Abbas Rattani has hosted plenty of events for young professional Muslims in New York City. Only once did someone shut down one of his shows, an open-mic benefit for Gaza Strip relief this September in the back room of an East Village bar.
The benefit’s format was a variety show. Early on, a young female comic did a stand-up routine on sex. “I’ve been dating recently, don’t tell my parents,” she told the crowd. Another woman followed with slam poetry about witnessing 9/11 and strangers’ suspicions of her after the attacks. “I’m a terrorist,” she yelled. Next was a poet from Oakland who read from his smartphone, “I’m an insurgent of the imagination.”
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