Maliki Mardinalli
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
One of them says that he went to one of their shows a few months back, that he sat in the front row with his son.
He says, From the start, all your jokes were about religion, sex, and sensitive topics that threaten civil peace.
They remind the comedians that under Assad, they could joke about anything but politics.
Now, they can joke as much as they want about politics or the government, but they can't joke about topics that could disturb the civil peace.
They point to a little dance Abu Aziz does at the start of his set.
They say it's sexual.
They say society's morals have deteriorated.
Abu Aziz apologizes a second time.
He tries to break the tension with a joke.
He says, It's a joke because Abu Aziz is overweight, not a big athlete, and it's impossible to both love Shara and Assad.
Silence.
No smiles, no laughs.
It's awkward.
The message is clear.
This is not a joke.
The meeting wraps up after an hour.
Afterwards, I ask Abu Aziz about it.
Do you regret the post now?
It says a lot about where Syria is now.
Not the old terror, not real freedom either.