WHY SO SERIOUS?!

What has the Islamic community's reaction both in America and Iran been to your career choice and general irreverence?

I've never performed in Iran. They wouldn't allow it. My family has of course seen me on television in Iran. As for the community here (in America), I would say that the best and the worst reactions have come from Muslims in America. I've had so many women and girls walk up to me and say they're proud of me; they love what I do; they can relate to my stories. They thank me for doing what I do. But I also, however, get hate mail saying things like I'll have a hard time on Judgment Day etc. So I'd say, yes, the reactions have mostly come in extremes.

 

How devout would you say you are?

I grew up in a very traditional Iranian family. And I would say religion and culture are so intertwined that it's hard to separate one from the other. My family wasn't really devout in the sense they wouldn't pray five times a day, but they were very strict, which I think comes from religious influence. For me, it just became very important, especially after 9/11 to speak up in some way. It was really terrible it still is and I just had to speak up, post 9/11. So it was stand-up comedy as a form of activism or protest.

 

Like good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, is there good Islam and bad Islam?

I don't know if I'm qualified to answer that. Bad Islam, for example, is what terrorists do in the name of Islam, but other than that I don't know. I feel I'm often asked questions that should be asked of a religious scholar. So I don't know what to say.. Yes, there are some inequalities that I don't like, which I address on stage. For example, in a mosque, men pray in the front, and women pray at the back. I think that's not fair, so I made a joke about it. I said that we like it at the back, because we simply like the 'view'! Then I don't like the idea of harems, or men having multiple wives. The joke for that is, what if the joke really is on the man in case the harem was really a bunch of lesbians?!

 

Why do you choose to be in a hijab for your acts?

Yes, I do wear the hijab. That's what I wear in Iran there it's the law but one thing I noticed on my trips to Iran was the number of times per day that I was taking the hijab on and off. When in the house, I take it off; before going outside, I put it on; we get back home, we take it off. To me it felt like a mockery I wasn't the one mocking it the people who put the rules in place, I felt, were mocking it. They were forcing it on all women and it felt like mockery to do this on-off multiple times a day. So I had this idea for my stage act to go up on stage veiled, and then halfway through the act, take it off. So I did it partly for my own belief, and partly for the American audience. The former, for it was driving home the point of choice. As for the American audience, again going back to 9/11, there was such a fear about sighting a veiled Muslim woman, like each one was out to kill them… I just wanted to give Americans what they did not expect a veiled Muslim woman on stage cracking jokes. And I also wanted to show them that I both veiled and unveiled was the same person.

 

Is all your material/content Islam-related?

I wouldn't say all of it, but a lot of it is. It's about Islam; it's about growing up Iranian in this country; I do a fair amount about my parents; my upbringing; about the all-white town I grew up in. I talk about race, religion, but mainly I do talk about these things because they hadn't been talked about before, at least by no other Muslim woman comedienne (laughs).

 

Using comedy to disarm the Islamphobes is it your attempt to vindicate the religion?

I would say I'm trying to promote understanding of the religion or show that Islam isn't just about the bad things people see in the news. So I'm trying to combat the stereotypes; I'm trying to break down some of the misconceptions. Of course, in the end, it's about being funny. If you're not funny, you are not a comedian anymore.

 

Do you think Islam is a xenophobic/misogynistic religion, or has it been made out to be so by some?

Well yes, some of the laws are unfair. Say, the inheritance laws a woman inherits half of what a man inherits; in Iran, women don't have the right to initiate divorce, or in a custody battle, men get the children. In the punishment of stoning, men are buried to their waist, while women are buried to their neck. In stoning, if you can get yourself free, you are free to go. How can a woman, buried to her neck even think of prising herself free?

But I see myself and the work of other comedians as just one piece of the puzzle. See, comedy is not going to create world peace, but maybe I would have changed the mind of that one audience that one night.