Azhar Muhammad Usman (born December 23, 1975) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer of Indian descent. He is a former lecturer, community activist and lawyer and has been referred to as the "

Ayatollah Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from ...

of Comedy" and "Bin Laughin". He is best known as one third of comedy trio

Allah Made Me Funny Allah Made Me Funny are an American stand-up comedy troupe consisting of Bryant "Preacher" Moss, Azhar Usman, and Azeem Muhammad, who was later replaced by Mohammed "Mo" Amer. They are the longest-running artistic collective of Muslim comic pe ...

. In December 2020,

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

announced that Usman had joined the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

, agreeing to play Najaf on the cast of the studio's ''

Ms. Marvel Ms. Marvel is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was originally conceived as a female counterpart to Captain Marvel. Like Captain Marvel, most of the bearers of the Ms. M ...

'' original streaming series for

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

Early life

Usman was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, to immigrant Indian Muslim parents. As a child, his family lived in the predominately Jewish Chicago suburb of Skokie. In the 1970s, Usman's veterinarian father Zia Usman (a graduate of

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

) and school-teacher mother Atiya Usman left

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

, India, and emigrated to the United States. In 1993, Usman graduated from

Niles West High School Niles West High School, officially Niles Township High School West or NWHS, is a public four-year high school located in Skokie, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago in the United States. It is part of Niles Township Community High School Distric ...

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Its population, according to the 2020 census, was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's do ...

. In 1996, he graduated with a BA degree in

Communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and Spanish from the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...

, and in 1999 a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent Law ...

. He co-founded an

Internet startup The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...

, then practiced law, and then started performing stand-up comedy. He chose not to practice law after graduating from law school. Instead he did a dot-com start-up. He turned down six-figure salary offers to pay himself $35,000 working for his own dot com. He then folded the dot-com business and started practicing law briefly as a solo practitioner, whilst doing stand up as a hobby.

Stand-up career

Since 1996, Usman had a friend who was an amateur comic and he would take him to a comedy club in Minneapolis. This inspired him to write an act in 2000. Usman started performing stand-up comedy in early 2001, a few months before

September 11 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...

, initially as a hobby. However, in 2004, he had enough bookings to make a run at it. In early 2004, Usman stopped practicing law full-time. He has performed in many major cities in the U.S. as well as in over 20 countries on five continents. In May 2004, Usman along with

Preacher Moss Bryant Reginald Moss (born 1967), best known by his stage name Preacher Moss, is an American stand-up comedian and writer. He is best known as one third of comedy trio Allah Made Me Funny. Early life Moss was born in Washington, D.C. to Africa ...

and Azeem Muhammad (later replaced by

Mohammed Amer Mohammed Mustafa Amer ( ar, محمد عامر; born July 24, 1981) is a Palestinian American stand-up comedian. He is best known for his Netflix comedy special ''Mo Amer: The Vagabond'', and his role as one third of the comedy trio Allah Made ...

in 2006) launched a comedy tour titled ''

''. He also co-wrote and produced a feature-length documentary/concert film based on the live tour, which was theatrically exhibited at

Landmark Theatres Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent film, independent and foreign film, foreign films. Since its founding in 1974, Landmark has grown to 35 Indepe ...

in over a dozen top US markets in 2008. The film was directed by award-winning documentarian

Andrea Kalin Andrea Kalin is an American independent filmmaker, writer, producer, and director. She is also the principal and founder of Spark Media and founder and executive director of Stone Soup Productions, a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation. Personal lif ...

and funded by the Unity Productions Foundation. Allah Made Me Funny toured 30 U.S. cities during its first year, and also in Canada, Europe, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Middle East. He has performed in 23 countries on five different continents. Usman and his comedy have been covered by over 100 major world media outlets, including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'',

CBS Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (normally shortened to ''Sunday Morning'' on the program itself since 2009) is an American news magazine television program that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and original host ...

CNN Headline News HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the network primarily carries true crime programming. The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982 by Turner Broadcasting as CNN2 (later renamed Headline News ...

, and a whole episode of ''

ABC Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the prog ...

''. He has played original sketch comedy characters for

MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...

