Rehman, Shabana

▪ 2005

      Pakistani-born Norwegian performer Shabana Rehman was no stranger to controversy; being a Muslim woman and a stand-up comic in itself might be cause for some controversy, but she really stirred things up in April 2004 when she physically lifted a mullah. At a public discussion with Mullah Krekar, the former leader of the militant fundamentalist group Ansar al-Islam and now a resident of Norway, Rehman asked if the Muslim cleric would participate in a test to see if he had really adapted to liberal Norwegian society. He agreed, and Rehman proceeded to wrap her arms around the mullah's thighs and lift him into the air. While many laughed at the test, the stunned Krekar expressed his humiliation and outrage and made a hasty exit. The news of the incident filled the Norwegian papers and soon made its way throughout the globe.

      Rehman remained unapologetic, as tweaking mullahs and drawing the ire of the Muslim establishment had been routine since she started doing stand-up in 1999. Her act began with her arriving on stage wearing a burka, the long concealing robes worn by fundamentalist Muslim women. After a few jokes about her attire (she suggested it was excellent for “scaring away children”), Rehman discarded the burka to reveal a red cocktail dress. She continued to jab at what she perceived as the backwardness of conservative Muslims and the regrettable tolerance of these practices by moderates. Her cutting wit was not reserved only for Muslims, however. She had much to say about the Norwegians and their shortcomings in dealing with the nation's growing immigrant population. Her show was entitled “Skiing Across Greenland,” a reference to a legendary feat by Norwegian hero Fridtjof Nansen as well as a pun on “Greenland,” which was the name of an immigrant section of Oslo.

      In 2003 she posed nude on the cover of a national magazine, her body painted like the Norwegian flag. It was an act that annoyed some members of both the Muslim and Norwegian communities. For Rehman, however, the meaning of the photo was apparent. “I wanted to make it clear that even as a Muslim woman I am free to dispose of my body as I wish. I also wanted to demonstrate to Norwegians that you can be Scandinavian even if you were born in the Punjab.”

      Rehman was born in 1976 in Karachi, Pak., and a year later her family relocated to Oslo. She attended university, where she studied ethics and media. In addition to her comedy act, she regularly appeared on Norwegian television and wrote a column for the liberal newspaper Dagbladet in Oslo. Despite the fact that they were sometimes the subjects of her jokes, her parents and seven siblings remained supportive of Rehman's comedy career.

James Hennelly

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