Hilarious subway ads promise the real truth about Muslims
Rare is a New York City subway ad that's actually, genuinely funny.
Thankfully, a series of ads for the documentary, The Muslims Are Coming! was posted throughout the subway system on Tuesday, bringing genuine laughter to millions of miserable urban commuters. The posters, currently pasted in 144 locations, hope to both advertise the movie and combat painful anti-Muslim stereotypes.
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They're visually compelling, and seriously witty. Sometimes, the best way to fight hate is with a frittata joke.
The campaign was a creation of Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah, both Muslim comedians. The campaign was originally submitted in 2015, but was banned by the MTA because the ads were considered disputed "political speech." Farsad and Obeidallah, together with Muslim Advocates, filed a lawsuit against the MTA to challenge the decision and an October 2015 court ruling reversed the ban.
"[We want] to show that Muslims can be funny, ridiculous, delightful, you know, the opposite of violent terrorists. Right now, the only thing Americans see or hear about Muslims is that they should be banned or that they should be on a "Muslim registry" or that we should under no circumstances help a Muslim refugee in need. The rhetoric out there is rough," Farsad told Mashable in an email.
The group appears to have succeeded. And while you can't unglue and steal these awesome posters for yourself (technically that's a "crime"), The Muslims Are Coming! can be viewed on Google Play, Amazon, and iTunes.
Heather was the Web Trends reporter at Mashable NYC. Prior to joining Mashable, Heather wrote regularly for UPROXX and GOOD Magazine, was published in The Daily Dot and VICE, and had her work featured in Entertainment Weekly, Jezebel, Mic, and Gawker. She loves small terrible dogs and responsible driving. Follow her on Twitter @wear_a_helmet.