, E4, and he was the creator and star of his own short-lived, semi-scripted, alternative web comedy show
Tinku's World
'. He performed at

Global Peace and Unity The Global Peace and Unity (often abbreviated as GPU) is a recurring two-day event/festival and conference held at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in Royal Victoria Dock, London, England and organized by the Islam Channel. It is the largest Muslim ...

Event in the

ExCeL Exhibition Centre ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the Roy ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He also appeared in the independent film '' Mooz-lum''. Azhar Usman He has shared the stage with comedians including

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...

Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...

Russell Peters Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970) is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and producer. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and won a Gemini Award in 2008. In 2013, he was number three on ''Forbes'' list of the world's highe ...

Todd Barry Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

and

Mitch Hedberg Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 30, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes mixed with absurd elements and non seq ...

. In 2008,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

aired an hour-long special, entitled ''America's Funniest Muslim,'' on its Turkish affiliate, which included both performance clips and an extended Q&A session with Usman. In November 2008, he toured India, debuting at the American Center in New Delhi.

Film career

Usman and Matt Sunbulli founded a production company called 9 Saints. (now defunct). In 2008, Usman produced a short film, ''The Boundary'' (directed by

Julius Onah Julius Onah (born February 10, 1983) is a Nigerian-American filmmaker and occasional actor.

), which was selected as a finalist by the HBO Short Film Competition, and aired on that network several times. Usman also appeared in the critically acclaimed, independent feature film '' Mooz-lum'' (directed by Qasim "Q" Basir) in 2011, starring opposite

Roger Guenveur Smith Roger Guenveur Smith (born July 27, 1955) is an American actor, director, and writer best known for his collaborations with Spike Lee. Early life Smith was born on July 27, 1955 in Berkeley, California, the son of Helen Guenveur, a dentist, and ...

Evan Ross Evan Olav Ross-Naess (born August 26, 1988), is an American actor and musician. He made his acting debut in the comedy-drama film '' ATL'' (2006), and has since starred in the films ''Pride'' (2007), ''According to Greta'' (2009), '' Mooz-lum'' ...

Nia Long Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the NBC sit ...

, and film legend

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films include ...

. He also appeared in several documentaries as himself, including '' It's My Country Too: Muslim Americans'' (directed by

Ruhi Hamid Ruhi Hamid is a British filmmaker, born in Tanzania of Asian origin, who has made award-winning documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, Al Jazeera International, and other UK, US and European broadcasters. Her films have covered international storie ...

for BBC), ''

Me and the Mosque ''Me and the Mosque'' is a 2005 Canadian documentary film by Zarqa Nawaz about the efforts of Muslim women in North America to pray in mosques, and the use of partitions to conceal women from male worshippers. In the documentary, Nawaz speaks wit ...

'' (directed by

Zarqa Nawaz Zarqa Nawaz (born 1967 in Liverpool, England) is a Canadian creator and producer for film and television, a published author, public speaker, journalist, and former broadcaster. Biography Zarqa Nawaz was raised in the Toronto area and attended ...

for CBC), and ''STANDUP: Muslim American Comics Come of Age'' (directed by Glenn Baker for PBS).

Television career

In June 2013, Usman featured on an interfaith special, ''What's So Funny About Religion?'', alongside

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis ...

and

, which was broadcast on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Television Network. In February 2017, Usman appeared in the recurring role of Kkyman Candahar in the Amazon original series

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

, created, written, and directed by Chicago screenwriter and producer

Steven Conrad Steven Conrad (born May 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker. Personal life Steven Conrad was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and briefly attended Florida State University before transferring to Northwestern University, where he majored in crea ...

. He returned the following year to reprise his role in the second season of the show. In 2018, he served as a Creative Advisor on the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

original series RAMY, created by and starring Egyptian-American standup comedian and actor,

Ramy Youssef Ramy Youssef ( ar, رامي يوسف; ; born March 26, 1991) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director of full Egyptian descent known for his role as Ramy Hassan on the Hulu comedy series '' Ramy'' (2019–present), for whic ...

