A Williamsburg comedy club is offering free entry to Muslims — a deal it has dubbed the “Donald Trump Special.”
The Experiment Comedy Gallery’s head funny-man says he hopes the middle-finger to the presidential candidate’s platform of banning practitioners of Islam from entering the country will help fellow followers of the faith find humor during a dark time.
“It’s gonna take years until the Muslim Mel Brooks writes our version of ‘The Producers’ to take on our Hitler,” said club owner Mo Fathelbab. “So in the meantime we’re going to create an atmosphere where we’re going to take it on through humor.”
The club will only give gratis entry to those who can prove they are devout by facing the holy city of Mecca and reciting the opening of the Qur’an — a hard ask for many modern-day American Muslims, Fathelbab said, including himself.
“We’re just as Muslim as Shaquille O’Neill and Ice Cube,” he said.
The admission policy is mostly for laughs, but apparently better thought-through than the idea it is lampooning — the Republican frontrunner plans to screen people entering the United States simply by asking, “Are you Muslim?”.
And because Trump’s divisive plan would remain in effect for the foreseeable future, so too will the comedy special that bears his name.
“It’s going to be as vague as Donald Trump is going to make it,” said Fathelbab.
The Experiment is also hosting a stand-up show called “Hilarious Muslims” on Monday, featuring local Muslim comedians.
The Experiment Comedy Gallery (20 Broadway between Dunham Place and Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, (626) 643–4850, www.theex
