Published November 18. 2025 01:07PM<\/p>\n
In a world often deeply divided by differences, there\u2019s a Muslim clean comedy show that\u2019s using humor to break down stereotypes and highlight shared experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited to present \u2018Halal Hilarity\u2019 (a playful reference to the name for Islamic religious food and drink guidelines) at SteelStacks, featuring Lehigh Valley native and Parkland High School graduate Usman Habib,\u201d said ArtsQuest Programming Specialist Addyson Young in an email. \u201cIt\u2019s always special to see local talent on our stage, especially as part of such an inspiring and internationally recognized showcase.\u201d<\/p>\n
Habib, a member of Parkland\u2019s Class of 2009, will take to the microphone at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 at SteelStacks\u2019 Fowler Blast Furnace Room. The Muslim comedy showcase will also feature Omar Regan and Delaware state representative Madinah Wilson-Anton.<\/p>\n
In a phone interview, Habib recalled feeling self-conscious about being different from other kids growing up in the Allentown area in the years immediately following 9\/11. \u201cI was a brown man from Pakistan. And when I came to America, they said, \u2018Are you white, Asian, Black or Hispanic?\u2019 I guess I\u2019m Black? I didn\u2019t know where else I fit in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
It turns out storytelling about feeling like an outsider resonates with audiences. \u201cI love to put people in my shoes and then walk them through the emotions \u2013 whether that\u2019s confused, hilarious, awkward, scared \u2013 that helps establish a bond with the audience,\u201d Habib said.<\/p>\n
However, sometimes the bond can get too close for comfort. A reel on Habib\u2019s Instagram account (@usmanhabib) from a standup performance during Musikfest features him getting interrupted by an enthusiastic woman in the audience who felt the need to share her observations about Egyptian women wearing hijabs. But instead of getting rattled by the intrusion, he made it seem like it was a natural part of the act.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always cognizant of I might be the only Muslim entertainer this woman ever sees,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After earning a master\u2019s degree at Temple University, Habib \u2013 who now lives in Philadelphia \u2013 started exploring the standup comedy scene in 2016. \u201cI met Kevin Hart. I worked with Shane Gillis. When I told them about my story about being a Muslim in America, being an immigrant in America post-9\/11, they loved it. They said, \u2018Hey man, the world needs to hear these things because they don\u2019t understand the perspective of someone like you,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A year and a half ago, Habib collaborated with fellow Muslim comedian Moses the Comic to create the \u201cHalal Hilarity\u201d show and take it on the road to different cities. According to Habib, audiences from Philly\u2019s Helium Comedy Club to The Comedy Store in Hollywood, Cap City Comedy Club in Austin, Texas, The Stand in New York City, and beyond have all laughed along.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s to show people hey, Muslims aren\u2019t scary; we\u2019re actually funny. And we can be funny while being clean and being family-friendly,\u201d Habib said. \u201cWhat better thing to do than to bring this show back home?\u201d<\/p>\n
The ArtsQuest website stipulates that for all comedy shows, children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would really make me happy is for the local community in Bethlehem to come out and say, \u2018Not only did we laugh and have a good time, but we learned about a different culture and a different perspective,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pro tip: When Habib says \u201cAs-salaam alaikum\u201d \u2013 an Arabic greeting that means \u201cmay peace be upon you\u201d \u2013 the standard response is \u201cWa alaikum salaam,\u201d or \u201cand may peace be upon you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHalal Hilarity,\u201d 7 p.m. Nov. 29, Fowler Blast Furnace Room, SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. 610-332-1300, artsquest.org\/event\/halal-hilarity.<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTO COURTESY USMAN HABIBLehigh Valley native and Parkland HSgraduate Usman Habib will bring his \u201cHalal Hilarity\u201d Muslim comedy show to SteelStacks in Bethlehem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published November 18. 2025 01:07PM In a world often deeply divided by differences, there\u2019s a Muslim clean comedy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37827,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-37826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}