The Muslims are Coming! Just Act Natural
Daniel Watson
The Muslims Are Coming! is a 2013 comedy co-directed and co-starring Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah. This film follows a band of Muslim-American comedians as they visit big cities, small towns, rural villages and everything in between to combat Islamophobia. On October 29 Dean Obeidallah showcased his film in Afterhours (Cone University Center) at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
During his visit, Obeidallah said that the goal of the tour was to reach out to people beyond their community using comedy; along with Farsad and other comics they did just that. Through laughter, the Muslim-American comedians were able to show Americans in the West, Mid-West and the South that Muslim-Americans are real people living amongst them, they are neighbors, dentists, and professors that face the same daily problems as ‘American-Americans’. In the film, Farsad reflected on their visit to Salt Lake City, Utah. Farsad held a sign inviting pedestrians to “Hug a Muslim” in front of the Salt Lake Temple. Farsad was surprised that people were actually lining up to hug her. Obeidallah said it was more than just a hug but more so an emotional connection. The comedians also held several interventions along the tour: Ask a Muslim booth, “Name That Religion”, and even Bowl with a Muslim.
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on America triggered a new fear of Muslims, Muslim-Americans, or anyone who resembled the ‘typical’ Muslim (turban, large beard, beige-skinned). Although 9/11 occurred over a decade ago, these same fears, suspicions and assumptions still exist in society today. Muslim-Americans living in America today shouldn’t have to carry that burden. In fact, many featured Muslims in the film don’t even consider the terrorists as Muslims because ‘real’ Muslims wouldn’t harm anyone else. This example could also be stacked up beside white Americans whose ancestors owned slaves, it’s simply not their fault. No group of people should have to constantly prove themselves to anyone. If Americans, no matter black or white, gay or straight, married or single can come to the realization that Muslim-Americans have been, currently are, and will continue to be here in America we’ll be better off as a society.
