Sultans of Satire 17

"I absolutely loved it. I originally thought to myself, well, I know some of these people and they're super talented, but Middle Eastern stand-up? Could be redundant, which it wasn't AT ALL. Every single comic had a distinct routine. You have great info on your site...I'm wondering how you think the tide of Middle Eastern humor is headed in our post 9/11 society? What I really want to know is...do the comics ever have heated political debates amongst themselves? Comics are always the most opinionated people and rightly so. Any funny anecdotes would be great as well." — Vida Ghaffari

"Overall, the show was a lot of fun. It was different than any other comedy show I know. Even though I'm not immediately of Middle Eastern descent, I felt at home. The audience felt mixed, but the same—so in that respect, I guess the show was a success! I generally like going to shows with a number of comedians, so that if one isn't terrific, you know it's not forever. It works well obviously with the theme. Max Amini stood out for me as being the act where I laughed the most. He was energetic and put his whole face and body into it...I did enjoy Elham since I don't get out to see many comediennes, and I'm always up for girl power. I liked Peter and appreciated his gig. I like when people study something (like accents/languages) and use it in their act." — Sapphira

Sultans of Satire 13 at the Barclay Theatre

"Samar and I are still laughing! Thanks for inviting us to Sultans of Satire. We laughed hardest at the bit regarding the father who loses patience with his son, rather than teaching him how to use tools correctly. (My rather administrator-style description is not funny, but our young man—the Jordanian comedian Mike Batayeh— sure drove home the contrast between the American father’s coaching and the Middle Eastern father’s expecting that no coaching is necessary. We have been witnesses to that phenomenon.)" — Barbara Al-Bayati

Sultans of Satire 10 at USC's Bovard Auditorium

"I just want to congratulate you and the Levantine Center on a fantastic event. It was unbelievable to see faces from so many cultures joined together in joyous celebration. I’ve attended 100s of fundraising events put on by organizations representing the entire spectrum of causes, and I would put the Sultans of Satire up there with the best of them. I can’t wait for the next one." — Mike Johnson

"Great job on an outstanding show this past Saturday!! We all had a blast!!" — Roya & Babak Poormand-Eskandari

"I very much enjoyed the Sultans of Satire comedy benefit. It was hilarious, smart and refreshing. I was very happy to support an event that brought out Middle-Eastern talent and positivity. You did a very good job. Wishing you all the best." — Rana Alamuddin

"Well done with the Comic Relief. We really enjoyed the show. I congratulate you on this successful turnout." — Andy Terani

"Congratulations on the show! The comedians did a great job and the audience was amazing." — Kat Haydarzadeh

"To the Man in the White Suit: Can't decide whether the turnout was comfortably heartwarming or thrillingly inspiring. You've qualified to walk on clouds for a while.

Judy and I ran out of steam at 10:45, the middle of the intermission, and headed for home. But we're looking forward to the next Sultans. The lineup of talent was really interesting. And I made a sociological study of the disapproval of the rough language by a minority of the audience. You had to be over 30 to be bothered by it--over 30 and not familiar with standup comedy as it is today, i.e., not requiring network (read 'family') exposure to thrive. The standards of the Bill Cosbys are a thing of the past. HBO has no restrictions so young comics take the language of the street and the college dorm onto the stage. For those who don't have cable and don't hang out with an under-30 crowd, walking in on a show like this can be a culture shock. So that component of your audience last night had to have come up a notch or two in their social awareness." — Don Bustany

"Congratulations! Excellent show." — Todd Becraft

Sultans of Satire 7

"Hello!! I attended the comedy event Friday night. I wanted to congratulated you! It was wonderful through and through. Of course, the Iranian comedians were outstanding Elham, Maz and Pete hit it home for most I talked with afterwards. Also, I really appreciated your loud response "WE ARE ALL PALESTINIANS" in connection to your last comedian's joke about simple fear of the Palestinian individual." — Tina

Sultans of Satire 6

"We had an absolute blast, and, of course, will be back over and over again for the comedy in particular. Aron and Peter and Max have gotten better every time I've heard them, and I loved the Persian Princess!! We liked the venue a lot, perfect place for this kind of show. I brought eight people, because I think your comedy shows are so good...All in all, we loved it. I know that the people I brought will all be back for the next one." — Greta Hughes

Sultans of Satire 5

"The comedy show at Club Fais Do-Do last night was a great success. What a fun crowd of sophisticated Middle Eastern folks! And your performers were top notch. Elham Jazab's stand up comedy was brilliant, piercing, and had the audience in belly laughs. I hope to attend future events you organize. Keep up the good work." — Bassel Fares, Boeing 747 pilot

"My initial reaction to attending a two-hour comedy show focused on Middle-Eastern comics was one of skepticism. What would the token white boy get out of a rash of jokes with the punch lines in Arabic?

