Join us in this intimate chat with the OG Muslim comedian, practitioner of ‘protest comedy’, lover of jazz music, and our latest guest of honor: Preacher Moss. We talk about the art form of comedy, his history on building the Muslim comedy scene, as well as pontificating on the current and future states of comedy from within the Muslim community. Below is a brief transcript of what we discussed:
Abbas: but real quick I just want to ask you like within the comedy scene especially the Muslim comedy scene itself you know we see a lot more people popping up now 20 years ago it’s been 20 years since Allah made me funny was launched what changes have you seen within the Muslim comedy scene especially since since then
Preacher Moss: it’s not really the Muslim comedy scene
Abbas: it’s not?
Preacher Moss: it’s not really the Muslim comedy scene. 2003 2004 2005 it was it was an engagement um so I stopped doing comedy in the mainstream because you felt a Call of Duty and sense of urgency. Imam Warrith Deen Muhammad, May Allah be pleased with him, when I came up with the idea of Allah Made Me Funny, he thought it was great because it was still this fracture between the indigenous Muslim Community and the Immigrant Muslim Community and he made the point that we have a lot of Scholars
over here people who studied he said but we can’t get on these mimbars over here in these communities Pakistani, Indian, Arab you know we can sit but we have this knowledge and this knowledge is very valuable for what was going on after 911. but when I talked to the higher-ups about doing Allah made me funny uh he was like yes yes you should do it he said but here’s a caveat don’t start it in the Indigenous Muslim Community go over and and start it and I’m like hey you know. I’m like because I didn’t have a relationship with immigrant Muslims. I just didn’t have one and at times didn’t really want one from all the years I been touring and gone to these Masjids and some of the uh treatment I had gone through
some people are great some people really disrespectful I’m just gonna be honest I keep it 100% um but the Imam was like that comedy thing is is different and so he looks at and goes how many Muslim
comedians we have but I’m like in my mind I go hey man. I’m look I’ve been working with, I’m touring with George Lopez on the George Lopez show I said I go over here it’s like starting over and he he looks at me he goes well are you funny or not I’m like ?
Abbas: oh challenge accepted
Preacher Moss: yeah I’m like yeah but I mean I wrote my thesis about this whole thing what yeah had Arab comedians that were very funny Muslim comedians but we serve the moment right because in 2001 two three you have people you had Muslims afraid to go to the Masjid they were tired they were scared you know they you know that that pervasive thing of islamophobia uh what was being put on us
what we were putting on ourselves you know the whole world is against us I’m like no go outside you know people you know there are people that appreciate who we are but they’re not gonna do it if we don’t appreciate who we are and so the comedy was much more purposeful uh I’ve said this before but Allah made me funny was really a a curriculum.
Abbas: it was a curriculum how so? that’s fascinating that you call it that
Preacher Moss: was um it was protest comedy I learned it from from Dick Gregory that was my mentor
Abbas: wow
Preacher Moss: now if you don’t know protest comedy after hanging out with Dick Gregory then you’re just not paying attention protest comedy love that we and so it a very surgical man very surgical…