Ahmed Ahmed: From Helwan to Hollywood

A revolution is fomenting in the dank comedy clubs of America. Muslim and Middle Eastern standup comedians are using humor to confront stereotypes and in the process are changing the image of Muslims in the collective conscience of America. To be sure, this is not necessarily a new phenomenon. Minority groups in America have traditionally used humor, specifically standup comedy, as one component of an overall pattern of assimilation. For example, from the end of WWI to just a few years after WWII, when anti-Semitism was at its peak in America, there was a wave of Jewish comedians.

During the late 1950s all the way through the 1960s, when institutional racism against African Americans was beginning to disintegrate, there was a wave of Black comedians. Yet unlike the Black and Jewish comedians of days yore, who had the support and backing of their own communities (see the Chitlin circuit and the Catskills respectively), Muslim and Middle Eastern comedians continue to toil away in relative anonymity in their own communities. It is in this spirit that we will be spotlighting some of the leading Muslim comics in the America and Europe. These pioneers are trying to smash stereotypes in their own distinctive styles.

By Sadik H. Kassim

Ahmed Ahmed doesn’t get it. The Arab American comedian doesn’t understand why given all of the similarities between Muslims and Jews that they continue to fight with each other. “Look,” he says, “Jews and Muslims have more in common than any religion ever, if you think about it. Both Jews and Muslims don’t eat pork. We don’t celebrate Christmas. We both use ‘ccchhh’ in our pronunciation. And we’re both hairy creatures of God.” It is wry observations like these that have catapulted Ahmed into being not only the leading Muslim comedian in the country, but one of the premiere standup comics performing today period.

Onstage, Ahmed is mesmerizing. He is lithe and agile. It therefore comes as no surprise when Newsweek writes of him as having a “command of the stage that you rarely see; the way he holds the microphone, it's clear he dominates his instrument -- he's the Dizzy Gillespie of stand-up comedy. Tall and cocksure, his swagger brings his comedy home."

Born in Helwan, Egypt in 1970, his family moved to Riverside, California when Ahmed was three years old. This veteran of the competitive LA comedy circuit has gained international attention for his show with fellow comedian, the Rabbi Bob Alpert, entitled “One Arab, One Jew, One Stage”. He has appeared on several TV shows, including a brief stint on the popular MTV show Punk’d. He recently finished filming for the yet to be titled and highly anticipated Onion movie and is currently working on The Pilgrimage, a self-penned autobiographically inspired screenplay soon to be made into a major Hollywood film. Sadik Kassim recently caught up with Ahmed for MWU!

MWU! : How did you get started in standup comedy?

AA: I started doing standup comedy about ten years ago. I’ve lived in Hollywood about 15 years. The first seven years I lived here I was just sort of struggling as an actor trying to work as an actor and I landed a handful of roles playing mostly terrorists, cabdrivers and stuff like that. I was making a great living and it was fun to be working in movies and TV and such but it got really creatively boring and just depressing. When you know you’re more than what people see on TV and read about in propaganda and newspapers it makes you sort of want to do something about it. So I got into standup comedy because I just wanted to have a voice really. So I started about ten years ago and I totally just quit acting and went back to waiting tables doing open mics and amateur nights and contests and whatever I could do.

I eventually became a regular performer-paid performer-at the world famous Comedy Store in Hollywood which is owned by Mitzy Shore who is a Jewish woman who had this sort of epiphany to bring Arab comics on her stage around a year before 9/11. She thought there was going to be a war felt there was going to be a war. She’s like Yoda. She discovered a lot of people like Jim Carey and Robin Williams, Richard Pryor.

MWU! : Many people started there, like Letterman and Leno.

AA: Letterman, Leno they all started there. So when she sees somebody that she likes she’ll bring them in and sort of let them use the Comedy Store as their launching pad, sort of training ground. It’s like a college, an artist colony as opposed to a club. Then 9/11 happened and I’d been doing comedy 7 or 8 years prior to my arrival at the Comedy Store, so I was already sort of honed as a comic. When 9/11 happened I’d been talking about Arab and Muslim humor prior to that as well. But when 9/11 happened I became sort of forced to write new material and make it more self-deprecating and a little bit more political and controversial. That’s sort of where it all started.

