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Axis of Evil takes over the Oak Room

Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Entertainment
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Axis of Evil performed at the Oak Room on Thursday in front of faculty and students.
Media Credit: Peter Caty
Axis of Evil performed at the Oak Room on Thursday in front of faculty and students.

The packed crowd in the Oak Room was left laughing uncontrollably after an impressive performance.
Media Credit: Peter Caty
The packed crowd in the Oak Room was left laughing uncontrollably after an impressive performance.

Two Palestinians and an Iranian walk into a room - stop me if you've heard this one before - and the Iranian turns to the crowd of college students and says, "I'm not Iranian; I'm Persian, like the cat, 'Meow!'"

As the 600-member crowd erupted with laughter in the Oak Room Thursday night, a fiendish smile spread across comedian Maz Jobrani's face, for he knew that the room of unsuspecting victims succumbed to the power of comedy group Axis of Evil .

Contrary to the implications given by the name, the trifecta of comedy looks to educate people of all races about the social and political situation in the Middle East and in the United States post 9/11, while also poking fun at everything they can lay their metaphorical fingers on.

From Jews to Mexicans to the Crocodile Hunter, no one is safe from the Axis of Evil.

"Just once can it [the terrorist] be a Buddhist?" Jobrani asked the audience. "Now, I've thought about it, and it can never be a Buddhist. Right? Because Buddhists live in the moment; a Buddhist would be like, 'I was going to blow myself up, but that moment is gone.'"

Click to see Axis of Evil perform .

The half-Palestinian and half-Mormon Aron Kader talked about growing up with a Mormon family, and being around the Mormon religion.

Kader joked about the challenges of growing up in a mixed-faith household, such as, when at the age of 19, he was asked by Mormons to go on a mission.

"To an Arab, a mission's a whole different thing. We don't come back from those," he said. The crowd roared with laughter at Kader's predicament.

Filling in for the last member of the trio, Egyptian-American Ahmed Ahmed, was Dean Obeidallah, a New Jersey native with both Arab and Sicilian roots. He gave the audience words of advice about airports.

"Dress white, make your flight," he said.

He also informed the audience, "If you have an Arab name, you are immune to identity theft."

Given a chance to chat with Obeidallah, I asked him a little about his homelife.

"I like to work out, but I also try to write every day," he said.

Almost all members of the group do some sort of acting, whether in movies or television, which contributes to their material.

Jobrani recounted his adventures playing several politically incorrect, stereotypical Arabic roles in which he always dies, including his role in a Chuck Norris film and in the popular TV show "24."

Typically performing in clubs or colleges around the country, Jobrani and Kader have also traveled to the Middle East to perform their material, which was originally written for American audiences, to a crowd of native Middle Easterners.

It was well-received, but they had some constraints. In Egypt, the group was told that it was acceptable for them to make fun of the U.S., but to not mention local politics.

The grouped formed back in 2000 while in California, but after the attacks of 9/11 the group recognized another importance to their comedy: laughter could heal.

Click to see more from Axis of Evil .
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