Arab-American comedian trying to bridge cultures Thursday, 05 January 2012 03:36

By Sonya F Weakley

As a budding actor, Ahmed Ahmed (pictured) wasn’t having much fun being typecast as a terrorist or cab driver. So he started using his Arab heritage to make people laugh.

After a few years in small clubs, Egyptian-born Ahmed was invited to join comedians Aron Kader, of Palestinian heritage, and Maz Jobrani, of Iranian descent, at the Comedy Store in Hollywood in 2000. They were the first comics to appear there in an all–Middle East act first billed as “Arabian Nights” and later changed to “The Arabian Knights.”

The show’s success inspired the trio to go on the road in November 2005 as the “Axis of Evil Comedy Tour,” using a well-known phrase coined by President George W Bush. They played to largely Arab-American and Persian-American audiences who identified with their use of humour to break down cultural barriers.

In 2007, the trio hit prime time when they starred in this country’s first television show that featured all Middle Eastern–American comedians, Comedy Central’s “The Axis of Evil Comedy Special,” which Time magazine dubbed “stand-up diplomacy.” The show later toured Middle Eastern cities, including Cairo, Dubai, Kuwait, Amman (where King Abdullah attended), Beirut and Riyadh.

Ahmed continues to perform with the tour and at the Comedy Store, but recently he took his laughter-is-the-best-medicine approach to another level. He donned the roles of director and producer to create his first documentary film, Just Like Us, released at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

The film documents several mixed-heritage comedians (Ahmed is the only Arab) touring Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon, but its focus is not the performers. It is the people watching them. Ahmed said the movie’s goal is to demonstrate to Western audiences that people in the Middle East have a sense of humor and like to laugh — just like people in other parts of the world.

The comedians in the film strike a subtle balance, since the concept of Western stand-up comedy — no topic is off limits — is not always accepted elsewhere. They avoid politics, religion and royalty, but they touch other delicate subjects just enough to make them funny — to everyone.

Ahmed believes comedy allows people to re-evaluate situations without stirring negative feelings. At Generation Change, an event held for young Muslims in September 2010 in Washington, he advised the attendees to think critically. “Don’t be afraid to speak your mind. Don’t be afraid to be self-deprecating.”

A video trailer for the documentary Just Like Us is available on YouTube.

Agencies

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