Islam and humor

The other day, I got to thinking what the Qu'ran says about humor as it pertains to Islam. Hardcore Muslims don't seem to strike me as being able to laugh at stuff, much less themselves. So I searched and this is what I found:

Hadith Humor

'Islamic way of life is a way of LIFE. Thus, the scope of Islam and life should be fully convergent. As Islam is based on human nature, it also fully takes into account that nature in all its dimension. As a reflection of many different types of extremities among us as Muslims, some have divorced Islam in search of their jest and fun. Others, due to their "love" for Islam, have purified Islam and their life from any jestful dimension: so, no fun or humor.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (p) said, "O followers of Muhammad! By Allah, if you knew what I know, you would weep much and laugh little." [Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8, #627]

Hadith like this is well-known and the unintended impact of such Hadith has been such that we forgot to have a sense of humor altogether. Indeed, the more religious we are, the less we laugh. On top of this, I have observed that the more religious and scholarly Muslims are, their faces are stiffer, even when they have their pictures taken. Life is more than just weeping and crying. There might be some proportionality, but there is plenty of lighter dimension of life as well. So, go ahead, cry a little, laugh a little.

I am not kidding. The Prophet (s) usually had a very friendly, inviting disposition. He smiled, and laughed as situations "naturally" warranted. Just like he did not try to artificially induce tears in his eyes, he did not suppress his laugh during situations that were humorous.'

But also, found that when some American Muslims perform comedy routines, or travel as a comedy troupe, they are suspected of being terrorists recruiting people.

Planck's Constant:

'Here is the guiding theme for the troupe: "The concept of this tour is to make a comprehensive effort to provide effective, significant, and appropriate comedy with an Islamic perspective, which is both mainstream and cross-cultural.

The idea is to provide a venue whereby Muslims and non-Muslims can feel safe, relevant, and inclusive of an experience where humor is used to bridge gaps of bias, intolerance, and other social ills that are pre and post 9/11 relevant," says Preacher Moss, co-founder, and one of the featured comedians on the tour.

However, there is a dark side to this group: according to Militant Islam Monitor they are affiliated with the Council of Islamic Organisations of Greater Chicago whose members are part of a network of radical Islamist organisations which are directly linked to Hamas and Al Qaeda and raises funds for convicted terrorists and other related causes.'

So it's kind of a catch-22; people need to lighten up and use humor to get a different perspective, yet if they do, they are suspected of being terrorists. You can't win. Welcome to Bush's America.

It is actually an interesting subject to read the different opinions of.