Are Muslims funny?

If you had asked me this question a few weeks ago, I would have said, with certainty, "No, they are not!".

Muslims are known for a lot of things. Being funny is not one of them. If someone had asked me if I thought touring campuses across the country with a comedy show that highlights serious issues relevant to the Muslim Student scene was a good idea - well that might have given me a bit of a laugh, but I wouldn't have taken the idea seriously.

Fortunately, no one consulted me before the Comedislam machine was created, but once it got rolling, not too late after I was fully on board!

I'm not so great with going to ISoc events, not least because of laziness or forgetfulness amongst other reasons. Still, the posters for the Comedislam 2010 were so colourfully crazy, I got allured and from the trailer I presumed that if nothing else, I would get a kick out of seeing my fellow students humiliate themselves on stage and get ripped straight into by the professional comedians they’d be up against.

The show was hosted by Jeff Mirza, with comedians Prince Abdi and Imran Yusuf. As a Muslim who’d not been to a comedy show before, I cannot lie. I did not have any idea who these guys were, but knowing that fellow students’ will be on a performance stage was a first, that just had to be checked out!

Monday night finally arrives; I pull my mother away from frying onions for the evening and take her with me. I know, right, taking your mother to a University Comedy show? Really? I admit this could go horribly wrong!

Gotta say, laughing our guts out over Imran Yusuf's dinosaur impression turned out to be the best chill out ever, far better Mother-Daughter bonding time than learning how to fold samosas.

The event was tastefully hosted to our needs with brothers' and sisters' segregated seating available as well as a mixed section in the middle, and separate entrances. Impressive lights and professional staging with the pre event buzz made the atmosphere really rock.

The event was a two part bonanza.

In part one Imran Yusuf and Prince Abdi did individual stand up acts introduced with comic style by the hilarious Jeff Mirza. Both comedians had their own individual style, and it made for excellent variety. There were jokes I laughed at, jokes my mum laughed at, but mainly jokes that we both laughed at.  My mother hasn't watched a film, or TV show in about five years, and to share something with her that finally bridged the gap of two countries and thirty years was wonderful. I've never realised just how many jokes Muslims can make! Taking advantage of the history and culture our religion grants us, as well as how terrified we all are of our parent’s breeds a goldmine of humour.

Part Two was an edgy, fast paced and very relevant Quiz Show mimicking the format of TV Shows like ‘Mock the Week’ and ‘Have I got News for You’, the comedy sketches were loosely based on Muslim Student issues, and the contestants were our very own students!

The girls were on Imran Yusuf's team, and the boys on Prince Abdi's. It warmed my heart to see our much beloved Birmingham ISoc Head Sister matching wits against the brothers and the other comedians, the students gave as good as they got. In one section, the students were asked the best way to break news to their parents. The general consensus was just before beginning your taraweh salaat, but I picked up a lot of extra tips. Of course, the one reason I shouldn't have taken my mother is that she'll now be wise to them.

One of the things a lot of people were worried about when they heard about the event was having the jokes go "too far." I'm happy to say that there were no such incidents at our event although there was a faux terrorist recruitment video that had me break a sweat.

The evening ended on a high note. We left with smiling faces and more open minds. Although Comedislam advertised itself as a comedy show, at its core are some beautiful Islamic values, a clear, original perspective, and hope for Muslim Students everywhere. A comedy show with so much more to offer.

And FYI, the sisters' team won.