Meet Wafeeq Zarif

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wafeeq Zarif.

Hi Wafeeq, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m an up-and-coming comic using humor to educate you about Islam. I was born and raised Muslim, yet I somehow grew up in church. My parents divorced when I was incredibly young, so my grandparents became my co-parents, along with my mother. My grandmother was adamant that on Sundays, I either go to church or the hospital because I was too sick to go to church. Try as I might, I couldn’t meet my grandmother’s standard for sick, which was dying, so I was forced to go to church when I stayed with my grandparents despite being Muslim through and through. This experience gave me a unique and hilarious perspective on life as seen through the eyes of an African American Muslim growing up in the Bible Belt. I specialize in stand-up, sketch, and improv comedy. My humor has been described as having the reverence of Dave Chappelle with the depth of Eddie Griffin and the confidence of Bernie Mac. In addition to comedy, I co-host The Good Ole Boys Radio Show on the Fourcast Media Group network. Listen anytime on pushplaypods.com. For more content, subscribe to my YouTube channel, Comedian Wafeeq Zarif. Like and follow Wafeeq Zarif Unleashed on Facebook and @wafeeqzarif across all social media.

Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The only struggle has been overcoming the fear of doing what I want to do with my life instead of doing what’s safe.

Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a comedian who uses humor to educate people about the religion of Islam. I’m known for my Muslim jokes, insightful commentary, and ability to translate complex topics in ways that everyone can easily understand. This ability served me quite well during my three years as a sales agent for Time Warner Cable and then Charter Communications (Spectrum). It served me best during my six years in adult learning as a sales trainer for Charter Communications. Then I got fired, and this was just the push I needed to focus on doing what I had always dreamed of doing for a living – comedy. I’m most proud of the fact that middle-aged White women come up to me after seeing me perform to say that they appreciate the fact that I’m so funny without being vulgar and that they have a newfound optimistic viewpoint about Islam that they didn’t have before me teaching them things about the religion that they didn’t know. What sets me apart from other comics is that I’m the only one who is a Black Muslim who somehow grew up in the church. Go figure.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
The most important quality of my success is my being fortunate enough to be raised as a Muslim practicing Islam. I could’ve quickly followed my grandparent’s lead and been a Southern Baptist fire and brimstone church pastor, or I could’ve soon adopted a warped distortion of Islam. I thank God my mother accepted Islam when I was one year old, and I thank God that she came into the correct understanding of Islam when I was 16.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wafeeqzarif/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wafeeq.zarif
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wafeeq-zarif-8209038/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/wafeeqzarif
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wafeeqzarif
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@wafeeqzarif