After Mayoral Race, Muslim Woman Turns to Comedy

October 14, 2005

Source: Star Tribune

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5670262.html

On October 14, 2005 the Star Tribune ran an opinion piece by Doug Grow, a writer for the Star Tribune. He reports on his conversation with the recent Minneapolis mayoral candidate, Farheen Hakeem, who is also a comedian. "Hakeem, who has been doing comedy for six years, was the Green Party's candidate for mayor of Minneapolis in last month's primary election. She finished third, behind Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin and Mayor R.T. Rybak, but got a surprising 14 percent of the vote and a ton of comic material... Hakeem, 29, laughs at how both Rybak and McLaughlin have tried to get her endorsement since the primary. She's having no part of it. 'Why would I endorse anyone who can't pronounce my name?' she asked... She does believe she'll run again. Her dream is to bring together members of the gay and lesbian community with the Muslim community. 'It's a difficult bridge to build,' she admitted. 'But just imagine if I can pull it off. We'd have George Bush's greatest nightmare.'"