Nabil Abdulrashid

Nabil Abdulrashid
Birth name	Mohamed Nasir Nabil Abdul Rashid bin Suleman Obineche
Born	(1985-09-03) 3 September 1985 (age 39) North London, England
Medium	Stand-up, television
Nationality	British
Years active	2008–present
Genres	Observational comedy, Satire, Sketch comedy, Improvisational comedy
Subject(s)	Racism, Islamophobia, Fascism, Islamic humour, Culture, Society, Gang culture, Stereotypes, Human interaction
Website	nabilabdulrashid.com

Mohamed Nasir Nabil Abdul Rashid bin Suleman Obineche, known as Nabil Abdulrashid (born 3 September 1985) is an English comedian,^[1] In 2010, at the age of 25, he became the youngest black comedian to perform stand-up at the Hammersmith Apollo.

Early life

Abdulrashid was born in north London, England,^[2][3] to a medical doctor father and a politician/businesswoman mother.^[4]

Abdulrashid's father studied medicine in the Soviet Union (now Russia), while the Soviets were training African doctors. His father married his first wife, an Afghan woman, during the Russo-Afghan War. His father then moved to England and opened up a hospital. He then moved back to Nigeria, where he met Abdulrashid's mother,^[5] before moving back to England.

In 1990,^[6] Abdulrashid and his family moved to Kaduna,^[7] Nigeria. He travelled around the world at a young age and had a private school education. He attended Essence International School.^[8]

In 2006,^[2][9] he moved back to England^[4] to live in South Croydon, London^[2][10] In 2012, Abdulrashid graduated with a BA in Drama and Applied theatre from St. Mary's University College in Twickenham.^[11][12]

Career

In 2010, at the age of 25, Abdulrashid became the youngest black comedian to perform stand-up at the Hammersmith Apollo,^[2] after being crowned joint winner of the national "Which Religion Is Funniest?" competition.^[13] The competition was judged by David Baddiel and Omid Djalili,^[14] and the winners were chosen to perform at the premiere of their film The Infidel.^[4]

Abdulrashid has performed at Comedy Cafe, Comedy Store, Jongleurs and Choice FM Comedy Club.^[4]

From 2009 to 2010,^[6] Abdulrashid wrote, acted and directed on The Show Sho Show,^[4] which aired on Channel AKA.^[3][9] He has written for comedians on panel shows^[6] and worked on a sketch show with the producers of Little Miss Jocelyn and 3 Non-Blondes.^[4]

Abdulrashid has toured with his religious comedy show Don't Panic, I'm Islamic!^[14] In July 2011, he toured four UK cities^[15] in the Peace Youth and Community Trust's (PYCT) first Muslim Comedy Tour, alongside comedians Jeff Mirza, Nazim Ali, Humza Arshad and Prince Abdi.^[16][17][18] In November 2011, he took his Asia vs. Africa Comedy Clash show to 10 cities around the United Kingdom. In May 2012, he spent two weeks using theatre to educate children in Malawi on HIV.^[11]

Abdulrashid delivers a comedy workshop^[14] encouraging inner-city children to use comedy as an alternative form of expression at schools across London.^[11]

In January 2013, Abdulrashid co-founded Norbury Comedy Club with Ola Gbaja, with a show due to take place every Sunday in partnership with Baba Foundation restaurant.^[19][20][21]

In April 2013, Abdulrashid appeared on Channel 4's 4thought.tv.^[22] In October 2014, he performed on BBC Local Radio.^[8][23][24]

In July 2015, he performed at Eid Special Comedy Night at The Comedy Store in London.^[25][26][27]

In December 2016, he appeared on two-part BBC Two documentary Muslims Like Us.^[28]

In May 2020, Abdulrashid appeared on Britain's Got Talent and got a Golden Buzzer from Alesha Dixon which took him straight to the semi-final. In October, after winning the judges' vote, he advanced to the final, where he finished in fourth place. Almost 1,000 people complained about his performance in the semi-final and another 2,200 about the final. They were all rejected by media watchdog Ofcom, who said: "The comedian's satirical take on his life experiences as a black Muslim was likely to have been within audience expectations."^[29]

Since 2021, Nabil has appeared on a number of TV shows including: 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Have I Got News For You, The Last Leg, The Big Narstie Show, Big Zuu's Big Eats, QI and Sorry I Didn't Know. He has twice appeared on Live At The Apollo, including once as host.

In 2023, Abdulrashid was one of the seven celebrities who participated in Pilgrimage: The Road through Portugal, a BBC Two series about a multi-faith pilgrimage to Fátima.^[30]

In 2024, Nabil voiced multiple characters for Disney's Iwaju, an original animated series set in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria.

