Chou-Chou, you would think that they are - but to the rest of the world, we’re not. “They don’t like us. They always seem like they are soiled up about something - they need to laugh,” goes a quote from the movie Just like Us. It explains how many in the West perceive the Arabs. Nevertheless, a new generation of Arab-American comedians is taking on this stereotype and, in so doing, has revived the art of stand-up comedy in the Middle East.
After 9/11, there emerged a band of Arab comedians that changed the voice of Arab comedy. The troupe was called ‘Axis of Evil’ (coined after Bush’s, now infamous, 2002 State of the Union Address) and it was comprised of Egyptian-American Ahmed Ahmed, Palestinian-American Aron Kader, Iranian-American Maz Jabrani, and Palestinian-American Dean Obeidallah. They started poking fun at things that scare us by laughing at the post-9/11 stereotypes Arabs had been branded with: terrorist, suicide bomber, fanatic. Comedian Aron Kader explains just how comic relief was desperately needed, “After 9/11, I would do typical jokes, family, observations, etc., but it felt like there was a big fat elephant in the room, so I addressed it - the uneasiness of being an Arab in the West - and it was like a sigh of relief.” The audience responded in kind and Arabs learnt that it was okay to laugh at themselves.
News of the ‘Axis of Evil’ comedy tour spread fast and in March 2007, The Axis of Evil Comedy Central Special aired on TV in the US. Later that year, the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour put on an unprecedented 27 sold out shows in five Middle Eastern countries (UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon.) ShowTime Arabia filmed the tour and turned it into a 12-part miniseries. The Showtime tour brought a new level of recognition to the group. Their fame spread like wildfire, and they were incredibly well received throughout the region: The Middle East was thirsty for humour. Though on subjects such as religion, sex, politics, and bad language, the group had to tone it down a little (in all places but Lebanon), audiences were nonetheless laughing at the same jokes that were performed in America - we got it.
Upon returning to the US, Ahmed Ahmed told friends how he had just returned from a mind-blowing tour of the Middle East but he explains, “These friends would respond ‘… and they got it?’” This lack of understanding inspired Ahmed Ahmed to direct a documentary titled Just Like Us. The film follows him on his 2009 tour of sold-out shows in the Middle East, alongside a crew of American comedians. The Americans discovered that comedy crosses borders. “What I want people to get from this movie,” Ahmed says, “is that people should not always believe what they say about Arabs and Muslims in the news. There is a large majority that goes to the malls, has barbeques, goes to Chili’s, and can laugh at jokes, just normal stuff.”
Although the ‘Axis of Evil’ no longer tours together, the comedians have frequently returned to the Middle East with other comedic talents (Western and Arabs), each time with a groundbreaking and successful outcome. Their legacy was to set in motion a new comedy movement in this region. Aron Kader finished the interview with a telling story of how after a certain show in the U.S. someone came to him and said, “Hey you’re funny, but should you really be making fun of us, your people?” Kader responded, “Absolutely! If we laugh at ourselves, then the rest of the world will laugh with us.”
