Azhar Usman
Azhar Usman
Azhar Usman ©
Azhar Usman is part of an emerging genre of Muslim comedy in the West. But is Muslim comedy a fashion that will fade away or is it here to stay? We inteviewed him during his 2003 tour of the UK.
Azhar Usman is a lecturer, community activist and an attorney. The mix of vocations is unusual enough, but it's his step into stand up comedy that makes him unique.
Azhar is a practising Muslim and began performing his stand up comedy early in 2001. Since then he has performed in cities all over the United States and the UK.
Unapologetically Muslim and performing to diverse audiences, occasionally not even in English (being fluent in Spanish and Urdu), he's part of the changing face of the American Muslim identity as well as that of American comedy.
2007 British tour
The Sunday Programme caught up with Azhar on a 2007 tour of Britain, entitled Allah Made Me Funny. The tour was initially planned in the aftermath of 9/11.
Azhar talks about being part of the global Muslim community and how he combines Islam with humour without crossing the line into disrespectful territory, and points out that the tradition of Muslim humour dates back to the Prophet himself.
Sunday Programme, 15 April 2007