COMEDIAN AHMED AHMED CIRCUMVENTS RELIGIOUS POLICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000079

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2019
TAGS: KDEM KPAO PGOV SA SCUL
SUBJECT: COMEDIAN AHMED AHMED CIRCUMVENTS RELIGIOUS POLICE
TO PERFORM BEFORE MIXED-GENDER AUDIENCE IN JEDDAH

JEDDAH 00000079 001.4 OF 002


Classified By: CG Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On February 21, well-known Egyptian-American
comedian Ahmed Ahmed and other comedians performed in Jeddah
before a mixed-gender audience of nearly 1000 Saudis and
expats, who were regaled by comic routines on sensitive
topics ranging from the Mutawwa (religious police) to
Arabic-style dating, often with explicit language and
innuendo. The performance, held at a remote location, was
announced the same day in order to reduce the likelihood of
interference from the CPVPV (Committee for the Propagation of
Virtue and Prevention of Vice) religious police. END SUMMARY.

2.(C) AHMED AHMED AND FRIENDS: The group of comedians,
including several Saudis, were sponsored by Comedy Arabia, an
online comedy channel and social networking organization,
along with Smile Productions, a Saudi promoter. The star of
the show was Ahmed Ahmed (www.ahmed-ahmed.com),who has spent
much of his career touring the U.S., appearing on numerous
film and television shows, including the Tonight Show, Comedy
Central and MTV's PUNK'D. His current Middle East tour
brought him to Lebanon, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, with
performances in both Riyadh and Jeddah.

3.(C) LAST-MINUTE RESCHEDULING: The original performance was
supposed to take place on February 20 evening at the Italian
Cultural Club in Jeddah (this country's only foreign cultural
center). Ticket-holders were notified the morning of the
event that lead performer Ahmed Ahmed had lost his
reservation on a Riyadh-Jeddah flight and would be forced to
travel by car, thereby delaying the show by a full day.
(NOTE: The Italian Cultural Club, with its popular pasta
restaurant, proscenium stage, and pop music in an outdoor
piazza, has been under pressure by the Mutawwa recently to
curtail operations and is now open only one night a week,
Thursday. It is possible that the real reason for the delay
was the issue of finding a new venue. END NOTE.) The final
locale chosen for the February 21 event was a small compound
called "White Tents Resort," located far away from the main
commercial centers of Jeddah, with dim-lit desert roads
providing the only access. Ahmed Ahmed commented during his
routine that he felt he was being taken to "an underground
grave."


4. (C) MIXED-GENDER AUDIENCE: The audience, estimated at
1,000, cheered wildly when Ahmed Ahmed asked: "Who in the
audience is Saudi?" Although there were some jokes in
Arabic, the fast-paced performance was almost entirely in
English, geared to a primary audience of foreign-educated
Saudis with some expats. The audience sat in mixed-gender
seating, a practice rare in the Kingdom, where
strictly-enforced religious custom dictates physical
separation of men and women at social events -- usually by
means of a non-transparent partition. Many young Saudi women
were observed wearing neither the traditional abaya (black
gown) nor the hijab (veil).


5. (C) HUMOR ON SENSITIVE TOPICS: The comedians, Ahmed Ahmed
and several Saudi nationals, did not shy away from addressing
sensitive issues, including: the role of the Mutawwa, how to
evade police check points, racist attitudes towards foreign
workers, the right (or lack thereof) of women to drive in the
Kingdom, the attire of women, dating practices, and
circumventing the ban on Valentine's Day celebrations. Many
jokes used explicit language with sexual, racial and ethnic
innuendo -- though little focus on any particular group. The
audience, laughing heartily and obviously relishing this rare
opportunity in Saudi Arabia, did not appear to mind in the
least the racy, nightclub humor.


6. (C) MUSLIM ARABS IN THE US: Throughout the performance
Ahmed Ahmed related his experiences as a Muslim and an Arab
in the United States, with his familiar comic lines about
being screened at airports and his brief detention after
9/11. Much of the routine drew on his contention that Muslim
Arabs have replaced African-Americans and other ethnic groups
as objects of stereotyping.


7. (C) COMMENT: Large scale cultural and social events with
mixed-gender audiences are occurring with increasing
frequency in Jeddah. Electronic media including text
messages, email, and Facebook, make it possible to announce
venues for events at the last minute limiting the possibility
of crackdowns by the religious police and allowing for large
audiences. Recent Mutawwa action against the Italian
Cultural Club indicates that conservative religious

JEDDAH 00000079 002.2 OF 002


authorities, even in "relatively liberal" Jeddah, are not
ready yet to concede too much social space. END COMMENT.
QUINN