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Journalism of Courage
Azhar Usman is called Osama Bin Laughin8217; for a reason
He8217;s the man who had Pervez Musharraf in splits at a sit-down dinner in Dallas in September 2006. Azhar Usman, a 32-year-old, Chicago-based, stand-up comedian whom CNN recently named 8220;American8217;s Funniest Muslim8221;, is preparing for his first professional outing in India and he is excited: 8220;When I walk down the streets of Chicago I get dirty looks for being a Muslim. So in India, it8217;ll be so nice to finally be hated for being an American. I feel so patriotic.8221;
On Saturday, Usman will hold fort at the American Center in Delhi. 8220;The objective of this tour is quite simply to make people laugh,8221; he says. It is a homecoming in many ways: Usman8217;s parents moved from Bihar to Chicago in the 1970s, a few years before he was born. He went on to get a law degree and run his own dotcom before venturing into comedy. He was a hit from the word go 8212; in one of his first shows, the emcee introduced him as the Ayatollah of Comedy and the name sticks to this day. 8220;Now, I8217;ve been a full-time comedian for years and have performed in over a dozen countries in five continents,8221; he says. In November 2005, he was called on to perform at the US-Islamic Word Forum in Doha. 8220;My agenda has always been to wage peace through humour,8221; he adds.
And about how Muslim clerics react to his jokes, Usman says they love it. 8220;Every single Muslim cleric, scholar and imam who has watched my show has had nothing but praise,8221; he says. This American traveller to India has packed his luggage, and airport security be warned 8212; they could die laughing if they peep into his bag of tricks.
Usman will perform at the American Center on November 8. Time: 7 pm. Contact: 23316841
