My parents couldn’t afford physical therapy, so they sent me to dancing school. I learned how to dance in heels, which means I can walk in heels. And I’m from Jersey, and we are really concerned with being chic, so if my friends wore heels, so did I. Maysoon Zayid Read Quote
The most obvious thing I do is I don’t wear a burqa, and I’m definitely not oppressed. Plus, I’m quite obviously an independent thinker, which means as soon as I walk on stage, I dispel a lot of those stereotypes. Maysoon Zayid Read Quote
Disability is as visual as race. If a wheelchair user can’t play Beyonce, then Beyonce can’t play a wheelchair user. Maysoon Zayid Read Quote
I’m not here to impose Sharia law, and I’m not here to have a message about disability being inspirational – I’m here to make people laugh. But when I can layer things and make people not only laugh but question, make people not only laugh but be offended… I have to do that. Maysoon Zayid Read Quote
I think religion is very personal. I definitely identify as Muslim. I consider myself practicing, but I don’t think people who observe me from the outside would think of me as devout, and that doesn’t bother me because one of the beauties of Islam is the fact that it is personal: you read the Koran, and what you believe is what you believe. Maysoon Zayid Read Quote
If there was an Oppression Olympics, I would win the gold medal. I’m Palestinian, Muslim, I’m female, I’m disabled, and I live in New Jersey. Maysoon Zayid Read Quote
I have to tell you, it’s very boring, but before I did yoga, I was a stand-up comedian who can’t stand up. And now I can stand on my head. Maysoon Zayid Read Quote
