- Hasan Al-Habib used comedy to counter bullying he received at school for being a Muslim.
- Muslim comedians have been fighting prejudice across the world with comedy shows.
British Muslim comedian Hasan Al-Habib has received the Breaking Talent Award 2023 of the Birmingham Comedy Festival.
Born in London, Hasan moved to Lickey Hills, on the outskirts of Birmingham, at the age of two.
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He said he discovered comedy could be his defense against bullying he received at school for being a Muslim in the post-9/11 world, Birmingham World reported.
“I learned that if you’re funny, they can’t make fun of you,” he said.
He learned the basics of stand-up performance at university when he was shortlisted for the Chortle Student Comedy Award 2022.
“I want to see what I can achieve; I want to try,” Hasan said.
He added, “I love stand-up, but I want to try acting too – I’d love to do comic acting. Sometimes I have ideas, and I can’t expand them on stage; they need others, so I’d love to do a sitcom, to write.
“Documentaries as well! I liked the idea of me, as a British Iraqi comedian, doing a documentary about going to Iraq. Iraqi culture has such a heavy emphasis on humor.”
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Connecting People
While Hasan used comedy to counter racism, many use it therapeutically and as a way to connect people through the power of laughter.
Muslim comedians have been fighting prejudice across the world with comedy shows.
In North Carolina, the Muslim Student Association hosted a comedy show in April 2018 to counter hate with humor and showcase the challenges facing Muslims in today’s America.
MuslimFest, the largest Muslim festival in North America, also hosted Preacher Moss, a Black Muslim American who shared his experiences of race and culture in stand-up comedy.
In April 2016, the Muslim student association at Texas A&M University hosted a stand-up comedy in which comedian Azhar Usman challenged anti-Muslim prejudice through laughter and personal anecdotes.