You're listening to a podcast from the BBC World Service.

This is Hard Talk with me, Zainab Badawi.

Thanks for downloading this edition of the program and I hope you enjoy it.

Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Zainab Badawi.

Does comedy have the power to transcend borders, religions and politics?

And can it build bridges between different communities

who may mistrust and misunderstand one another? Well, my guest today thinks so. He's one of the

Arab world's most popular comedians, Nimir Abu Nossar. Brought up in the United States and

Lebanon, he quit his job as an insurance broker to become a stand-up comic.

He believes humor can change the world, but does he risk promoting misunderstanding and

perpetuating stereotypes through his comedy?

Nimerabu Nassar, welcome to Hard Talk.

Thank you so much for having me.

So there you were at the age of five in the United

States watching television and you decided there and then that you wanted to be either a stand-up

comedian or a ninja turtle. Yes. Why not a ninja turtle? Well, the stem cell research is not

where it should be and for religious reasons I think a lot of people have opposed it. So I haven't

given out hope yet. I'm using stand-up comedy to finance the Ninja Turtle Dream. All right. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed. We'll see what happens. So you're Lebanese American, your family moved to San Diego when you were two years of age because of the Civil War at the time in Lebanon. And you went back to Lebanon when you were 10 years of

age. How important is this dual identity to you as a comic? I think it gives me the only reason

that I'm worth watching, really. It gave me that perspective because I have, I'm equal parts

Lebanese as I am equal parts American. I think there are two very interesting lives to live.

You know, when you grow up in America, everything's given to you. It's, there's stability.

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