<\/span><\/p>\nTissa:<\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/b>I am a comedian. <\/span>My intent is to be funny. <\/span>I\u2019m not out to represent anybody. <\/span>The only person I represent is myself. <\/span>If people can relate to what I say onstage \u2013 no matter their race, creed, or nationality \u2013 then that\u2019s great. <\/span>If not, then that\u2019s okay too.<\/span><\/p>\nI\u2019ve been surprised by the wide range of people who are able to relate to my jokes. <\/span>When I first started out, I was afraid I might only appeal to other Iranian-Americans of my generation. <\/span>What I\u2019ve found is that many people relate to the \u2018fish out of water\u2019 story, so to speak. <\/span>I had a white Christian woman from Texas tell me that she related to my joke about having people tell me to \u201cgo home\u201d, because when she first moved from Texas to the North, people would hear her accent and tell her to go back to where she came from. <\/span>I had another woman who was the only Catholic in an all-Protestant town tell me that she related to my stories about being an outsider. <\/span>So again, if people can relate to what I say, that\u2019s great.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>MMW: <\/span><\/i><\/b>I know that you draw on 9\/11 as a large source of inspiration for the drive to do your comedy projects. Are there specific people from whom you draw similar inspiration?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMaysoon:<\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/b>I don\u2019t draw on 911 for any of my inspiration. I live in <\/span>Cliffside Park<\/span>. I saw the towers every single day of my life, and it\u2019s one of the few things I choose not to be yuk yuk about. I draw inspiration from my dear Daddy, who I love more than lunch meat, my kids in <\/span>Palestine<\/span>, who treat hair gel the way a crack whore treats crack. The insanity of the occupation. Dave Mathews. Adam Sandler. Dean Obeidallah. And as cheesy as it sounds, Mariah Carey, but we\u2019ll talk about that later. Oh. and Suhair Hammad, because the risks that she takes on stage, are always earned and she has such an incredible respect for her audience. So I\u2019ve drawn a lot of inspiration form her work.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTissa:<\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/b>Yes, from my two favorite comedians \u2013 George W. Bush and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMMW: <\/span><\/i><\/b>When you give interviews or speak to non-Muslim audiences about your experiences as Muslim women, do you feel you\u2019re expected to live up to ideas they may have about Muslim women? Do you feel these outlets take your voice seriously even though you might not look like what most non-Muslims think of when they think of a Muslim woman?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMaysoon:<\/span><\/i><\/b> I like to screw with people\u2019s perceptions. I don\u2019t represent all Muslim women. But
\nneither does the crazy woman who keeps calling me a slut on YouTube. I\u2019m not trying to represent all Muslim women. I\u2019m trying to give voice to the silent majority. Unfortunately, I\u2019m a bit loony.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTissa:<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b> In general, non-Muslim audiences take me for who I am. <\/span>It\u2019s the <\/span>Muslims who have loads of expectations and who are the biggest critics. <\/span>What I like to tell any critic is, look at what I do. <\/span>It\u2019s just me and a microphone. <\/span>If you have something to say that\u2019s different from what I have to say, then by all means, grab a microphone and get onstage and make your voice heard.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\nMMW: <\/span><\/i><\/b>Maysoon, because you visit <\/span><\/i>Palestine<\/span><\/i> so often, I\u2019m assuming you have very traumatic and horrific experiences with all sorts of security stations. Is this fodder for your routine as well? Do you use your comedy to work through this?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\nMaysoon<\/span><\/i><\/b>: <\/span><\/i>Listen. If it were not for comedy, every plate [<\/b>and champagne flute]<\/b> in my house would be shattered in a million pieces. Comedy is free therapy. And if it\u2019s done well the audience and the comic take turns being the doctor as well as the patient. Laughter heals. Zogby did a poll. Believe me.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMMW: <\/span><\/i><\/b>Your image may not coincide with a lot of people\u2019s ideas of what a Muslim woman is. Do you think that helps or hurts the messages you\u2019re sending?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\nMaysoon<\/span><\/i><\/b>:<\/span> <\/span><\/i>Both. You know not wearing hijab has seriously seriously hurt my career. Mass media wants to see a woman in a veil. But I think it helps me, because it makes it easier for my audience to relate to me. I\u2019m not the scary \u2018other\u2019 they keep seeing on Fox News.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nWow, I answered the same question fifteen different ways. It\u2019s kinda like being interrogated by security.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMMW: <\/span><\/i><\/b>You\u2019re often portrayed as the \u201cunderdog\u201d because of your Palestinian heritage and living with cerebral palsy. Do you feel like the underdog, or does that label bother the hell out of you?<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\nMaysoon:<\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/b>Sigh\u2026I\u2019m 30. Single, and I live with my mother and my cat in <\/span>New Jersey<\/span>. So yeah I\u2019m the underdog. But I\u2019m like the Giants in the last 2 minutes of the Superbowl type of <\/span>underdog. I got a PBS special, an Adam Sandler movie and 732 disabled orphaned refugees who depend on me. So I\u2019m blessed and<\/span> don\u2019t mind being called an underdog as long as I keep winning Masha\u2019allah. Thanks for the great questions. If you\u2019d like more info on me or my charity check out www.maysoon.com. Salam.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMMW: <\/span><\/i><\/b>Tissa, In the PBS special, you talk about removing your headscarf during performances to illustrate that you\u2019re just the same woman with or without it. If you decided to wear it the entire show or not wear it at all, how do you think this would affect your comedy?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\nTissa<\/span><\/i><\/b>:<\/span> <\/span><\/i>I have done both \u2013 many times (and mainly when I have shorter sets, since I don\u2019t have enough time to perform with the hijab and then remove it). <\/span>The bulk of the jokes have nothing to do with how I\u2019m dressed, so they work with or without the hijab.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\nMMW:<\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/span><\/i>By using the headscarf in your<\/span><\/i> routine, what messages are you trying to convey?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\nTissa:<\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/span><\/i>That not all veiled Muslim women are silent or oppressed or subservient or terrorists. <\/span>That a veiled woman isn\u2019t someone to revile or fear. <\/span>I was in <\/span>Iran<\/span> last month for my aunt\u2019s funeral, and when I was there, I dressed in hijab every day because that\u2019s the law. <\/span>It didn\u2019t change who I am. <\/span>I was still the same person with the same ideas, opinions, and thoughts. <\/span>And that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to show \u2013 that whether I\u2019m veiled or not, I am the exact same person.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n