| Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert | |
| Director: | Andrea Kalin |
| Producer: | Andrea Kalin Azhar Usman Bryant "Preacher" Moss |
| Starring: | Mohammed "Mo" Amer Bryant "Preacher" Moss Azhar Usman |
| Cinematography: | John Rhode Bryan Sarkinen |
| Editing: | David Grossbach |
| Studio: | Unity Productions Foundation Spark Media Handshake Productions |
| Distributor: | Truly Indie |
| Runtime: | 82 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | Arabic English[1] |
| Budget: | $10,000 |
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert is a 2008 American concert documentary film directed by Andrea Kalin and produced by Unity Productions Foundation. The live concert features American comedy troupe Allah Made Me Funny (Mohammed "Mo" Amer, Bryant "Preacher" Moss and Azhar Usman).[1]
As a child Azhar Usman lived "in mostly Jewish Chicago suburb of Skokie, Illinois", where he was born. His family emigrated to the United States from India.[1] He is a former lecturer, community activist, and lawyer, and is often referred to as the 'Ayatollah of Comedy' and 'Bin Laughin'.[2]
Mohammed "Mo" Amer is a Palestinian. The youngest of six children, he was born in Kuwait. When he was nine years old he emigrated with his family to Houston, Texas.[1]
"Preacher" Moss is an African American, who converted to Islam. He is a comedian and writer. He was born in Washington, D.C.[1]
The documentary that lasts 82 minutes features each performer for about 20 minutes. Most of the film was shot during their performance in Los Angeles, California in 2007, a year before the documentary was released.[3] The remaining time features comedians at their homes, working on their computers, enjoying the time with their families. The spectators see the men working as "they prepare fresh material on cultural stereotyping, terrorism, flying post-9/11 and other tricky subjects not regularly regarded as funny business."[3]
The comedians are trying to break out stereotypes that some people hold about Muslims:
Laura Kern writes in New York Times "The title doesn't lie. These guys know how to tell a joke, often at the expense of their customs, religious holidays, families and themselves."[3] John P. Meyer from Pegasus News compares Allah Made Me Funny to another show performed by Muslims Axis of Evil. Meyer writes: "Their material includes a wealth of "inside joke" stuff that will send Muslim members of the viewing audience into fits of laughter (judging by the recorded evidence), though it requires a bit of (provided) explanation for non-Muslim listeners."[4] Noel Murray writes in The A.V. Club "For those itching to see a Muslim-themed variation on The Original Kings of Comedy, please enjoy Allah Made Me Funny, Andrea Kalin's document of a comedy tour featuring three Muslim comics". In their article named Poking Fun at Stereotypes In 'Allah Made Me Funny'