Recently, I was lucky enough to get the chance to speak with Ahmed Ahmed, Aron Kader, and Maz Jobrani of the world-famous Axis of Evil Comedy Tour in Dubai. And by “speak with,” I mean interrupting their lunch and rather blatantly stealing Maz Jobrani’s chair (I suppose this is my chance to apologize – and I do, I really do).
Natalia: I see that you guys aren’t stabbing me with a fork for having to do this during your meal, and I thank you for that. How do you find Dubai?
Aron: I love it. It’s very, very opulent. My relatives in Jerusalem live humbly – no dirt floors or anything, but a very simple life, and this is a big contrast.
Maz: People here get our references.
Ahmed: Dubai is very modern. It’s a beacon of light, in this sense.
Maz: It’s not exactly perfect. But there are problems everywhere you go, right?
Natalia: So, I’ve done my research or so I hope. I think I can see what you guys have in common. The Middle Eastern heritage, the desire to challenge stereotypes, the dashing good looks. How are you different?
Aron: Different fashion sense. Ahmed is the one who wears the hats…
Maz: Are you writing this down? Because he’s joking.
Natalia: [momentarily feels like a dingbat] Let’s talk about racism against people of Middle Eastern origin in the United States.
Ahmed: It’s huge. There’s nothing funny about being Middle Eastern in America right now. I’ve been called a “sand-nigger,” etc. But comedy about stereotypes is like therapy, in that sense.
Maz: I think American co-exist well with each other, all things considered, but there are still issues of prejudice you can’t escape, which is why laughing with people is important, which is why this tour is important. It shatters stereotypes. Someone once told me: “I had no idea that you people even laughed.” We are portrayed as completely humourless and that’s not even the worst of it. You know, my mother has been told, “go back to your country, bitch.” She had an accent, and people with accents seem threatening. This is beside all the stuff you would get at school, as a kid. Kids are brutal. But there are always people who have it worse than you. Like the gas station attendants, think about the crap they get on a daily basis.
Ahmed: American racists are lazy too. Someone started targeting Sikhs after 9/11, because of the turbans. Sikhs aren’t even Muslim. It’s like the Joe DeRosa joke about American people thinking that Egypt has oil. Read More
