Identity is part of their act, but they dare not talk politics and religion. Trolling and jail time might be a joke away.

Mohammed Hussain avoids potentially controversial material, but jokes about his Muslim identity are integral to his stand-up routine.

Stand-up comedy thrives on confession, but Muslim comics bring to the stage a candour and perspective that often sets them apart. With jokes that hover around the intersections of humour and identity, they talk about how they are regularly stereotyped and made victims of misconception. Their sets include references to the clichés that fashion how Muslims in India are perceived—terrorism, biryani, circumcision—but every once in a while, they drag out from under the carpet issues like riots and discrimination that impact the community even more adversely. Their comedy, however, comes at a price. These stand-up artists constantly worry about repercussions and persecution.

Adel Rahman told Frontline that being Muslim is “part of the act”. Audiences, he said, know he is Muslim the minute his name is announced. “How you look and talk, where are you from—all this becomes part of your routine. Comics talk about their experiences, so, yes, being a Muslim is part of everything.”

In January 2021, Munawar Faruqui was jailed in Indore for a joke in which he supposedly referenced a Hindu deity, but according to Rahman: “Anyone can go to jail. It doesn’t matter if you are Hindu or Muslim. Filing an FIR is so easy, and we have a right-wing government. They obviously prefer outrage to free speech. Performing political material is always risky, and Muslims cannot joke about India’s majority religion.”