Azhar Usman

Azhar Muhammad Usman (born December 23, 1975) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer of Indian descent. He is a former lecturer, community activist and lawyer and has been referred to as the "Ayatollah of Comedy" and "Bin Laughin". He is best known as one third of comedy trio Allah Made Me Funny. In December 2020, Marvel Studios announced that Usman had joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, agreeing to play Najaf on the cast of the studio's Ms. Marvel original streaming series for Disney+.

Early life Usman was born in Chicago, Illinois, to immigrant Indian Muslim parents. As a child, his family lived in the Chicago suburb of Skokie. In the 1970s, Usman's veterinarian father Zia Usman (a graduate of Aligarh Muslim University ) and school-teacher mother Atiya Usman left Bihar, India, and emigrated to the United States.

In 1993, Usman graduated from Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois. In 1996, he graduated with a BA degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and in 1999 a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School.

He chose not to practice law after graduating from law school. Instead he did a dot-com start-up. He turned down six-figure salary offers to pay himself $35,000 working for his own dot com. He then folded the dot-com business and started practicing law briefly as a solo practitioner, whilst doing stand up as a hobby.

Stand-up career Since 1996, Usman had a friend who was an amateur comic and he would take him to a comedy club in Minneapolis. This inspired him to write an act in 2000. Usman started performing stand-up comedy in early 2001, initially as a hobby. However, in 2004, he had enough bookings to make a run at it. He has performed in many major cities in the U.S. as well as in over 20 countries on five continents.

In May 2004, Usman along with Preacher Moss and Azeem Muhammad (later replaced by Mohammed Amer in 2006) launched a comedy tour titled Allah Made Me Funny. He also co-wrote and produced a feature-length documentary/concert film based on the live tour, which was theatrically exhibited at Landmark Theatres in over a dozen top US markets in 2008. The film was directed by award-winning documentarian Andrea Kalin and funded by the Unity Productions Foundation. Allah Made Me Funny toured 30 U.S. cities during its first year, and also in Canada, Europe, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Middle East.

He has performed in 23 countries on five different continents. He performed at Global Peace and Unity Event in the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London. He has shared the stage with comedians including Dave Chappelle, Jim Gaffigan, Russell Peters, Todd Barry and Mitch Hedberg. Usman also appeared in the critically acclaimed, independent feature film Mooz-lum (directed by Qasim "Q" Basir) in 2011, starring opposite Roger Guenveur Smith, Evan Ross, Nia Long, and film legend Danny Glover. He also appeared in several documentaries as himself, including It's My Country Too: Muslim Americans (directed by Ruhi Hamid for BBC), Me and the Mosque (directed by Zarqa Nawaz for CBC), and STANDUP: Muslim American Comics Come of Age (directed by Glenn Baker for PBS).

Television career In June 2013, Usman featured on an interfaith special, What's So Funny About Religion?, alongside Lewis Black and Mohammed Amer, which was broadcast on the CBS Television Network.

In February 2017, Usman appeared in the recurring role of Kkyman Candahar in the Amazon original series Patriot, created, written, and directed by Chicago screenwriter and producer Steven Conrad. He returned the following year to reprise his role in the second season of the show.

In 2018, he served as a Creative Advisor on the Hulu original series RAMY, created by and starring Egyptian-American standup comedian and actor, Ramy Youssef. In 2019, he served as an Executive Creative Advisor on the show's second season, as well as a staff writer, and co-wrote an episode of the show, co-starring Egyptian screen legend Amr Waked and two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali, with the show's eponymous creator.

Comedy style Usman talks about family histories and his American-Muslim childhood. He jokes about being mistaken for a terrorist, customs, religious holidays, families and himself.

Usman's character comedy includes "Sheikh Abdul, the radical imam", who intersperses vitriolic lectures with announcements about double-parked cars and meetings to re-elect the mosque committee that has remained unchanged for 37 years. There is also "Uncle Letmesplainyou", an antique Muslim who barely speaks English, has crazy political views and a voracious desire to share them, elbowing others aside to embarrass the community in television interviews. He also brags about the growth of Muslim America to people who don't care. and private Muslim think tank.

Usman serves as an Arts and Culture advisor to the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) in Chicago. He also runs a boutique law practice. The show was recommended for a Jeff Award.

In May 2017, Usman appeared on comedian Pete Holmes' podcast You Made It Weird, for a wide-ranging interview that covered many topics.

In the beginning of 2020, he announced the formation of Numinous Company , a boutique services firm offering creative producing and humor consulting services to fellow creatives, such as comedians and creators, startups, non-profits, and other clients.

In the summer of 2025, he taught a university level course at the American Islamic College, entitled "Rewriting the Script: The Rise of Muslim Creatives in Hollywood and Pop Culture."

Awards and recognition In March 2005, ABC Nightline ran an entire episode about Usman called "MUSLIM COMIC." In 2008, CNN's Turkish affiliate (CNN Türk) ran a one-hour special starring Usman, entitled "America's Funniest Muslim," which included a portion of live standup, followed by a lengthy Q&A session with the audience. In 2009, Usman was listed as one of The 500 Most Influential Muslims by Georgetown University's The Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding and Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan. 2008 Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert! Andrea Kalin Self Feature-length concert film (limited theatrical release) (produced by Unity Productions Foundation) 2010 Mooz-lum Qasim "Q" Basir Brother Hussein Feature film (limited theatrical release) (starring Danny Glover, Nia Long, Evan Ross, and Roger Guenveur Smith) 2023 Out of the Loop Michael Alexander Self Feature-length documentary about the history of Chicago standup 2026 Diary of a Muslim Cynic (WT) Sarah Mokh Imam Debut feature from writer-director Sarah Mokh for script developed in the Sundance Institute Lab

Television

Theatre

Personal life Usman is an Indian American Sufi Muslim. a graduate of The King's Foundation School of the Traditional Arts.