“I have a raw deal because if I give a bad performance tonight, the headline in the school paper tomorrow will read ‘Muslim comic bombs,’ and even if I do well the headline will read ‘Muslim comic kills...the audience explodes with laughter,’” quipped American-Muslim comedian Azhar Usman to a sold out crowd during last night’s ‘Bin Laughin’ held at Annenberg Auditorium.

Terrorist suspects and language barriers were fair game during the standup routine performed by Usman. Known as the “Ayatollah of Comedy,” Usman founded the “Allah Made Me Funny” tour in 2004.

The show brought together students both Muslim and not, though it focused on many issues relating to the Muslim-American community.

“It was more of a turnout than what we expected, in terms of size and the diversity of the crowd,” said senior Mohammad Subeh, vice president of the Muslim Student Awareness Network (MSAN). “Hopefully, this will promote more discussion about issues relevant to the Muslim-American community. The show was geared toward a diverse audience.”

Usman was also pleased with the crowd’s reception of his act.

“I am completely overwhelmed to receive a standing ovation, especially from such a diverse audience,” Usman said. “I gathered it was about half Muslims and half not, or maybe even more non-Muslims. To begin branching out to play more diverse and more mainstream crowds helps me grow as a comedian, so I consider it a tremendous honor.”

Usman said he also hoped to make a statement about the dual identity of Muslim-Americans.

“I feel that as a comic I’m sometimes talking out of two sides of the mouth,” he said. “One is speaking to fellow Muslims from around the world and telling them that I’m a Muslim just like you, but guess what? I’m also an American and I’m not going to apologize for that. The other side of the mouth is speaking to my fellow Americans to whom I wish to say that I’m an American just like you, but guess what? I’m also Muslim and I’m not going to apologize for that.”

Freshman Russell Guajardo, who attended the show, said he appreciated the broad appeal of the night’s content.

“I thought it was really interesting because most comedians wouldn’t go into some of the areas that he went into,” he said. “I thought he did a good job including everyone in the audience too. He wasn’t just going for the Muslim audience. I could relate to some of those situations.”

Freshman Liane Al-Ghusain said she enjoyed the show because it hit close to home.

“I was very intrigued by the genre,” she said. “I just wanted to hear a different point of view. There were a lot of things that rang true. It was like ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ for us Muslims.”

Pakistanis at Stanford (PaS) coordinated most of the event, with the help of the MSAN.

“I thought it was a huge success,” said PaS president Uzair Nasim, a junior. “It was sold out, so it was good. It touched on issues that are really controversial right now and it touched on stereotypes that are mostly untrue. We hope people realize that the way the media paints Muslims isn’t really accurate.”

Nasim said he was excited to bring such a famous figure to come to Stanford.

“A lot of our members had heard clippings of Usman’s comedy act and had found him to be very funny,” he said. “We were also impressed by his coverage in leading publications and channels like The New York Times, BBC, The Washington Post, TIME, The Daily Show with John Stewart and so on. Usman has also performed to much acclaim in other countries around the world.”

Usman was also enthusiastic about the opportunity to come to Stanford.

“It’s an honor to perform for any crowd but especially for a highly sophisticated and intelligent audience at a prestigious university,” he said. “I pride myself on striving to put out comedy that makes you laugh and think. So, I figured what better place to do that than Stanford University.”

Usman championed the personal nature of his comedy, both for himself and his audience.

“If I have an audience that has come to sincerely listen to what I have to say and they haven’t prejudged me and what I’m talking about, I’ve always found that there’s something special about that connection,” he said. “Everything I talk about is what we might say ‘inspired from a true story.’ I believe that my comedy does come from a very personal place which is probably why if a show goes well I feel a truly intimate connection with the audience.”

Nasim said that the goal of PaS and MSAN in bringing Usman to Stanford was to highlight common misconceptions about the Muslim community. He hoped that the audience could apply the show’s message in the broader context of their lives.

“Our main motive for organizing the event was to basically joke about the absurd nature of some of the stereotypes about Muslims in the U.S.,” he said. “We hope to use humor to remind ourselves that the Muslim living across the hall in our dorm or in our neighborhood is just as friendly and open-minded as any other community member. At a more basic level, we’re also just trying to show that Muslims laugh as well.”