This American Life – Episode 879: “A Christian and a Muslim Walk Into a Bar”

Date: January 18, 2026
Host: Ira Glass
Guest Reporter: Eamon Ogana
Featured Comedians: Sharif Hamzy (Muslim), Maliki Mardinali (Christian), Abu Aziz, and other members of the Styria comedy group

Overview:

This episode chronicles the first nationwide stand-up comedy tour in Syria since the surprising overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Reporter Eamon Ogana embeds with Styria, a comedy troupe led by Sharif Hamzy and Maliki Mardinali, as they navigate newfound freedoms—and new dangers—on the road, juggling political, religious, and cultural minefields in post-war Syria. The story captures the tense hope of a country tasting—and immediately testing—the boundaries of expression after decades of dictatorship.

Key Themes and Structure

• Experimenting with Freedom: How comedians and Syrians at large are discovering what is now possible—and dangerous—to say or joke about.
• Censorship, Old and New: Worries about government and religious censorship even after Assad, showing how power and anxieties shift.
• Comedy as Resistance and Healing: Stand-up as both catharsis and test of the new political order.
• The Limits of Change: Despite new hopes, echoes of repression remain, and the rules keep shifting.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Comedy Under Dictatorship and in Transition

Sharif Hamzy’s Backstory and the Risk of Comedy

• Under Assad’s regime, jokes about the government meant jail or death.
• Sharif kept “dangerous” jokes in a folder labeled “Lebanon” and only performed them abroad.
  • “There is one joke... if I say it over here, we will get killed.” (Sharif Hamzy, 01:03)
• After the regime falls, there’s hope and uncertainty: can people joke about anything now?

The Overthrow and Uncertain New Freedoms

• Assad flees, and Islamist group HTS takes interim power—surprisingly, they say free speech is allowed.
• No established rulebook; comedians are unsure how far they can push.

Audience Reaction to New Freedom

• Many have lost loved ones or homes in the war.
  • “My house was destroyed and my brother was dead. My mother was dead. And you here in Damascus were having fun... so they cannot take the joke.” (Sharif Hamzy, 04:27)
• Comedy feels like both a privilege and a provocation.

2. The Styria Tour: Setting Out and Early Tensions

• Styria, named for “Syria + hysteria,” aims for 16 cities, from liberal Damascus to conservative and formerly ISIS-held territory.
• Comics debate what’s safe. Maliki Mardinali describes self-censorship:
  • “I don’t want any joke to be uncomfortable for them... So I’m going safe side this time.” (Maliki, 06:24)
  • Example: A government joke about soldiers wearing flip-flops is skipped.

Permit System and Boundaries

• The Ministry of Tourism allows political jokes but no “hate speech” or material that could “cause unrest”—including, often, any mention of religion or social issues.

3. Tensions Ignite: The Hama & Maharde Dramas

Hama Show Cancelled

• The group is told locally that their show in conservative Hama is banned—for allegedly “supporting gay rights,” though the comedians never address this topic.
  • “They are assuming. We didn’t say anything about this kind of topic.” (Maliki, 13:19)
  • “Imagine, you cannot think about supporting any rights... we don’t know much.” (Sharif, 13:58)
• For Styria, Hama is a symbolic test: can a sold-out comedy show happen in a city with a bloody history of government repression?

Family Values and New Lines on Censorship (29:53)

• Maliki learns from the local sheikh that complaints are actually about “breaking bonds between families” with jokes about parents.
  • “They are affecting the people that watch this kind of shows, that we are a threat... to the family values.” (Maliki, 29:53)
  • “If I can’t speak on my dad, what should I speak for?” (Maliki, 30:01)
• Comedians feel the window for free speech is closing: “It’s like coming from dark to the light. Then we are slowly closing the window now.” (Maliki, 31:04)

Styria Goes Public

• The group realizes social media is a weapon. They post about the cancellations, hoping angry fans will pressure officials.

Escalation and Bureaucratic Retaliation

• Another member, Abu Aziz, vents online, comparing the new regime to the old one—making the officials furious.
  • “We’re back to how we were before,” Abu Aziz posts, risking severe backlash.

Maharde, a Christian Town—More Red Tape, More Pressure

• Even in Maharde, where the sheikh has no formal authority, pressure from Hama leads to new permit requirements: now it’s three ministries, not just one.
  • “I can't think of a place shitter than here... I hate this country. I swear to God, I hate it from the bottom of my heart.” (Maliki, 47:34)
• Eventually, out of fear and fatigue, venues bail and shows are canceled. Comedians are exhausted, angry, and demoralized.

4. Behind the Scenes: The Comedians’ Stories

Sharif’s Past, and Root of His Defiance

• Sharif was jailed in Dubai for drugs, spent years writing comedy in prison.
  • “Be a great Stand up is the name of the book.” (23:39)
  • “Never Never Speak the plan. I used to talk a lot, man. This is what got me into shit.” (24:17)
• Left prison, determined to build a stand-up scene in Syria.

