Category Archives: Humor and Satire

The Death of Bryan

Bible and Holy Land, Humor and Satire, Islam and Christianity, YouTube Watch

by Ian Burrell, The Independent, October 18, 2013

The British public has such “poor religious literacy” that a modern audience would be baffled by the Monty Python film The Life of Brian – because it would not understand the Biblical references, a senior BBC figure has claimed.

Aaqil Ahmed, the BBC’s head of religion and ethics, told The Independent that failings in religious education over two generations were undermining public understanding of contemporary national and international issues. “You had generations that missed out. We have poor religious literacy in this country and we have to do something about it,” he said.

He was speaking at the launch of an ambitious three-part BBC2 series which will address the subject of pilgrimage from a broad perspective and is intended to attract the interest of Atheists as much as religious believers.

“If you tried to make The Life of Brian today it would fall flat on its face because the vast majority of the audience would not get most of the jokes. They don’t have the knowledge,” Ahmed said. He questioned whether modern audiences would appreciate that the “great joke about the Sermon on the Mount” in the 1979 Python film, where a woman asks “What’s so special about the cheesemakers?”, was a reference to Jesus’s words “Blessed are the peacemakers” from the Bible. Continue reading The Death of Bryan →

In Egypt, your empathy alone is enough

"Arab Spring", Egypt, Ethics, Humor and Satire


Egyptian satirist and television host Bassem Youssef is surrounded by his supporters upon he arrival at the public prosecutor’s office in the high court in Cairo
(AFP Photo)

by Bassem Youseef, al-Arabiya, December 13, 2013

In some sort of excessive selfishness, Egyptians are tending to see as victims only those with whom they sympathize. For example, if you voice your anger over the verdict to imprison the Alexandria Girls (they were later acquitted), a friend will send you a photo of the Kardasa soldiers who were unjustly killed and tell you: “If you’re sad over this verdict, then remember those soldiers.”

If you express your grief over the killing of soldiers in Sinai, Muslim Brotherhood pages on social networking websites will publish photos of the dispersal of the Rabia sit-in and tell you: “If you’re sad over those soldiers, remember the protestors who were killed first.”

National security officer Mohammed Mabrouk gets killed in a terrorist ambush, and instead of praying for mercy over his soul – since he is a human being – some rush to publish photos and names of those killed by Interior Ministry gunfire. It is as if Mabrouk is responsible for all those martyrs. Continue reading In Egypt, your empathy alone is enough →

Sensational Sisi

"Arab Spring", Arabic Cartoons, Egypt, Humor and Satire, Terrorism Issue

The new not-a-coup leader of Egypt, General Abdel Fattah Sisi, has created a sensation. Not all of the response is serious, however. A dancer named Sophia attempts a belly dance while holding a picture of the general and blowing kisses to the camera.

And as for the new direction of security in the post-Muslim-Brotherhood state, you need look no further than a woman’s underwear. Now that the Muslim Brotherhood has been outlawed, chic underwear is in again.

Catoonists have also had a field day with the lionizing of the general. Continue reading Sensational Sisi →

Sitt Marvel

Ethics, Gender and Sexuality, Humor and Satire, Islamophobia

Why can’t Spiderman convert to Islam?

by Leon Moosavi, Al Jazeera, Nov. 27, 2013

[Editor’s Note: There are a number of hyperlinks in the original Al Jazeera article which are not reproduced here by a tired editor.]

There’s a strong current of Islamophobia gushing through our era. In various places, Muslims are still perceived as causing problems with their alleged insistence on being different. From Canada, to the UK, to Burma, and beyond, there are intense debates today that construct Muslims as a troublesome “race” who need to be contained. So when I heard about a new superhero that is going to eradicate this globalised Islamophobia, I was excited.

Commentators have celebrated Marvel’s new Muslim superhero, Kamala Khan (aka Ms Marvel), as a refreshing example of a strong Muslim woman who will normalise Muslim identity. Some even went as far as saying that Khan is “a much needed counter to Islamophobia in show business” and that “Marvel’s work is a watershed moment in breaking down fear and ignorance.” I wish these commentators were right, but sadly, I think they are overlooking some finer points of Kamala’s character that may suggest she is part of the problem rather than the solution.

A Muslim shapeshifter

From the limited information we have about Kamala, we know that she is a 16-year-old “shapeshifter”, who comes from a conservative and restrictive family. She apparently struggles with an identity crisis between her Muslim and American identities. This loose characterisation does not sound like a refreshing portrayal of a Muslim character to me, but in fact, is consistent with typical outdated stereotypes of Muslims. In particular, the idea that Muslim women are trapped by family, tradition and Muslim men is an old orientalist trope that is still projected onto Muslim communities today. It is the same logic that has been used to justify the criminalisation of Muslim clothing and the invasion of Muslim countries.

Her ability to “shapeshift” brings to mind the common Islamophobic accusation that Muslims routinely practice taqqiya where they deliberately conceal their true beliefs for the sake of sinister plots.

In this respect, it may not be a coincidence that Kamala rhymes with Malala, as both of their stories may give the impression that Muslim women need saving from Muslim men. The question that has been asked about Malala, may fairly be asked about Kamala as well: Is she really an empowered Muslim woman or is she an appropriated tool whose narrative coalesces with the portrayal of Muslim men’s ruthless domination needing to be curbed? It will be interesting to see what role Kamala’s white male friend “Bruno” plays in respect to this. It would be tragic if he is the one who Kamala feels safe to confide in, or who helps liberate her, or who gains an intimate relationship with her, because all of these correspond with racist imaginings of how the hierarchical relationship between white men and brown women should be. Continue reading Sitt Marvel →

Tabsir Redux: When the Fat Lady Sings

Gender and Sexuality, Humor and Satire, Music and Dance, Orientalism

For those fortunate enough to own a MAC computer there is the digital blessing of ITunes. One of the stations listed under “Eclectic” is “The 1920’s Radio Network” which features jazz and vaudeville songs from the 20s through the 40s. Every once in awhile along comes one of those “Oriental” tunes, usually riding stereotypes into the desert on a sand-blasted camel of Araby. One I recently heard manages to offend both Egyptians and obese women (not to mention any serious poet). This is Egyptian Ella, not to be confused with Ella Fitzgerald, who did not debut until four years after this tune was written by Walter Doyle and popularized by Ted Weems and his orchestra.

Egyptian Ella

by Walter Doyle

Ella was a dancing girl who started getting fat
Every day saw three more pounds on Ella
Until one day she found she’d lost her job because of that
And to make it worse, she’d lost her fella
She took a trip to Egypt to forget
And she made such a hit that she’s there yet … Continue reading Tabsir Redux: When the Fat Lady Sings →

Tabsir Redux: An Unprofitable Prophet from Maghrebinia

Humor and Satire

[In 1953 Gregor von Rezzori published a fictional satire of an anonymous East European/Near Eastern land he called Maghrebinia. Here is an excerpt that is still poignant today…]

“I am about to report on the great and glorious country Maghrebinia. You won’t find it on a map, it isn’t in any atlas or on any globe. There are people who say it lies in southeast Europe, others like to think it is southeast Europe, but, for heaven’s sake, what is southeast Europe? … Of course pedantic people might make an effort to define the borders of Maghrebinia geographically and vaguely, but just these pedants would get it all wrong. For Maghrebinia’s true borders lie in the hearts and souls of its people, and pedants don’t know the first thing about the hearts and souls of people…”

“Maghrebinia is beautiful. Continue reading Tabsir Redux: An Unprofitable Prophet from Maghrebinia →