To wrap up the third day of Islam Appreciation Week, the MSA was fortunate enough to get New York based storyteller, popular social media personality, and comedian, Aman Ali, for Jokes’n’Jihad: Breaking the Awkward Silence.
Overall, the event provided a great look into the everyday struggles of the 21stMuslim. Right from the get-go, he had the room laughing with his joke about growing up in a small, Indian-Muslim household where marriage was defined as “between a man and a cousin.”
The night took us through many accounts in Ali’s life, some in which his Indian-Muslim identity lead him to be the outcast, all which made us laugh. He talked about the time his first grade teacher, Mrs. Dickerson, tried to teach students about religious holidays celebrated and forgot to include Eid. When Ali asked that he wanted his holiday included, she encouraged him to share with the class the next day everything he did on Kwanza.
He went on to discuss other matters, such as the difficulty New York’s Public School system, which recently added major Muslim holidays on their calendar for school closing, will have as Muslim debate over the moon sighting.
As Toaha Hussain, who was the emcee for the night, stated in his introduction, “Stand-up comedy can give social critique and instigate transformation in an audience with a variety of perspectives. Humor also serves as a tool to address misconceptions and stereotypes, and the problems they cause.” Throughout his performance, Aman Ali highlighted typical events that take place in most American Muslims’ lives in a funny and lighthearted manner. From Hajj, Eids, and Ramadan to his interaction with the grand Mufti of Tanzania, his Sunday school crush, to the “other inbox” on Facebook which many women have to deal with, Aman Ali covered a variety of topics pertaining to the Muslim experience. It was a great way to share with anyone in the audience who may not be familiar with Islam a little bit about ourselves and the experiences we have as part of this American community.
Lyba Zia
Comedian Aman Ali
Jokes'n'Jihad