"Laughter is the best way to unify people the world over. It's smiling that makes us all human."
That couldn't be more true! And luckily, Iraq has just gotten its very own satirical TV personality, who's been likened to Egypt's "Jon Stewart" Bassem Youssef, to make it smile!
Ahmad al Basheer is so popular that millions of Iraqis tune in weekly for "The Basheer Show."
Also like Youssef, Basheer has been receiving death threats since his ISIS-criticising show aired in his politically-unstable homeland.
But the comedian is unphased by the threats. On the contrary, he believes that fighting ISIS with satire "lifts the aura of fear that is one of the militants’ strongest weapons," reported AFP.
“Most of the threats come from Daesh or people loyal to the militias... through social media like Twitter or Facebook but also by post or SMS on our mobiles,” he says.
“We’ve got used to it. New threats come in after every episode.”
Reporting from the more stable neighboring Amman, Jordan, Basheer said, “Weapons are not the best solution for Iraq. We fight Daesh with satire. After all, its members are only human. We can fight them by making fun of them.”
The 30-year-old believes that his program shows Daesh leaders for what they are, rather than religious paragons.
“Their halos drop and they become simple human beings. That’s why it’s very dangerous for them,” he says.
“We make fun of everyone who is bad for our country, starting with government officials who make mistakes and fail to do their jobs, then corrupt and bad politicians, or those who exploit religion for political ends, and finally extremists, sectarian stirrers and militias.”
Before settling in Jordan in 2011, Basheer worked as a journalist for several Iraqi TV stations. He made the move after narrowly escaping a bomb attack at a festival in the western city of Ramadi that cost the lives of seven colleagues.
In a similar incident in June, Saudi comedian actor Nasser al Qasabi received death threats from ISIS for mocking them in his comedy TV series "Selfie." He was further branded an "apostate" for mocking religious Sheikhs in the same show.
While thousands of social media users condemned Nasser for his show, he told Al Arabiya TV in an interview, "We are from this community not another planet and we are not here to present something unacceptable. As Saudi citizens, we're entitled to our own opinions, because we love our country and care about it. It's any Saudi's right to address certain issues.
