{{Short description|American comedian}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2016}} {{Infobox comedian | name = Preacher Moss | image = | image_size = 220 | caption = | pseudonym = Preacher Moss | birth_name = Bryant Reginald Moss | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1967}} | birth_place = Washington, D.C., United States | death_date = | death_place = | medium = Stand-up, television, film | active = 1994–present | genre = Observational comedy, satire | subject = Islamic humour, racism, Islamophobia, political humour, current events, American culture, human interaction | spouse = {{marriage|Yasmin Moss|2003}} | domesticpartner = | notable_work = | signature = | website = {{URL|preachermoss.com}} | footnotes = }}

'''Bryant Reginald Moss''' (born 1967), best known by his stage name '''Preacher Moss''', is an American stand-up comedian and writer. He is best known as one third of comedy trio Allah Made Me Funny.

==Early life== Moss was born in Washington, D.C. to African American parents, Clifford Moss and Mary Moss. He began practicing comedy at the age of seven, when he earned the nickname "Preacher" for his imitations of the pastor at his family's church. He was raised Christian in a Maryland suburb and was sent to a local military academy for his schooling. Moss started out doing sketch comedy when he was 17 and by his early 20s he began to make his way to comedy clubs.<ref name="illumemagazine">{{cite news|url=http://www.illumemagazine.com/zine/articleDetail.php?Paging-Dr.-Huxtable-Here-Come-the-Muhammads-13959|title=Coming to Your Television: The Muslim Cosby Show|publisher=Illume|access-date=November 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810104041/http://illumemagazine.com/zine/articleDetail.php?Paging-Dr.-Huxtable-Here-Come-the-Muhammads-13959|archive-date=August 10, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1988, at the age of 20, he converted to Islam. He graduated from Marquette University with a degree in journalism and took a job teaching emotionally disturbed children in Milwaukee, while continuing to do standup comedy.<ref name="encyclopedia">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3057100048.html|title=Contemporary Black Biography|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=August 28, 2011}}Preacher Moss</ref>

==Writing career== In 1994, Moss was the opening act for a comic Darrell Hammond, Hammond hired him as a writer. In order to develop his comedy skills, Moss moved to Los Angeles. There, he continued to teach special education classes and worked as a writer for comedians, including Damon Wayans and George Lopez.<ref name="encyclopedia"/>

==Stand-up career== Moss moved on to perform at mainstream comedy venues.<ref name="illumemagazine"/> Moss wrote his own show, titled ''End of Racism''. Beginning in 2000, he toured hundreds of national college campuses and high schools performing, teaching, and discussing poverty, racism, multiculturalism, civil rights, and critical race theory. He performed "End of Racism" for four years when he got an idea for another kind of progressive comedy experience which addressed another kind of prejudice, that was spreading rapidly throughout non-Islamic communities in post-9/11 America.<ref name="endofracism">{{cite web|url=http://endofracism.com/about/|title=About|publisher=End of Racism Comedy & Lecture Tour|date=September 11, 2011|access-date=August 28, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111205060331/http://endofracism.com/about/|archive-date=December 5, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In May 2004, Moss and other Muslim comedians Azhar Usman and Azeem Muhammad (later replaced by Mohammed Amer in 2006) launched a comedy tour titled ''Allah Made Me Funny'', ''Allah Made Me Funny'' toured 30 U.S. cities during its first year, and also in Canada, Europe, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East.<ref name="bass-schuler">{{cite web|url=http://www.bass-schuler.com/allahmademefunny.php4|title=Allah Made Me Funny Tour|publisher=Bass/Schuler Entertainment|access-date=August 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724174653/http://www.bass-schuler.com/allahmademefunny.php4|archive-date=July 24, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="allahmademefunnyabout">{{cite web|url=http://www.allahmademefunny.com/about/index.html|title=About Allah Made Me Funny|publisher=Allah Made Me Funny|access-date=October 1, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930093019/http://www.allahmademefunny.com/about/index.html|archive-date=September 30, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Moss has performed at the Global Peace and Unity Event in the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London organised by Islam Channel.<ref name="GPU08">{{cite web|url=http://www.theglobalunity.com/08/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115&/|title=Performers|publisher=Global Peace and Unity Event 2008|date=October 2008|access-date=August 28, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204014719/http://www.theglobalunity.com/08/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115&/|archive-date=February 4, 2013|df=mdy-all}} Preacher Moss</ref> He has also performed at the Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations banquet in Oklahoma City in 2010.<ref name="cair">{{cite web|url=http://www.cairoklahoma.com/press/pressreleases/cair-ok-celebrates-4th-anniversary-with-annual-banquet|title=CAIR-OK: Celebrates 4th Anniversary with Annual Banquet|publisher=Council on American-Islamic Relations – Oklahoma|date=January 3, 2010|access-date=August 28, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218163127/http://www.cairoklahoma.com/press/pressreleases/cair-ok-celebrates-4th-anniversary-with-annual-banquet|archive-date=December 18, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Preacher can be seen in the documentary, ''The Muslims Are Coming!'', which features a group of Muslim American comedians touring the U.S. in an effort to counter Islamophobia.

