America’s Funniest Muslim Women

How female Muslim comedians in America are using humor to combat negative stereotypes and challenge perceptions about their faith.

by Omar Bilal Akhtar.

Negin Farsad held the microphone with both her hands, clutching it close to her chest. She wore a black sleeveless dress, bright red lipstick and large round silver earrings, her short, black hair parted to the side. It’s a look that stood out amongst the often drab and colorless wardrobe of New York City comics. It also gave the 33-year-old comedian a coquettish, little-girl vibe. Her colorful presence was in stark contrast to the rust brick wall that served as the backdrop to the stage at Standup New York, an Upper West Side comedy club.

Negin Farsad

Against this background, Farsad looked tiny, her high-pitched voice adding to her diminutive stature. With a slight quiver, she began her set, telling the audience she was now going to discuss her “areas.”

“I recently had to get an STD test because …I was a raging slut for a period of my life…that ended last week.” said Farsad. Her punchlines rolled out deliberately after every pause, each revelation raunchier than the last.

As the crowd responded with a mixture of gasps and guffaws, Farsad continued, “The good news is that my vagina is closed and disease free, until marriage! Or you know…until someone takes me out to dinner at a restaurant with a Zagat rating of at least eight out of 30.”

That kind of raunchy humor might be standard fare in the New York comedy scene. But the person performing it doesn’t fit the mold at all. Negin Farsad is an Iranian-American woman who identifies herself as a Muslim. She is, in her words, “totally screwed.”

The Chinese Mormon Church

When we think of Mormons we usually think of white folks from Utah right? Think again.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered a Mormon church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn whose congregation was made up almost entirely of Chinese immigrants, with all the services in both Mandarin and Cantonese.

Here’s the article I wrote about it (originally published in The Brooklyn Ink,  Tuesday, Oct. 11th, 2011)

Chinese Mormon Church: How Mormons Are Using English Language To Reach Immigrants

Bing Ley asks me if I love English. The question takes me by surprise. I’ve been speaking English all my life and it never occurred to me that I could love the language. I tell him I think it’s alright. Ley looks down at his sneakers and takes his hands out of the pockets of his gray hoodie. He isn’t very tall but he hunches with apparent deference, making him look smaller. With an earnest smile, Ley tells me slowly and deliberately, “I…love…English.” With every word, he emphatically taps his chest and makes sure I understand him. He looks up at the two, tall, young Caucasian men, standing on either side of him. They nod their approval and one of them encouragingly puts his hand on Ley’s shoulder.

“How did you learn English?” I ask.

Ley once again looks at the two young men and with a broad grin and says “The church taught me.”

We are standing in a church in the heart of Sunset Park. The neighborhood is home to a large Chinese immigrant population and 22-year-old Bing Ley is a part of it. The neighborhood is filled with restaurants, bakeries, groceries and hair salons, almost every one of them has a sign in either Mandarin or Cantonese. The building we’re in is conspicuous with its white steeple and the neat, white lettering against a rust brown wall that says, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” This church, known as the Dyker Heights 4th Branch, is a Mormon church. Bing Ley is a recent convert to the religion. The two young men standing by his side are the missionaries who not only brought him into the faith, but also taught him how to speak English. …Read the whole article at The Brooklyn Ink