April 18, 2004
Islamica News
Because you really don't hear enough about Muslims with a sense of humour.
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now that post should be more widely circulated in certain circles. although i suppose many in either camp would still find fault. thanks wolof, entertaining and enlightening.
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Yeah definitely. A cheap Onion knock-off with a mean-spirited, anti-Muslim bent. Great!
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I'm not always sensitive to satire (I like mine whimsical and over the top - this is still one of my favorites), but I'm not sure it's an anti-Muslim site.
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Fatwa in 3,2,1... And scarabic, no one is beyond having fun poked at them. We do it to Christians, Hindus and Jews. Do Muslims get special protection, or do they get to join in the reindeer games too?
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Yeah, but when you're going to poke fun at someone, and carve up holy cows for dinner, you need to be funny. I guess I didn't find it funny enough. And it was a fairly direct, formulaic Onion knock-off, down to overuse of the word "area," the question-man-on-the-street, and the infographic. Good for a chuckle or two I suppose, but honestly, I'd be really surprised if this were put together by some laughing muslims.
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See, not being Muslim, I just can't tell - that and my all but blind spot with irony. But there does seem to be some inside humour about ritual purity, for instance. Something I would never know about. Anyone with better knowledge have a guess? I also thought the bit about Santa Claus felt like an "I've been there" moment.
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Well, I thought it looked like it was by real Muslims, even if it was an Onion knockoff. And I found some of the stories funny enough, although others may not have. I definitely didn't get "mean-spirited" off it. If it's a CIA job, consider me fooled.
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IAMAM(*), but I am a professional comedy writer, and I know self-satire when I see it. Trust me, this site is written by Muslims. It also shows definite flashes of comedy-writing talent. Consider the following quote, which I cite as evidence of both Muslim-ness and funniness: If the site's authors would only stop trying so hard to write like The Onion, and start trying to find their own voice, this could become an excellent site. The Onion is so good at what it does that it's a huge mistake to try to imitate them; you're just going to look unfunny by comparison. Oh, and I just checked the site's about page, which confirms that it's a group of Muslims poking good-natured fun at themselves. Best, Jacob (*) Short for "I Am Not A Muslim," in case you couldn't guess...
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Well, I learned about this site in a Crooked Timber post that included a link to a Houston Press article about the site. So I was never in doubt as to the site creators being Muslim. Which would be important. For similar humor in an Orthodox Christian vein, visit the Onion Dome. Though I can't believe anyone wouldn't believe it to be self-satire. These sort of sites lose their point when they're not making fun of their own group.
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I think jacobw is probably not a Muslim. Although just guessing. Now, is scarabic an Egyptian? Vote below.
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Thanks for deciphering your acronym, jacobw - I would never have guessed. I keep reading these different things (mostly elsewhere, thankfully), and any longer than three letters I have no concept of what they are trying to say. It seems such a waste of time to save on typing, but then to sit there trying to decipher them. Real saving on typing should involve classics like gov't or idiosyncratic quirks (like I know that ref always means "reference" and that EME means "early modern England" and "Prots" and "Caths" means, well, you know, but somehow I suspect these are a bit personal).
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1/2 Syrian. Not Muslim. I said I'd be surprised, and I'm duly surprised. Self-satire is uncommon among Muslims as I know them. And mockery of Mulims from the outside is easy enough to find. Call it a double take on my part. I suppose I can second what jacobw said. If they find the right voice for this, it might get funnier.
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Good on you, scarabic, very gracious.