Comedians from the Middle East have been making subversive jokes on war, terrorism and tyranny even before 9/11. Face with suffering and oppression, humour may be one of the best ways to cope and preserve one's sanity.

In this gathering of US-based comedians with Middle Eastern heritage - namely Crystal Marie (pictured), Feraz Ozel, Ahmed Ahmed, Omid Singh and Sammy Obeid - expect plenty of jokes about airport security, racial profiling, ISIS and the Taliban.

Obeid quips: "My roommate is Jewish-American and I'm Palestinian-American. And we're always fighting over where his room starts and mine ends." Singh jokes: "When I go to the airport, I like to play a fun game of seeing how far I can walk away from my luggage." This is stand-up comedy as you've rarely seen it.