Exclusive Clip: 'The Muslims Are Coming!'
Last week I caught a thoughtful and funny documentary about a group of comedians who embark on a cross-country road trip.
Their first goal, of course, is to make people laugh. The second? To combat “Islamophobia” from coast to coast.
The Muslims Are Coming! explores what happens when several Muslim-American standup comics, including co-directors Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah, visit spots in America where some people have never even met a Muslim.
As the comedians engage communities (occasionally setting up “Ask a Muslim” booths on the street) and try to recruit audiences for their shows, we discover some of the awful stereotypes that still exist — and continue to be perpetuated by certain media outlets.
Today I have an exclusive clip from the movie. In it, comedian Aron Kader talks about his Palestinian-American heritage onstage:
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The Muslims Are Coming! also includes commentary from Jon Stewart, David Cross, Aasif Mandvi, Rachel Maddow, Janeane Garofalo and other cool folks. It strikes a nice balance between being critical and purely entertaining, and the strong roster of comedians will probably prompt you to seek out more material from many of the acts. (By the way, Farsad also directed the 2008 documentary Nerdcore Rising, which I highly recommend!)
The new doc is screening in select cities but also is available on demand via cable, iTunes and Amazon. You can learn more, see a trailer, etc. over at themuslimsarecoming.com.
Whitney Matheson
USA TODAY