It's Time for Muslim Comedians to Stand Up

Nawaz, who has named her company Fundamentalist Films, understands the role that comedy can play in challenging the mainstream representation of Muslims as angry, alienated and dangerous. Like "The Cosby Show," her series is deceptively gentle, simultaneously shocking and unthreatening.

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Several Muslim comedians have also emerged in Britain during the past few years. The most popular female stand-up is Shazia Mirza, who first attracted attention after Sept. 11, 2001, for wearing a hijab on stage and beginning her routine with, "My name is Shazia Mirza. At least, that's what it says on my pilot's license." These days, Mirza has dropped the hijab and is gunning for broader appeal, preferring to be called a comedian rather than a Muslim comedian. She doesn't tell jokes about Islam so much anymore. That's a sign of progress, because most of Muslim comedy is still in its infancy. Many of our comedians focus on the same subjects: airport security, the dangers of having a beard (as well as the advantages -- you can always get a seat on the bus). But just as Chris Rock and other African American comedians speak not just about race but also about politics and relationships, so the challenge for Muslim comedy is to mine the comic veins not just in our culture but also in the human condition writ large.

The maddening thing for liberal Muslims, however, is that all the good work done by people such as Azhar Usman and Zarqa Nawaz can be undermined by fury over a teddy bear or a riot because of a cartoon. At those moments, voices of moderation must speak up. For did the prophet not say: "More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly"?

That prophet, of course, was Woody Allen.

sarfraz.manzoor@guardian.co.uk

Sarfraz Manzoor, a British writer and broadcaster, is the author of the forthcoming memoir "Greetings From Bury Park."