Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring

“Hilarious and Heartbreaking. Comedy shouldn’t take courage, but it made an exception for Bassem.” — Jon Stewart “A smart, refreshing and hilariously funny account.” — Salon.com “An entertaining and eminently readable book about a Middle Eastern country written for Americans. If you have been bluffing your way through political conversations pretending to know the differences between Islamists and secular Muslims, Youssef’s book is an easy, painless way to rectify that error.” — The Ringer If you want to understand the Arab Spring-even though it was really the African Spring, set off by a ‘small puny motherfucking country called Tunisia’-then this odd book is just the guide. — Kirkus Reviews How does one start a revolution? With a microphone, a joke, and persistence, of course! Bassem Youssef, a satirist who rose to fame in the middle of the Egyptian Revolution with his incendiary brand of comedy and his knack for unabashedly mocking dictators, has been called the “Jon Stewart of Egypt.” Once a heart surgeon who filmed YouTube skits in the laundry room of his home, he eventually grew to become one of the most recognizable television hosts in Egyptian history, and his show became the most popular TV program in Egypt, much to the ire of the TV anchors, government officials, and military personnel who tried desperately to shut it down. So potent were Youssef’s skits, jokes, and commentary that he was accused of insulting the Egyptian presidency, and even Islam itself, leading to a warrant in 2013 for his arrest. Despite turning himself in, Youssef was interrogated for six hours before being released on bail, which prompted his idol—Mr. Jon Stewart himself—to issue a statement on his behalf in an episode of The Daily Show . Though Youssef’s case was eventually dismissed, his TV show was terminated, and he found himself fleeing Egypt in fear for his life. In Revolution for Dummies , Youssef proudly and hysterically riffs on the hypocrisy, instability, and corruption that manifested in Egyptian politics: everything from how the government tried to cover up the violent clashes in Tahrir Square to how the military announced they had created the world’s first AIDS machine that could cure anyone of the disease to how officials were convinced Youssef was a CIA operative recruited by Jon Stewart, on a secret mission to bring down the country through sarcasm. (Yes, it gets that insane.) This is the version of the Arab Spring you’ve never heard, the one that doesn’t get glossed over by the media’s attempt to optimistically show promise of progress after revolution. This is the real story of guts and glory, and of how jokes are often mightier than the sword. Bassem Youssef was the host of Albernameg , the first-of-its-kind political satire showin the Middle East from 2011 until the show's termination by the Egyptian government in 2014. Youssef is currently the host of The Democracy Handbook , a digital series with Fusion TV, and now lives in the United States. Read more