. In 2019, he served as an Executive Creative Advisor on the show's second season, as well as a staff writer, and co-wrote an episode of the show, co-starring Egyptian screen legend

Amr Waked Amr Waked ( ar, عمرو واكد ; born ) is an Egyptian film, television and stage actor. He is best known to international audiences and in Hollywood for his role in the 2005 film ''Syriana''. Other prominent roles include a Yemeni Sheikh calle ...

and two-time Academy Award winner

Mahershala Ali Mahershala Ali (; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore, February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. ''Time'' magazine named him one of th ...

, with the show's eponymous creator. In December 2020, Usman was cast in an undisclosed role in the

streaming series ''

'', set in the

Comedy style

Usman talks about family histories and his American-Muslim childhood. He jokes about being mistaken for a terrorist, customs, religious holidays, families and himself. Usman's character comedy includes "Sheikh Abdul, the radical imam", who intersperses vitriolic lectures with announcements about double-parked cars and meetings to re-elect the mosque committee that has remained unchanged for 37 years. There is also "Uncle Letmesplainyou", an antique Muslim who barely speaks English, has crazy political views and a voracious desire to share them, elbowing others aside to embarrass the community in television interviews. He also brags about the growth of Muslim America to people who don't care.

Other activities

Usman is an artist and an activist and was a co-founding board member and director of The Nawawi Foundation, an Illinois non-profit dedicated to contemporary Islamic research Azhar M. Usman, Esq. and private Muslim think tank. Usman serves as an Arts and Culture advisor to the

Inner-City Muslim Action Network Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), founded in 1996 by Rami Nashashibi, is one of the leading Muslim charity organizations in the United States. According to the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, IMAN seeks "to utilize the tremendous possib ...

(IMAN) in Chicago. He also runs a boutique law practice. Usman wrote a one-man show titled "Ultra American: A Patriot Act starring Azhar Usman" and premiered it at

Silk Road Rising Silk Road Rising is a theatre company located in downtown Chicago dedicated to presenting plays written by individuals of Asian and Middle Eastern descent. Formerly known as Silk Road Theatre Project, the name was changed in 2011 in order to bett ...

in Chicago in September 2016. The show was recommended for a

Jeff Award The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater star ...

. In May 2017, Usman appeared on comedian

Pete Holmes Peter Benedict Holmes (born March 30, 1979) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. Musings on spirituality and religion are frequent themes in his works. Holmes gained recognition in the early 2010s as a stand-up comic, ...

' podcast You Made It Weird, for a wide-ranging interview that covered many topics. In the beginning of 2020, he announced the formation o
Numinous Company
a boutique services firm offering creative producing and humor consulting services to fellow creatives, such as comedians and creators, startups, non-profits, and other clients.

Awards and recognition

In March 2005,

ran an entire episode about Usman called "MUSLIM COMIC." In 2008, CNN's Turkish affiliate (

CNN Türk CNN Türk is a Turkish pay television news channel, launched on 11 October 1999 as the localised variant of American channel CNN. It broadcasts exclusively for Turkey and it is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Demirören Group. Its headquarte ...

) ran a one-hour special starring Usman, entitled "America's Funniest Muslim," which included a portion of live standup, followed by a lengthy Q&A session with the audience. In 2009, Usman was listed as one of ''

The 500 Most Influential Muslims ''The 500 Most Influential Muslims'' (also known as ''The Muslim 500'') is an annual publication first published in 2009, which ranks the most influential Muslims in the world. The publication is compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies C ...

'' by

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

's The

Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) is an interfaith institution based at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington. Overview The institution was founded at Georgetown University ...

and

Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre is a research centre affiliated with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. Its publications include: *'' A Common Word Between Us and You'' *'' The Amman Message'' *''Forty Hadith on Divin ...

of Jordan. In 2010, fellow comedian and legendary standup icon

remarked: "Azhar Usman is untouchable, he's like a comedian from the future," after a show at The New Parish in Oakland, California. Usman has opened for Chappelle over 40 times since first meeting him in 2005.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Personal life

Usman is an

Indian American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. He is divorced with four children. His ex-wife is a lawyer. In the Spring of 2020, it was announced on his personal Instagram account that he is now married to visual artist Jennifer Hoffman Usman (f/k/a Jen Jackson), a graduate of The Prince's School of the Traditional Arts.

References

External links

*
Numinous Company
*