MWU! : Who are your major comedy influences?

AA: Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, George Carlin.

MWU! : Traditionally, first generation parents direct their children towards professional careers such as Physician, Lawyer, Engineer, etc… Was it the same for you? If so how did your parents react to your decision of becoming a comedian?

AA: I have four sisters and a brother. All my sisters are really academically inclined and educated. My parents wanted us to go off and do the sort of natural thing that second generation Middle Eastern and Muslim children are supposed to do. I just went the opposite direction. My parents didn’t really agree with it at first but when I started gaining a little bit of progress and success they became a little more open to it. Now they fully accept it and support me.

MWU! : Some people would say that comedy is an unnecessary religious diversion. That it takes one away from performing their duties and is therefore not something that should be encouraged. How do you respond to such criticisms?

AA: I’ve never heard any. When you say that some people have criticized comedy against religion, who have you heard that from?

MWU! : I’ve heard it said quite often regarding entertainment in general, including comedy.* (See note at end of interview – SK).

AA: I believe that people who think that way don’t know the true belief of what Allah wants us to do. I think God definitely has a sense of humor, if He doesn’t then I don’t know what planet you’re from. Because without laughter…people don’t realize that there is an actual endorphin that is released in your brain that goes into your bloodstream into your body that is medicine. Laughter is medicine. And the Prophet used to be a big storyteller and have a great sense of humor from what I understand. I mean I’ve had a few people not say that but a few people that think that you know. I think a lot of it has to do with fear too. The Qur’an is a book that was beautifully written but is also very heavy. It’s got a very fearful outlook if you interpret it that way. I used to interpret it that way but then I made my Hajj in 1997 and after performing the Hajj I realized that there is a different outlook on Islam depending on how you look at it.

MWU! : There is a wide spectrum of interpretation.

AA: There’s like 70 branches of Islam. So it’s like whatever works for you. And you know that a true Muslim can’t really judge another Muslim. It’s not up to us to judge. Whatever is between you and Allah is between you and Allah.

MWU! : It’s unfortunate that some people try to maintain an exclusive hold on interpreting Islam.

AA: Every religion does. That’s why religion is harmful in some ways. People take it too serious. It’s good to take it serious but not too serious to the point where it takes away from your everyday living. There’s got to be that fine balance in thinking. That’s what Islam advocates- to be unified and to accept everybody. Not deny those beliefs.

MWU! : Your show with Bob Alpert is an example of comedy doing good things, bringing people together.

AA: Sure, sure.

MWU! : How did the show with Bob Alpert come about?

AA: Bob Alpert contacted me after September 11, after he saw my appearance on The View with Barbara Walters and decided to have me join him on his tour. We do a show called “One Arab, One Jew, One Stage.” It’s not like we’re doing the “hey here’s the Arab Jew show let’s all get along.” We’re doing it more from the point of view of he’s a Jew I’m an Arab and we’re both doing our standup comedy. We’re both hanging out as friends and there’s nothing wrong with it. And it’s not our problem if the Middle East crisis is escalating, it’s their problem over there. If they can’t live together and find a way to win you know we might as well do it over here and if we can do it over here it’s fine. I mean Bob Alpert and I what we do is more of a symbol of our friendship. There is no political statement behind it. It’s more of a symbol than it is a political statement.

MWU! : What’s been the audience reaction to the act? Jewish audiences, Muslim audiences, mixed audiences, any differences?

AA: It’s been great. We don’t have that many Muslim audiences because comedy for Muslims is a really new thing. Because they’re so conditioned to believe that laughter is haram (religiously prohibited)-that we shouldn’t laugh. But why would God give you that emotion if you’re not allowed to use it? That’s like saying God gave you sexual organs but you can’t have babies. It’s like yeah, you’re supposed to have sexual intercourse with your mate to produce children. We’re supposed to have a sense of humor in order to laugh. It’s a relief. For some body not to use that or to stifle that side of it I think that’s haram.

MWU! : So you’ve been performing mostly in front of Jewish audiences?

AA: Mostly Jews. We’ve been doing a lot of colleges that have mixed crowds. There’s been a couple of Mosques were we’ve done interfaith shows.

