'Daily Show' Sketch-Turned-Web-Series 'Halal in the Family' Mocks Anti-Muslim Bias Ted Johnson - Variety
go to original April 13, 2015

Aasif Mandvi and Miles Kahn have turned a sketch created for “The Daily Show” into the web series parody “Halal in the Family,” which mocks Muslim stereotypes in the same way that “All in the Family” skewered racial bias through humor.

Mandvi, in an interview with Variety‘s “PopPolitics” on SiriusXM, says that the the four-episode series is well timed, given the discussion of the role of Islam in the media, particularly in the wake of the insurgency of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Understanding of Muslims, he says, has actually gotten worse since 9/11.

“I think that conversation has been hijacked by the media, by politicians for their own purposes, and the answer is to be afraid,” he says. “The answer is they are the bogeyman, that sort of thing. There is a very low favorable rating of Muslims right now — I think like 27% of Americans. I think we are just a little bit higher than Congress. And when most Americans hear the word ‘Muslim,’ it is like hearing the word ‘cancer.’ They respond in that way.”

Mandvi, producer along with Lillian LaSalle, stars alongside Sakina Jaffrey, with special guests including Samantha Bee, Tariq Trotter and Jordan Klepper. The show skewers surveillance issues, Sharia law hysteria and cyber-bullying.

Read the rest at Variety

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