Maliki’s Path from Bank Clerk to Comedian

• Maliki stumbled into comedy at a bar on a dare; his first gig “the purest shit you’ll ever seen in your life.”
  • "'Shit, shit, shit, man. Pure shit.'" (Maliki, 28:07)
• Quit the bank, teamed up with Sharif, began organizing shows.

The On-Stage Material—Pushing and Redrawing the Boundaries

• In cities where they can perform, their material is more daring:
  • Sharif's “Asma al Assad’s bra” joke, a reference to the dictator’s wife’s breast cancer, would have gotten him jailed or killed under Assad.
    • “Don’t feel sorry for her. She have cancer, feel sorry for the cancer, he have a smile.” (Sharif, 17:11)

5. Power, Protest, and “Negotiating” Freedom

The “Chess Game” with Authority

• The troupe see themselves as players in a chess match with the state: “It’s now our move on the chessboard. We have the media, we have the people, they have weapons.” (Maliki, 38:50)

Final Confrontation with the Political Affairs Officials

• Maliki and Abu Aziz are made to apologize in person to officials who lecture them about the dangers of “breaking civil peace.”
• New message from authorities: under Assad, you couldn’t joke about politics; now, politics is fair game, but don’t touch sex, religion, or family.
  • “From the start, all your jokes were about religion, sex, and sensitive topics that threaten civil peace.” (Officials, 54:00)
• Abu Aziz: “Yes. I regret my reaction and putting the story... if I do that with the old regime, I will be killed or forcibly disappeared.” (55:16)

Reporter’s Insight

• “It’s not the old terror, not real freedom either. The state will absolve you if you apologize... You can post, you can film, but you have to bow down to authority.” (Eamon, 55:44)
• "It seems to me like in Syria today, everyone has tasted freedom for the first time and they're not sure what to do with it. Even the government don't even know what to do with freedom." (Eamon, 56:19)

Denial, Spin, and the Real Lines of Power

• The sheikh denies cancelling the show after the fact. “I’m sorry, it’s a misunderstanding. Fuck you. I’m fucking your misunderstanding. Understand well, because... any misunderstanding can lead to blood.” (Maliki, 56:56)

6. How It Ends: How Far Can You Go?

• Although Hama and Maharde are lost, the tour eventually proceeds to Aleppo, where both shows are allowed and sell out, suggesting boundaries are local and arbitrary.
• The Styria comedians keep testing the limits—and comedy, for now, keeps chipping at them.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On censorship, old and new:

  • “Under Assad, it was clear what they could not say. Now, there seemed to be no rulebook at all.” (Ira Glass, 03:17)

• On postwar bitterness:

  • “You hear in Damascus were having fun... you going to make people laugh. This is like luxury, you know, so they cannot take the joke.” (Sharif, 04:27)

• On new censorship lines:

  • “You are a threat to the family... If I can't speak on my dad, what should I speak for?” (Maliki, 29:53–30:01)

• On fleeting freedom:

  • “It’s like coming from dark to the light. Then we are slowly closing the window now... If it's better if I never had it.” (Maliki, 31:04)

• On defiance:

  • “If they want to stop, let them stop us. Kharas, if it's going to go to jail, please take me to jail. I miss it.” (Sharif, 33:12)

• On heartbreak:

  • “I feel sad because the people who got influenced, now they're using Bashar ways to... stop us from making people have some fun.” (Sharif, 49:22)

• On the strange new normal:

  • “It’s not the old terror, not real freedom either... You can post, you can film, but you have to bow down to authority...” (Eamon, 55:44)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:12 – Introduction to Sharif Hamzy and comedy under Assad
• 03:35 – Syrian revolution and new permission structures
• 05:41 – Styria’s tour launches in Safita
• 13:11 – Hama show banned over “gay rights” rumors
• 15:22 – The importance and risks of performing in Hama
• 17:06 – Sharif tells “Asma al-Assad’s bra” joke
• 20:39 – Tour returns to Damascus; anticipation of Hama drama
• 23:39 – Sharif’s prison story and vision for Syrian stand-up
• 29:53 – Sheikh cancels for “threat to family values”
• 34:01 – Final cancellation of Hama, escalation via social media
• 43:07 – Bureaucratic showdown in Maharde
• 49:22 – Emotional fallout as shows get cancelled
• 55:16 – Abu Aziz apologizes to officials
• 56:19 – Final reflections on learning to live with new freedoms
• 58:24 – Aleppo shows go on, comedy persists

Flow and Takeaways

This American Life weaves Styria’s heartbreaking, funny, and defiant road trip—full of jokes, stress, jubilation, and fear—into a testament to Syria’s deeply uncertain present. The episode’s tone is candid, dryly comic, and emotionally raw, closely echoing the personalities of the comics themselves.

If you haven’t listened:
This episode powerfully captures a Syria in flux—where laughter, political upheaval, and trauma meet. For Styria (and their fans), every punchline is a test of what “freedom” really means, and whether it will last.