When the Religion, Media and International Affairs Project and the Muslim Student Association planned their media and Islam conference, they could have stuck to the standard laundry list of lectures, panels and speakers common to most academic events.

But for this event, organizers wanted something different – something a little wild.

‘Arabs Gone Wild,’ is a stand-up comedy show featuring four Arab-American comics: Amer Zahr, Dean Obeidallah, Maria Shehata and Maysoon Zayid. The event will be held tomorrow at 8 p.m. in Grant Auditorium. The show brings an end to the two-day program ‘Old and New Media and the Changing Faces of Islam,’ co-sponsored by the Religion, Media and International Affairs Project and the Muslim Student Association as a part of Islamic Awareness Week.

The show will help students understand that there is more to learn about the Muslim world than they believed, said Professor Mahrzad Boroujerdi, the director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program.

‘The Islamic world is portrayed in such a negative fashion that lacks humor, we have these hilarious comedians coming to address these stereotypes in a comical way,’ Boroujerdi said. ‘We want the campus community to think about stereotypes and notions about the Middle Eastern Islamic world but realize they are not true.’

The utilization of the media, how the facts are reported, public diplomacy and the portrayal of women are themes that will be addressed both through the discussions and lectures of ‘Old and New Media and the Changing Faces of Islam’ and in the comedy show.

This is the first time the Middle Eastern Studies Program or the MSA has held this type of event, Boroujerdi said. Speakers have come in the past to discuss topics like the media and public diplomacy, but there has never been a two-day, international conference of this scale.

This is also the first time that either organization has hosted a comedy show.

Zahr, a Palestinian-American comedian, includes race, culture and politics in his humor, which stems from being the son of Palestinian refugee immigrants.

Obeidallah appeared on the Comedy Central shows ‘The Axis of Evil’ and ‘The Watch List,’ which he co-writes and directs for Comedy Central’s Web site. Obeidallah has also made several television appearances on shows like ‘The View’ and ‘Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.’

Shehata, another performer in the show, has done stand-up comedy in New York City clubs and made appearances in the New York Arab American Comedy Festival.

The final performer, Zayid, is a professional stand-up comedian who has performed comedy at The Improv and Stand-Up NY. She is also the co-founder and co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival.

Many students both in and outside of the Middle Eastern Studies Program are looking forward to the event. JJ He, a freshman engineering major, has already made plans to go.

‘I think it is going to be funny and … I want to hear about what the comedians say trying to mock the superstitions and prejudices of the Arabic world,’ he said.

rltoback@syr.edu

Published on April 1, 2009 at 12:00 pm