Huda F Cares & Maysoon Zayid
For Arab American Heritage Month, IIA would like to highlight Arab-American graphic novelist, Huda Fahmy, and her young adult graphic novel Huda F Cares. This graphic novel follows Huda and her family as they take a road trip from Dearborn, Michigan to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The novel details Huda’s experiences as she travels outside of her Muslim-majority community and is soon thrusted into an environment completely different from her own. Huda F Cares is packed with a plethora of comedic moments as it tackles subjects like friendship, culture shock, Islamophobia, familial relationships, and belonging.
Huda F Cares has received countless praiseworthy reviews and reception for its approach on detailing the experiences of a Young Muslim woman in America. This graphic novel was also a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.
To check out the graphic novel, click here.
To continue the commemoration of Arab-American Heritage Month, IIA would like to spotlight Palestinian-American comic and actress Maysoon Zayid.
Zayid is from Cliffside Park, New Jersey, and has been active in stand-up and television since the early 2000s. All of her comedy revolves around her experiences with being a Muslim Palestinian-American woman and her struggle living with Cerebral Palsy. In her own words, she has described herself simply as “a Palestinian Muslim virgin with Cerebral Palsy, from New Jersey, who is an actress, comedian, and activist.”
Zayid has done much work in the disabled community, specifically in Palestine by holding various art programs for disabled children. In 2003, she co-founded the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival, which annually showcases Arab-American comics, playwrights, filmmakers, and actors. Zayid has also starred in Adam Sandler’s 2008 film You Don’t Mess with Zohan.
Zayid is considered one of the first Muslim Arab-American women in comedy in America, and she is currently on a national comedy tour.
To get a preview of Zayid’s comedic style, click here to view her TedTalk.
