TV/Radio
“America’s Funniest Muslim”
— CNN
“The audience bursts into laughter [and] roars appreciatively.”
— BBC
“Changing perceptions … while making people laugh.”
— Al-Jazeera
“Hilarious!”
— Fox News
“One of the more promising up-and-comers…”
— ABC Nightline
“That boy’s a trip!”
— MTV News
“The troupe is called Allah Made Me Funny, and they pride themselves in taking touchy issues head-on.”
— NPR
“The message [of “Allah Made Me Funny”]—of American Muslims, proud to be both ‘American’ and ‘Muslim’—is a powerful message that would open British Muslim eyes to American cultural and religious diversity as well as encourage reflection on the part of [the] British Muslim community in a positive, self-defining direction.”
— Internal U.S. Government Cable (courtesy of Wikileaks)
NEWSPAPERS
“Turns fear into funny.”
— The New York Times
“Mr. Usman not only tackles religion, but the identity of the Muslim male … taking the bull by the horns.”
— Wall Street Journal
“World Peace … One Joke at a Time.”
— USA Today
“Usman’s appearance … elicited a standing ovation.”
— Washington Post
“A popgun shot across the bow in the culture wars.”
— Chicago Tribune
“Irony, juxtaposition and distorting stereotypes are exactly where Usman … finds “the funny” and the fodder for his unique brand of comedy.”
— Chicago Sun-Times
“Usman … probably has the best material of the three.”
— LA Times
“A fast-talking, wise-cracking American hipster.”
— Dallas Morning News
“Just the sort of fellow one would want to sit next to on a long flight – a witty, erudite and well-traveled former lawyer…”
— Philadelphia Inquirer
“They hope their oxymoron status as Muslim comedians will show the Muslim world and mainstream society that humor cuts across racial and religious lines.”
— San Jose Mercury News
“Comedian, artist, and activist.”
— Minneapolis StarTribune
“Has all the fundamentals of personality, likability, and showmanship.”
— Seattle Times
“One of the most unusual and uplifting cross-cultural experiences you’ll have this year.”
— Detroit Free Press
“Probably no one in the history of Islam – a history that stretches back almost 1,400 years – has been as funny as Azhar Usman in talking about the religion, its followers and the stereotypes that plague them.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
“The audience roared. Usman is a very funny guy. And do we ever need him right now.”
— Boston Globe
“Azhar Usman is very serious about comedy.”
— Toledo Blade
MAGAZINES
“His largely white, liberal audience guffaws.”
— The Economist
“The comic stylings of Allah Made Me Funny? Was this for real?”
— TIME
“Allah Made Me Funny … produced some of the most-talked-about comedians among the up-and-comers on the club scene.”
— Newsweek
“Insider-cool and outsider-friendly.”
— LA Weekly
INTERNATIONAL
“Undoubtedly a winning presence… There’s no doubt Usman could have achieved more than his 30-minute slot allowed.”
— The Independent
“A unique comic perspective … takes us into fresh and thought-provoking territory.”
— The Guardian
“Stand-up with a point? How simple the sound.”
— TimeOut London
“From the plays of ancient Athenian Aristophanes to modern-day stand-up comics such as Pryor or Chris Rock … Allah Made Me Funny continues in this vein.”
— Sydney Morning Herald
“Usman comes off more like a sage than a funnyman, as much an activist as a gagster.”
— CBC (Canada)
“Uncle Sam’s best public diplomacy tool in its hearts-and-minds battle to ‘wage peace.’”
— The Times of India
“Even more impressive is his ability to trip merrily along the fraught terrain of race, religion and communal stereotypes, and leave audiences chortling in his wake.”
— Outlook India
COMEDIANS
“Azhar Usman is untouchable.”
— Dave Chappelle
“Azhar Usman is a true original and will laugh the hate right out of you.”
— Louie Anderson
“One of the most important, relevant and hysterically funny guys out there!”
— Margaret Cho
“Azhar Usman is very funny, deeply spiritual, and extremely hairy. He’s like
Zach Galifianakis meets Deepak Chopra—and funnier than you’d expect that combination to be.”
— Russell Peters
“Azhar Usman is funny. Also, he turned me on to halal bacon, and I thank him
for that.”
— Jim Gaffigan
“I think if anyone understands the perspective of an Indian American Muslim,
it’s a white English person. And I think Azhar is hysterical.”
— John Oliver, The Daily Show
“See Azhar Usman today while you still can because soon he is gonna blow
up… What, what did I say!?”
— Aasif Mandvi, The Daily Show
“One of the top Muslim comedians who is taking White comedians’ jobs.”
— T.J. Miller
“I really enjoyed Azhar’s effort to get off the synagogue circuit and find his own path with his one man show.”
— Hannibal Buress