Allah Made Me Funny is a comedy troupe that focused on breaking down stereotypes, without having to break down others in the process. Instead of focusing on other cultures, the comedians focus on themselves: namely, their struggles and the distorted perceptions that they must contend with as Muslim in post-9/11 America. Rather seeming to complain, they show that the perceptions that they have to deal with are themselves unreasonable and, frankly, absurd. This means allows Americans both to come together and to see for themselves how unfair Islamophobia is for the victims and America at large through humor. Mohammed Ahmer deals with the difficulties that he and his family has to deal as a first-generation family in America. First of all,
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His first joke directly attacks the media’s portrayal of people who look similar to him: swarthy, with untrimmed beards. Since he lets the audience fill in the blank, I am forced to think for myself what case I might see other people who look like Usman might be depicted in media. I am forced to admit, I would only see someone who looks like him doing someone disparaging towards America, either protesting or doing something of ill-repute, and otherwise being ignored. This perception is explored when two people who “looked like skinheads,” but who Usman was “not going to judge.” Came up next to him and called him “Osama” and “Gandhi.” This exemplifies the simplistic nature of racism: people are considered to be mere stereotypes rather than complex human beings. Rather than actually thinking of something to insult Usman with, he was called the first things that came to mind: the former public enemy #1 of the United States and symbol of nonviolent resistance. While in this case the result might have been disjointed and awkward, this also brings to attention what stereotypes themselves are and how improper of a way they are to judge people.
Another way that this affects people from the Middle East is that others from Iran would rather be called Persian rather than Iranian due to the negative representations of Iranians in mainstream media. That the media would obligate people to present themselves as not
His first joke directly attacks the media’s portrayal of people who look similar to him: swarthy, with untrimmed beards. Since he lets the audience fill in the blank, I am forced to think for myself what case I might see other people who look like Usman might be depicted in media. I am forced to admit, I would only see someone who looks like him doing someone disparaging towards America, either protesting or doing something of ill-repute, and otherwise being ignored. This perception is explored when two people who “looked like skinheads,” but who Usman was “not going to judge.” Came up next to him and called him “Osama” and “Gandhi.” This exemplifies the simplistic nature of racism: people are considered to be mere stereotypes rather than complex human beings. Rather than actually thinking of something to insult Usman with, he was called the first things that came to mind: the former public enemy #1 of the United States and symbol of nonviolent resistance. While in this case the result might have been disjointed and awkward, this also brings to attention what stereotypes themselves are and how improper of a way they are to judge people.
Another way that this affects people from the Middle East is that others from Iran would rather be called Persian rather than Iranian due to the negative representations of Iranians in mainstream media. That the media would obligate people to present themselves as not