Fundamentalist Humor

Mark Pinski, author of The Gospel According to The Simpsons, takes aim at the notion that fundamentalists, Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, don't have a sense of humor. He notes these examples of in-house humor:

Brad Stine is an angry, braying stand-up comic whose best-known venues are Promise Keepers rallies that have drawn thousands of evangelical Christian men to coliseums. He once admonished conservative churches that were burning Harry Potter books: "Here's a good rule of thumb: If Hitler tried it — maybe go the other way." His first book was titled Being a Christian Without Being an Idiot: 10 Assumed Truths That Make Us Look Stupid.

Shazia Mirza, a British stand-up and practicing Muslim, has taken the greatest risks.

"Last year, I went to Mecca to repent my sins, and I had to walk around the black stone," she told one audience. "All the women were dressed in black; you could only see their eyes. And I felt a hand touch my bottom. I ignored it. I thought, 'I'm in Mecca, it must be the hand of God.' But then it happened again. I didn't complain. Clearly, my prayers had been answered."

Via GetReligion (They are currently in server limbo so no direct link to this blog post is available.)