Comedy style

Abdulrashid switches from surreal to satirical in his dichotomy of being a middle-class educated man yet simultaneously a street-smart urban youth while avoiding clichés when dealing with topics such as being a black Muslim in south London. He switches accent and language, speaking French, Patois, Urdu and Somali and blending them into his material.^[4][31]

Conviction

In 2006, Abdulrashid was convicted of fraud, after a drug importation trial against him collapsed. He was sentenced to three years, but was released after serving a 15-month prison term.^[32]

Views

In August 2011, Abdulrashid responded on YouTube^[33] to David Starkey's comments on the BBC's Newsnight programme, made during a discussion about the England riots, claiming that "the whites have become black" and that "a particular sort of violent, destructive, nihilistic, gangster culture has become the fashion".^[34] Abdulrashid spoke about the history of colonialism in Africa and how black culture should not be equated with criminality.^[35][36][37]

In May 2013, Abdulrashid responded on YouTube to the murder of Lee Rigby in Woolwich on 22 May 2013, outlining his perception of alleged media double standards and far-right wing groups using the circumstances as propaganda to justify their own views.^[38]

Personal life

Abdulrashid has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.^[11][12] He also campaigns for fighting against knife and gun crime.^[6][10]

Abdulrashid has referred to himself as a Hausa man, stating that half of his family speak Hausa while the other half speak Igbo.^[39][40] He grew up speaking English, Hausa, Igbo, Arabic and French.^[41]

In September 2011, Abdulrashid married. His wife is British Pakistani-Punjabi.^[42] They have two daughters.

See also

• Islamic humour
• British Nigerian

References

1. "Nabil Abdulrashid". British Comedy Guide.
2. "Nabil Abdulrashid at the hammersmith apollo (premier of "the infidel)". halfhausaman. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
3. "Nabil Abdulrashid wins comedy store gong show (king gong) part1". halfhausaman. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
4. "Nabil Abdulrashid". comedy cv. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
5. "Nabil Abdulrashid at the brighton Komedia". halfhausaman. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
6. "The C.O.W.S. w Nabil Abdul Rashid". The C.O.W.S. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
7. "Nabil Abdul Rashid (Comedian) speaks on London Riots – Voices of the Youth". Upshot TV. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
8. "The Comedy Night: Nabil Abdulrashid". BBC. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
9. "Nabil Abdul Rashid – Comedy set". Upshot TV. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
10. "Nabil Abdulrashid – Freestyler". Film London Microwave. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
11. "Nabil Abdulrashid". Rising Star 2011. 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
12. "Rare Rising Stars 2011 – Nabil Abdulrashid – 6th place". Rare London. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
13. "Infidel Premiere, David introduces Nabil of Which Religion Is Funniest Competition". infidelmovie. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
14. "Watch This Face – Nabil Abdul-Rashid". Emel. June 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
15. "British Muslim Comedy Tour in Your City, "Innit Bruv"". Muslimness. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
16. Dakin, Melanie (14 July 2011). "Humza Arshad and Jeff Mirza head up charity comedy tour". Croydon Guardian. Croydon. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
17. Dakin, Melanie (14 July 2011). "Humza Arshad and Jeff Mirza head up charity comedy tour". Watford Observer. Watford. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
18. Dakin, Melanie (14 July 2011). "Humza Arshad and Jeff Mirza head up charity comedy tour". Harrow Times. Harrow. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
19. "Pair of Jokers open Norbury Comedy Club". Your Local Guardian. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
20. "Pair of Jokers open Norbury Comedy Club". This Is Local London. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
21. "Pair of Jokers open Norbury Comedy Club". Epsom Guardian. Epsom. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
22. "Is your faith holding you back?". 4.Thought TV. Channel 4. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
23. "BBC Local Radio announces African-Caribbean comedy night hosted by BBC London 94.9 presenters". BBC. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
24. "BBC showcases black comedy". Chortle. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
25. Chakelian, Anoosh (10 March 2015). "HaLOL: can the UK have a laugh about Islam?". New Statesman. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
26. Rahim, Sameer (21 July 2015). "HaLOL Comedy Night, Comedy Store, review: 'challenging'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
27. Rahim, Sameer (16 July 2015). "London Comedy Store to host its first ever Muslim Eid comedy show". Asian Voice. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
28. Waheed, Alia (4 December 2016). "Islamist, gay man, teacher: TV housemates bid to show the diversity of British Muslims". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
29. "Nabil Abdulrashid: Ofcom rejects 3,000 Britain's Got Talent complaints". BBC. 26 October 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
30. "BBC Two - Pilgrimage". BBC.
31. "Ones to watch". Flavour Magazine. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
32. Miller, Harry (22 July 2008). "Reformed criminal takes on talent show". Sutton and Croydon Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
33. ""Whites Have become Black" : Nabil goes in". Upshot TV. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
34. Starkey, David (19 August 2011). "UK riots: It's not about criminality and cuts, it's about culture... and this is only the beginning". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
35. "Nabil Abdul Rashid Responds to David Starkey Whites Have become Black". NME. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
36. Salami, Minna (26 August 2010). "Race relations in the UK after the riots". Afropolitan. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
37. "What Does It Mean To Be A London Brother?". London: London Brother. 11 September 2011. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
38. "Nabil Goes In: Woolwich Attack Response (Video)". Jadaliyya. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
39. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c59b79b0cf57db0a3d8d54f/t/65cc9f513d6fd52caca42d33/1707908945626/Off+Menu+-+Ep+222+-+Nabil+Abdulrashid+Transcript.docx.pdf
40. https://x.com/GrandmasterNabz/status/1353026486152916992
41. https://www.afridiziak.com/interviews/nabil-abdulrashid/
42. "Nabil Abdul Rashid – The University of Northampton ISOC – November 2012". ISOC Northampton. November 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013.

External links

• Nabil Abdulrashid at IMDb
• Nabil Abdulrashid on Twitter
• Nabil Abdul Rashid's channel on YouTube