Muslim lawyer and comedian Azhar Usman

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Religion Communicators Council

Azhar Usman, "America's funniest Muslim" according to CNN and Rabbi Bob Alper, self proclaimed as "the world's only practicing clergyman doing stand-up comedy... intentionally" will perform as part of their Laugh in Peace Tour on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in the University of Michigan Union Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public.

The show is sponsored by a collaboration of several U-M student organizations including: MuJew, the Muslim Students Association, Hillel, LSA-SA and the Islamic Relations Council.

The Laugh in Peace Tour is a comedy show that promotes interfaith action, multiculturalism and peace through the universal appeal of laughter. Featuring one Muslim and one Jew, the routines seek to dispel common stereotypes and misconceptions about Jewish and Muslim communities.

Part-time rabbi, full-time comedian Bob Alper

Photo Courtesy of Flickr User Religion Communicators Council

"Laughter provides a unique opportunity to bring people together in a way that people would not normally respect", said MuJew co-chair Jenna Weinberg, "Instead of getting everybody together in a room and dialoguing, we want to use laughter and comedy as a way to break through tensions."

Azhar Usman is also the co-founder of "Allah Made Me Funny - The Official Muslim Comedy Tour" which was made into a documentary-concert film in 2008. He performs in English, Urdu/Hindi, Spanish and Arabic and has been named one of "the 500 most influential Muslims" in the world by the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talaal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding of Georgetown University and the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan in 2009. 

Bob Alper has been a rabbi for 38 years and holds a degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the author of two books: "Life Doesn't Get Any Better Than This" and "A Rabbi Confesses." Alper is also known for performing "The Spirituality of Laughter," an "informal sermon exploring how Judaism values the spiritual, psychological and physiological benefits of laughter," according to his website.

The Laugh in Peace Tour will be the first comedy show to be co-sponsored by MuJew, an organization seeking to facilitate social, cultural, and volunteer events for Muslim and Jewish students at U-M.

Katherine Axelsen is a Senior at the University of Michigan double majoring in English and Comparative Religion. She is an intern at AnnArbor.com and writes for their faith section. You may contact her at kaxe@umich.edu.