Maz Jobrani forms positive messaging through comedy

By Zarif Alibhai, June 9 2023

Maz Jobrani has had a prolific career spanning over two decades. Although he studied political science at university and was enrolled in a Ph.D. program, yet he decided to pursue his childhood dream as an actor and stand-up comedian to help change people’s views of Muslims. 

After the tragic events of 9/11, Jobrani formed a comedy group called Axis of Evil. The name of the group plays on a term said by George W. Bush. After the U.S. invaded Iraq, it created instability and economic loss for the Iraqi people for years. Around this time, Bush then coined the term Axis of Evil as a reference to Iran, Iraq and North Korea — a term Jobrani would later reclaim. 

In an interview with the Gauntlet, Jobrani spoke about performing comedy specifically after 9/11. 

“We got a call from a manager a little bit after September 11, and he goes, we just got a call from somebody, we saw your name on the Marquee and they couldn’t believe that after September 11th, they’re having Arabs perform here and they gave us death threats,” said Jobrani.

Jobrani didn’t let those death threats deter him or his Axis of Evil group from performing their stand-up comedy. In fact, he was instead motivated to break down the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists. Jobrani continued to use humour and acting as a vehicle to portray Muslims as average-day citizens living their lives in America.

Throughout his career, Jobrani and the Axis of Evil sought to challenge and change the perception of the American public that all Muslims are terrorists/extremists. Their hope was to change the hearts of those who had a profound misunderstanding against Muslims as a result of the way Muslims had been portrayed after 9/11.

Jobrani explained how the media had partly been at fault for portraying this perception of Muslims to the West. 

“All they know is what they see in the news, and what they are told by their conservative neighbours,” he said. “They meet an immigrant who kills them with kindness, saying please have some rice or biryani, and until that happens, they still think you’re a terrorist.” 

Jobrani’s mission to change common stereotypes around the world has led him to inspire many to change their own biased assumptions in a post-9/11 society and his mission still continues today.

To learn more about Maz Jobrani, visit his Instagram and Twitter.