MWU! : When you do perform in front of Muslim or Middle Eastern audiences, what’s been the typical reaction?

AA: They like most of it. I get a couple of Muslims that criticize a few of my jokes, but you get that with anybody.

MWU! : Any limits to the type of material that you perform or include in your act?

AA: Sure, I mean there are certain thing that I just don’t think are appropriate. It also depends on what crowd you’re doing. If I’m at a comedy club 12:30 at night or 1:00 in the morning and there’s 10 drunk people I’m not going to be so censored. But if I’m in a synagogue in front of 500 Jews or 500 Muslims and Jews then I’m obviously going to respect their realm of what it is that comedy is.

MWU! : You’ve been doing this for a while, but there has been a wave of Muslim and Middle Eastern standup comics. This typically happens with minority groups as part of an overall pattern of assimilation into the culture at large. After WWII for example, there was a wave of Jewish comedians. During the 50’s and 60’s there was a wave of Black comedians. Do you think the current wave of Muslim and Middle Eastern comics is part of this trend?

AA: Yeah, it’s a natural progression. You know 9/11 happened there was a big misunderstanding of Arabs and Muslims so there was a few of us that decided to sort of jump on that opportunity. I was already doing it years before so when 9/11 happened it wasn’t anything new for me. It was just sort of like okay here comes another backlash that I’ve got to deal with this. There’s that sort of, I mean I saw a lot of comics come out of the woodworks that were from Muslim or Middle Eastern descent. There’s only two guys that I know, really three guys, that were doing comedy years before 9/11. Dean Abidallah from New York, John Qader from LA and Maz Jobrani from LA. Everybody else just sort of took that opportunity to make fun of themselves and you know rightfully so. I think it was time. I just think it’s you know, most of these comedians all they’re falling back on is just that niche and I think it’s important to cross over and not just be looked at as a Muslim or Middle Eastern comedian.

MWU! : To have broad appeal.

AA: Broad appeal, whites, Jews, Chinese, Black, Caucasian, Asian, whatever, everybody should be listening to you not just Arabs and Muslims.

MWU! : Earlier in the interview, you mentioned that you quit acting out of disgust of consistently playing sleazy and stereotypical Arab roles.

AA: Correct.

MWU! : Which brings up the following questions. Hollywood is portrayed in the mainstream media as being a liberal and politically correct town. Your experience however proves that Hollywood consistently pigeonholes and stereotypes Arabs and Muslims. So is Hollywood a truly liberal town?

AA: No.

MWU! : Are a lot of these roles created out of sheer ignorance or is the stereotyping intentional?

AA: Yes, all of the above. I think in the past maybe six months to a year I’ve read for a couple of roles that have been a little more politically correct but I haven’t seen them come to air and I was never cast in them. They might be auditioning people for them but until I see one I’m not going to believe it. There’s a couple of shows out there where they had like Indian characters. I still haven’t seen just a straight up like Egyptian or Saudi or Lebanese character of any good nature. It’ll be a long time before they make an Arab guy a hero. I’ve been denied to go to all the comedy festivals, talk shows, you know a lot of these things in Hollywood they don’t want a funny Arabic guy on TV. Why would they want somebody funny and likable who’s from the Middle East? In the end they just perpetuate the negative. It’s really going to have to come within. It’s going to have to come within the Muslim and Middle Eastern community to get behind all of our artists and support them and make a stink about it because Hollywood is not going to do it. I know that for a fact. I just got back from London where there is a huge Muslim contingency and I was really well received out there in London.

MWU! : You’ve been touring lately. Any difference in the Muslim audiences here versus say London?

AA: Oh yeah, they’re really organized over there. They’re organized, they’re more conservative but they’re organized and more supportive. I mean I played the Royal Albert Hall and 3000 Muslims showed up. I headlined did half an hour just straight Bill Cosby type material and they loved it.

MWU! : When you audition and people see your name Ahmed Ahmed, do they automatically try you out for these stereotypical roles only?