What I found was that the worst of the comedy was not the comedy that focused on cross-cultural issues and “other” ness. The worst of the comedy were the dick-and-tits jokes. The comics that explored the divisions, imagined or otherwise, between Middle Easterners: Jews and Palestinians, Muslims and Christians, Egyptians and Jordanians, etc… succeeded in both entertaining the primarily Middle Eastern crowd as well as me.

In fact the best of the brood had enough genius in them to begin to cross-over. I mean that in the way that Richard Pryor’s stand-up got black stand-up comedy out from being just black stand-up. He got it out into the “white” community without losing any of its integrity. I mean “cross-over” in the way that George Carlin transcends stand-up and involves even a level of didacticism and epistemology. I mean “cross-over” in the way that Bill Hicks used comedy (“Chomsky with dick jokes”) to ask us to laugh but also to change who we are and why we are…

At the top of the food chain were the comedians Peter "the Persian" Shahriari (http://peterthepersian.com) and Maz Jobrani (http://mazjobrani.com). Both men have enough talent to re-define the way North Americans think about the Middle East. They challenge assumptions and hypocrisies in ways both hilarious and thought-provoking. I adore stand-up comedy of this ilk—if stand-up comedy does have a higher purpose then folks like Lenny Bruce, and Hicks, and Prior were on the front edge of that purpose’s blade. These comedians, Shahriari and Jobrani, understood that.

I imagine someone at a place like Comedy Central is going to figure out, eventually, that a small fortune is to be made on the backs of these mavericks. But that is of no real consequence to me. What interests me are people willing to listen/speak the truth though it may make them wince whilst they laugh. I think it was Hoffer who said that laughter is disguised growling. And while I understand his intent, laughter is also a bit like magic—the prestidigitator calls attention to the funny bone while the wound heals.


I suppose the grandest surprise was how un-angry this LA crowd was with each other and with the world. When the media insists no Jew and no Palestinian could ever break bread—to see a couple of this composite holding hands and laughing reminded me of a lesson I’d already learned. Live true. No one else defines your life for you—not the media, not your friends, no one: live true." — Matthew Schmeer

Sultans of Satire 4

"This was one of the best comedy shows I've ever seen...Overall, your progressive events have so much potential. It's great that you are doing this—bringing together all Middle Eastern cultures...with a good laugh! Instead of the FOX-NEWS/CNN take on the Middle East, these comedy shows can give non-Middle Eastern Americans alternative ideas about the people and the culture." —Sayeh Rad

Sultans of Satire 3

"I attended John Cleese's performance the night before, titled 'Seven Ways to Skin an Oncelot', and I can tell you for sure that I laughed much more with Peter the Persian! Peter's act was a brilliant lesson in powerful observation and in studied body language." — Ahmad Zahzah

"I loved it." — Pari Soomekh.

"Wonderful show. Great crowd." — Joel Levey

"I laughed a lot." — Hamid Mosavi

"The show was wonderful. We enjoyed it greatly and I will definitely recommend it to my friends and come to the next one." — Katrin Mizrahi

"I loved the performance. I found myself laughing and fully entertained. I love the cross cultural stuff, the flow of different languages." — Joan Lachkar

"I thought the show was an absolute success. You had a fantastic line-up, and the place was packed." — Kat Shoa

"I thought the event was a great success. I had been to first comedy show and really enjoyed that one. This time I brought four friends and they absolutely loved it as well." — Samaan Assefi

"Loved the comics, the place, the food, the girls, the networking opportunities, the vibe, the mixture of so many cultures, ages..." — Daniel Sogomoso

"I enjoyed the show and found it illuminating — and entertaining." — Scott Haller

"Congratulations on a successful event. This was my first time to attend an event by your organization, and I hope to attend more in the future—and bring along some friends. I really liked the cross cultures in the audience and on stage. We need more of these events out there!" — Eman Abohebeish

"The comics are great and so is the audience." — Liz Gordon