France's Top Comedian Proud Muslim

France's Top Comedian Proud Muslim By Hadi Yahmid, IOL Correspondent

France's superstar comedian Jamel Debbouze is a shining example of Muslims' positive integration into French society, without turning his back to his faith or even hiding his religious affiliation.

"I'm proud of being Muslim. I fast the holy month of Ramadan, never drink alcohol and do not smoke. I never thought about doing drugs," France's top comedian Debbouze always repeats on TV interviews.

Hailing from Moroccan origin, Debbouze has emerged as a symbol of the successful integration into French society by Arabs and Muslims.

Jamel's Moroccan father left for France, seeking work in the early 1960s, and his wife followed him soon after. On French soil, they had three children in living conditions, described by Jamel himself in one of his comics as a "tragedy that generates sarcastic comedy".

Jamel was born in Trappes area in south Paris.

Successful Career

On his career as a comedian, Jamel participated in many plays and movies. But his latest play, "Jamel 100% Debbouze", has indeed catapulted him into the limelight, according to critics.

Presented on a Paris theater, the play attracts huge numbers of French theater-goers, remarkably crowning Debbouze as France's top comedian.

Debbouze, along with his family, left his native Trappes area to the posh Saint Germain. But he keeps in touch with his old friends and acquaintances in the poor area.

During his plays, movies and even interviews, Debbouze has too much pride for being a Muslim.

Debbouze further prides himself on the fact that his mother is also keen on acting and appearing as a Muslim, wearing hijab and following Islamic tenets.

Hijab has triggered controversy across Europe recently, especially after France had adopted a bill banning it in public schools.

The US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the French move is "discriminatory".

Double Idenbreasty

Some see the success of Debbouze centering around his emergence from one of the immigrants suburbs in France and explicitly expressing the dilemma of immigrants' "double idenbreasty".

In his short film "Les Pierres Bleues du desert" (Blue stones of the desert), Debbouze played a young Moroccan born in France and torn apart between his two idenbreasties as a French and a Moroccan citizen.

Anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism also took a central stage in Debbouze's plays.

Portraying racist practices against Arab and Muslim immigrants in France, Debbouze played a young man from Saint Donnes district, trying to reserve a ticket through travel agencies to spend his vacation away from his poor area.

Debbouze is the incumbent chairman of an buttociation tackling problems facing young people in the marginalized areas.

Through his buttociation, Debbouze stresses that Arab and Muslim integration into French society does not mean that Muslims and Arabs should turn their backs to their origin. Debbouze is also considered to be a staunch supporter of the uphill Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation.

Debbouze's success is even greater when considering his being one-handed, due to a tragic accident.

When he was 13, he was trying to leave a train with his friend in their way home, Debbouze was hit by the train. He was lucky to lose one hand, compared to his friend who was crushed to rest.

His physical handicap, however, never stopped him from pursuing his career and he deservedly made it to the top. Estimates indicate there are some 5-6 million Muslims living in France, mostly from north African countries and Turkey.