‘Arabs Gone Wild’ comedy show comes to University

Tuesday, March 24, 2009, By News Staff

‘Arabs Gone Wild’ comedy show comes to UniversityMarch 24, 2009Jill Leonhardtjlleonha@maxwell.syr.edu

The stand-up comedy show “Arabs Gone Wild,” featuring four accomplished Arab-American comedians, will be held in Grant Auditorium on the SU campus on Friday, April 3, from 8-10 p.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, will explore culture, race and politics through humor. It is part of the international symposium “Old and New Media, and the Changing Faces of Islam” to be held on April 2 and 3 at the Maxwell School.

About the comedians:

  • Dean Obeidallah has performed for Comedy Central’s “The Axis of Evil” and has appeared on numerous shows including “The View,” “American Morning,” “The Situation Room,” “20/20,” and “The Newshour with Jim Lehrer,” and has been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post and Newsweek.

  • Maria Shehata has been featured on Comedy Central’s “The Watch List,” the Women’s Entertainment Network and TLC.

  • Amer Zahr’s comedy draws from his experiences growing up in Dearborn, Mich., site of the largest Arab community outside of the Arab world; he has performed throughout the United States and the Middle East.

  • Maysoon Zayid was the first comedian to perform stand-up live in Palestine, and is co-founder and an executive producer of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival.

The event is sponsored by Syracuse University’s Religion, Media and International Affairs Project and the Muslim Student Association.