AA: You know it depends. I know a lot of these casting people don’t want to typecast me but they’re working for the networks and producers and studios. A lot of these casting people always look at me and say, “Look I know you’re better than this. You’re American. You’re a regular guy. I think there will be some turning point. I don’t know how soon it’ll be. I’m definitely trying to push it. I’m just hoping that people from the Muslim community will step up and organize. You know it’s okay to be a Muslim and be in the entertainment industry. Muslims are afraid of acting and comedy and entertainment because they think it’s haram. That the Qur’an advocates for us not to do that. I think they’re wrong. It doesn’t say anything in the Qur’an about not being able to entertain I don’t think. If there is correct me.

MWU! : I haven’t seen anything.

AA: I mean I think there’s a limit towards dancing and that sort of thing but acting is just saying words. Other people’s words. Being a comedian and telling your story, if you do it with enough tact and respect I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. If Muslims are so irritated and frustrated with Hollywood stereotypes and media propaganda it’s up to them to take responsibility and that’s the whole point of being a Muslim- to take responsibility for yourself. Stop waiting for other people to open the door for us because they never will. We have to open it. Without aggression, but with art and poetry and comedy.

MWU! : Through creative outlets.

AA: Yeah, through creativity and artistic endeavors. It’s the only way people are going to respect us and it’s the only way they’re going to listen to us. Look at Muhammad Ali man. He was a converted Muslim but still he went around the world and fought people. Does it say in the Qur’an that you can’t beat people up? I haven’t seen that. He went out and beat people up in the name of Islam and became world famous. Now if there is somewhere in the Qur’an that says I can’t go around and make people laugh in the name of Islam then I don’t know what to do.

MWU! : You have a new project called The Pilgrimage. Tell us a little about it.

AA: Yeah, there’s a woman named Phyllis Carlyle who read my script and would like to produce it. She produced a movie called Seven with Brad Pitt. She’s been around the business a long time. She used to manage John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe and Salma Hayek. She has been around for a while. She’s part Lebanese and she read my script one day. A script called The Pilgrimage so it’s in pre-production.

MWU! : What is it about?

AA: It’s really a sort of autobiographical story of myself. About a young boy who is born in Egypt and raised in Riverside, California moves to LA at 19 to pursue a career in acting gets stereotyped as an actor and decides to get into standup comedy. Becomes a comedian eventually and after some success as a comedian his world sort of becomes disillusioned and gets caught up in the smoke and mirrors of Hollywood becomes disillusioned and ends up having a ru’iya (vision) and takes a pilgrimage to Mecca with his mother. Sort of sees Islam for what it’s worth.

MWU! : How was the Hajj a turning point for you?

AA: It just made me see Islam for what it was worth and made me able to go to one place and see people from all four corners of the earth at one place and one time. Made me just become a little more worldly and less sort of secular, because Hollywood can make you very secular.

MWU! : You also worked on the Onion Movie, what’s that about?

AA: I just wrapped the Onion Movie. It’s based on the Onion news, it’s like a sketch movie. Stevan Segal is in it, Rodney Dangerfield is in it. I normally would never play I told myself I would never play a terrorist ever again unless it was done in a satire. This movie was straight up in your face comedy. So I play a terrorist but it is all done in comedy and satire. So we’ll see I mean I think Arabs and Muslims are definitely, they’ll get mad when they see this movie but it was purposely done to ruffle people’s feathers a little bit.

MWU! : When you appeared on The View Star Jones took a liking to you. She was hitting on you. Where you upset when she got married?

AA: (Laughter). No, I was very happy for her, she’s a really nice woman she treated me with respect. All the women on The View were really nice to me and respectful and really enjoyed the comedy it was a good experience.

MWU! : You were on the TV show Punk’d as well.

AA: Yeah, I did four episodes of Punk’d. Ashton Kutcher, his people found me at the Comedy Store and we did four episodes of Punk’d. We pulled a prank on Halle Berry, Lara Flynn Boyle, Travis the drummer from Blink 182 and Outkast. Then they released me because they said I got overexposed.

MWU! : How is Halle Berry?

AA: She’s sweet. She was in the movie Executive Decision where I played a terrorist with her but she didn’t remember me.

Read more about Ahmed Ahmed at his official website

Note: Regarding the unacceptability of entertainment, I’ve heard it said quite often at religious circles (halaqas) and by quite a few religious “scholars”. This question is representative of the beliefs of certain people regarding entertainment.