I had a new article published yesterday at The Daily Wire. I compare and contrast the comedy specials of two American Muslims, and Ramy Youssef, coming down very hard against the latter:

Among the fascinating phenomena of America’s most prominent Muslim activist organizations is how they decide which Muslims to lift up and which to ignore. Compare two recent comedy specials. One, Dave Chappelle’s newest Netflix special “Sticks & Stones,” which is generating intense reactions given its choice of material — including abortion, #MeToo, Transgenderism, “the alphabet people” (referring to the expanding acronym LGBTQIA+), and the implications of the “cancel culture,” which seeks to silence all who do not adhere to the “woke” doctrines of political correctness.

Thinking about this hilariously offensive special brought to mind another recent comedy special that challenged different cultural taboos: Millennial Ramy Youssef’s “Feelings,” released on HBO on June 29.

Both comedians are American Muslims, a fact often forgotten about Chappelle — perhaps since he is a convert who generally shuns public discussion of his faith. But Youssef, the son of Egyptian immigrants, emphasizes Muslimness as central to his comedy, TV show, and identity.

In fact, Islamist organization the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) — a group co-founded by Hassan Hathout, who described himself as a “close disciple” of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna and whose current director Salam al-Marayati suggested Israel as a suspect of the 9/11 attacks — and its “Hollywood bureau chief” Sue Obeidi is eager to promote Youssef. On the contrary, MPAC does not generally even acknowledge the successes of Muslims not in line with its Islamist ideology.

One of the differences between Chappelle’s and Youssef’s styles of comedy is that the latter is more clearly playing essentially himself. And while his ideas may provoke some shocks, they do not do so in the same way as Chappelle’s over-the-top fictional character — a character who intentionally pushes ideological buttons. At times, Youssef goes fairly deep into faith, sexuality, and 9/11. While there are some exaggerations, it’s clear he’s providing what the title suggests: His “feelings.”

Youssef devotes significant time in both his special and fictional show to advancing a bizarre subject: Cousin marriage and why it should be acceptable.

Click here to read the rest.

******

Photo by mdfriendofhillary

0 0 votes
Article Rating