comedy is important to every culture. Check out these Arab satirists that are making the Arab world laugh!
- Adel Karam, Lebanese stand-up comedian, has been working as a professional actor since 1993. His extraordinary talent in making people laugh out loud at their pains and problems has made him a household name in the Arab World. He has awed audiences in several TV shows such as ABOU RIAD (THE ADVENTURES OF)”, “MA FI MITLO”, “SL CHI”. At the end of 2013, he has also starred in his program ” Hayda Haki” which is quite similar to Bassem Youssef’s Al Bernameg. Hilariously and boldly, he wants to shed light on many social and political issues in a way that changes people’s lives for the better.
2. Nadim Koteich , the Lebanese political satirist, commentator, writer, and known as a host of The DNA Show that airs on Future TV, has been able to gain people’s love and trust after his sharp comments and steadfast transparent views about the situation in Lebanon and the Arab world. His fans gave him the title “voice of freedom” in the Arab world. People are highly motivated when he is criticising and presenting the news in his satirical way. Koteich was acknowledged by The Economist as one of the top five satirists in the Arab World.
3. Bassem Youssef, the host of Egyptian political satire show “ElBernameg” (in English, “The Program”) has come to be known as ” the Jon Stewart of the Arab world,“. Youssef started his career in March 2011 by uploading his first satirical show “The B+ Show“ to YouTube and in less than three months, gained more than five million views. Youssef assures that the aim of his program is to fact-check politicians and to “give people the benefit of the doubt”. He also announces after cancelling his program for a while that “the biggest insult to judiciary is for prosecutors to investigate for sarcastic talk”. In 2013, he was recognised by Time magazine as one of the “100 most influential people in the world“.
4. Mohammed Bazaid, the gifted stand-up comedian, is famous for being the host of the most watched daily show on Rotana Khalijiah “Al Nashra”. He could pay people’s attention to his talent by presenting the Saudi social affairs in a humorous way. Bazaid sparked in the comic field first on YouTube when he got more than 17 million views and in fact Bazaid is the host of the 1st YouTube show in Saudi Arabia “quarter to nine”. He was also involved in many local and international comedy shows in countries like the UAE and Canada.
Which one of these Arab Satirists is your favorite?
