Ali Hassan Shares Comedic Life Lessons In His Memoir “Is There Bacon In Heaven?”

Ali Hassan Shares Comedic Life Lessons In His Memoir “Is There Bacon In Heaven?”

Feb 24, 2023

by Jessica R. Gera

Globally renowned Canadian comedian and television personality Ali Hassan releases his hilarious memoir “Is There Bacon In Heaven?”, which shares his personal insights as he navigates his spiritual journey as a Muslim. He shares with us on why he decided it was time for a memoir, his personal reflections that surprised him the most, and comedy’s rocky relationship with cancel culture.

Globally renowned Canadian comedian and television personality Ali Hassan releases his hilarious memoir Is There Bacon In Heaven?, which shares his personal insights as he navigates his spiritual journey as a “cultural” Muslim. It was an amazing opportunity to interview Hassan. While we all know he’s one funny guy, it was pretty awesome to see so many other sides to this successful comedian. Hassan is open and honest, humble, and an amazing father of amazing father of two teenaged daughters and two younger sons.

Jessica R. Gera: What made you write this memoir? Why now?

Ali Hassan: I’ve gotten that question before. People tell me a lot that I’m too young to write a memoir. I guess that’s their weird way of saying ‘congrats!’. I guess my feeling to that, is why not now? I was grateful for the success from Run the Burbs (a Canadian television sitcom), and the Muslim Interrupted tour. Why not write a book? Especially during the pandemic, you start to think about what’s really important. I had time to reflect. It really doesn’t matter if you’re Muslim or Croatian, or whatever. We all have stories to tell and I knew I wanted to tell mine. So I did!

Ali Hassan Shares Comedic Life Lessons In His Memoir “Is There Bacon In Heaven?” — Ali Hassan Shares Comedic Life Lessons In His Memoir *Is There Bacon In Heaven?*: Ali’s latest book. Photo Credit: Simon & Schuster

JG: The title of your book is brilliant. How did you come up with it?

AH: Since I was a kid, I questioned why I couldn’t eat bacon. I guess I tried to accept that I just couldn’t but then I’d see my white friend eat bacon. He’d rant about how good it tastes. Then I’d see my black friend eat bacon, and I’m like what the heck is going on? Then my Hindu friends too, it’s like there was this gift from God that everyone got to enjoy except me! So I started thinking of that book, Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret. Then I thought about an ode to Judy Blume, Are You There Allah, It’s Me Ali. Ha! I was really keen on having the title of my book being a question. I wanted to poke a little fun while still explaining my story. So I landed on, Is there Bacon in Heaven?

JG: In your book, you call yourself a ‘cultural Muslim.’ What does that mean?

AH: Good question! I’ve been told, I’m not a very good Muslim. Like, what does that mean? I’m not a good Muslim because I eat bacon? I have witnessed many Muslims do things they are not ‘supposed’ to do; drink, eat non-halal meat, extra-marital affairs. I mean, look at the hypocrisy. I have a lot of awareness about Islam, and I’m connected to Islam in my own way. I’m not overly connected to religion but I am grateful for culture. Just because I’m not religious does not mean I can’t respect Islam or any other religion. No one should have to justify their own beliefs to anyone.

JG: When you were writing your book, was there ever a time where you found yourself surprised by the things that came to your mind? Any ‘A Ha!’ moments?

AH: Yes, for sure. Sometimes I was shocked by my own personal reflections. I found myself thinking of my dad and my childhood a lot, especially now that I have children. I mean, what felt like out of nowhere, my dad decided he was going to move to Saudi Arabia; to hell with Montreal’s winter and politics! I was shocked. Here is a man who was a heavy drinker, thrived on free thinking and was a literary lover. You don’t associate these things when you think of Saudi Arabia. I refused to go and so did my mom. I remember thinking back then, why would you want to leave your kids for two years? I was really confused about the whole thing.

JG: Do you resent your dad for this decision?

AH: I think I did for a short period of time, but I didn’t know then what I know now. I mean, how depressed must he have been if he decided to move there? He must have been going through a lot. I don’t think I even realized I resented him until I wrote this book. I have a much better understanding of mental health today and everyone has the right to go through their own personal journey. It’s not about blame or fault. I respect my dad very much. Both of my parents.

JG: Have you gotten any negative reactions from the Muslim community on your book?

AH: To be honest, I feel like if I was a woman, I’d be targeted more. I give a lot of credit to women, and how much harder things can be for them. I know a ton of women on-air who have to deal with death threats and ridiculous things like that. I really respect women for what they have to go through and how tough they are. I do get emails. People tell me that what I’m saying is embarrassing and what I’m doing is ‘wrong’. It’s back to the hypocrisy, you know? We say Islam is a religion of tolerance, so be tolerant! Be accepting of my journey the same way I am accepting of yours.

JG: Have you ever been heckled on stage? How do you handle that?

AH: My greatest worry is someone is gonna say something like, “go back where you came from you Paki” but it actually never happened. I’ve witnessed people yelling out things, and to be honest, the audience takes care of it for me. While on stage I’ve actually heard people say things like, ‘shut up Gary!’ That’s been pretty cool. It’s surprising and awesome to see the audience put people in their place. One memory I have is after making a joke on stage, I saw a white woman in the audience cross her arms and shake her head at me in disgust. It wasn’t subtle. I remember I was stunned when I was driving home. This person chose to come to a comedy show, and there are a ton of comedians who make all kinds of jokes. I remember thinking, has this woman ever donated to one single Muslim cause? And who was she to make any judgments about me and who I am. She doesn’t know me. I remember way back in the day when I used to work at Future Shop, my boss used to tell me, “Ali, one out of ten people is an asshole. Accept that and move forward.” I really tapped into that. It’s helped me a lot. I can’t change assholes.

JG: What’s your take on cancel culture when it comes to comedy?

AH: Ah yes, cancel culture. I feel like it all boils down to entitlement. Someone decides they don’t like that sketch on television, and the next thing you know that person is fired and never works again! I mean, what happened to changing the channel? Don’t watch! The whole thing makes no sense. Bill Mahr has gone very far in many of his Islamophobic comments, but no cancel culture for him! I truly don’t think cancel culture exists as much as we think it does. People get away with saying all kinds of things. I’m not hurting anyone with my jokes. If people don’t like what I’m saying or what another comedian is saying, you have the choice to not watch, and you certainly have the choice to not buy a ticket to the show. Television shows can be offensive to some. You don’t sit around and watching television shows that offend you right? Same goes for comedians. It’s really not that hard.

JG: What does Islam look like in the Hassan family?

AH: My children get the same rights everyone else does. All of them get to decide their own journey and they know we will support them along the way. They want to read the Quran? Go for it, up to you. I love being a dad. I didn’t say I was good at it, ha! But I do love it. I love my culture and I speak about it often with my kids, we eat our traditional food and we keep up with current events that effect Muslims around the world. I instill that in my children and the rest of it is up to them. They know I’m not religious.

As we wrap up the interview, I expect the traditional ‘thank you for your time’ from Hassan. I was wrong. Ali goes on to say, “well this was cool, I enjoyed this.” I comment on all of his success and tell him that so many of us South Asians look up to him, and we’re proud of his success. Humbly, he doesn’t say much, almost like he was surprised to hear it. I end the interview, and make myself a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich. It was delicious.

Main Image Photo Credit: Ali Hassan

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Ali Hassan Shares Comedic Life Lessons In His Memoir “Is There Bacon In Heaven?”

by Jessica R. Gera

COMMENTS

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