Zarqa Nawaz is going through a bit of a rebirth. It's been roughly decade since the end of her hit show 'Little Mosque on the Prairie'. Recently, Zarqa got into stand-up comedy, she's about to star in the web series ZARQA, and she is on the verge of releasing her first novel, 'Jameela Green Ruins Everything', a dark comedy about American intervention in the Middle East.

Zarqa talks about using comedy to address uncomfortable or taboo topics, from dating and divorce in Muslim culture, to the rise of ISIS. She also discusses how she has dealt with backlash from her community and what it's like to step out from behind the camera.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, click here for show notes, biographies, and additional resources relating to this conversation. 

This Being Human is generously supported by The Aga Khan Museum. For more on the Museum, please visit https://agakhanmuseum.org/

Additional resources:

• ZARQA official trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP9NVAZUdHA
• Zarqa’s website: https://zarqanawaz.com/
• Zarqa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealzarqa/?hl=en
• Jameela Green Ruins Everything: https://zarqanawaz.com/books/jameela-green-ruins-everything/

More on Little Mosque on the Prairie:
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/little-mosque-on-the-prairie