==Television career== In March 2013, Moss started the process of securing funds to develop a pilot for a sitcom ''Here Come the Muhammads''.<ref name="illumemagazine"/><ref name="thinkprogress">{{cite web |last=Rosenberg|first=Alyssa|url=http://www.thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/03/16/446493/a-new-experiment-in-muslim-comedyand-self-distribution/|title=A New Experiment in Muslim Comedy—And Self-Distribution|website=ThinkProgress|date=March 16, 2012|access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref> In October 2013, production for the sitcom started.<ref name="muslimentertainment">{{cite news |url=http://www.muslimentertainment.com/here-come-the-muhammads-be-part-of-history-by-producing-the-first-muslim-cosby-show/|title=Here Come the Muhammads.., Be part of history by producing the first "Muslim Cosby Show|publisher=Muslim Entertainment|date=October 3, 2013|access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref>

==Comedy style== Moss talks about his conversion from Christianity to Islam.<ref name="seattletimes">{{cite news |last=Fry|first=Ted|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/html/movies/2008223159_mr03allah.html|title="Allah Made Me Funny": Stand-ups riff on being Muslim in America|location=Seattle|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=October 3, 2008|access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref> He uses his experiences of being black and Muslim in America as a vantage point for asides on race and religion.<ref name="spiritualityandpractice">{{cite news |last1=Brussat|first1=Frederic|last2=Brussat|first2=Mary Ann|url=http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=18449|title=Film Review: Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert|publisher=Spiritual Practice|access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref>

==Personal life== In 2003, Moss married Yasmin, an Indian Muslim living in Toronto, Canada. When not on tour, he lives in Long Beach, California, and frequently visits his mother's home in Washington, D.C.<ref name="encyclopedia"/>

==Awards== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;" ! Year ! Award ! Category ! Result |- | 2005 | Muslim Public Affairs Council | Media Award<ref name="encyclopedia"/> | {{won}} |- | 2009 | Campus Activities Magazine Reader's Choice Awards | Best Diversity Performer<ref name="bass-schuler"/> | {{won}} |- |}

==See also== {{div col|colwidth=22em}} *African American *Allah Made Me Funny *Islamic humour *Lists of African Americans *List of African-American writers *List of converts to Islam {{div col end}}

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.preachermoss.com}} *{{IMDb name|id=3115843|name=Preacher Moss}}

== Further reading == *[http://www.vimeo.com/877535/ Performance at Muslim Public Affairs Banquet at the University of Houston] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080912112342/http://www.beliefnet.com/story/169/story_16969.html Comedy of the ‘Allah Tour’ Has Muslims Laughing," Beliefnet] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090105183903/http://www.p0wned.net/mrt/news/article-preacher.htm "Poor Righteous Preacher," Muslim Round Table Television] *[http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/entertainment/9502751.htm "Clean Jokes and an Attempt to Foster Understanding"]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. ''The State.com: South Carolina's Homepage'' *Murphy, Caryle. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A39975-2004Apr24&notFound=true Poking Fun, In Good Faith: Muslim Comics Laugh In the Face of Intolerance]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. ''The Washington Post''. April 25, 2004 *[http://www.muslimentertainment.com/the-fundamentals-of-laughter/ The Fundamentals of Laughter]. ''Muslim Entertainment''. December 12, 2004 *Duffy, Conner. [http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1793545.htm Comedians show funny side of Islam]. ''ABC Online''. November 21, 2006 *Ali, Dilshad D. [http://www.onislam.net/english/reading-islam/my-journey-to-islam/contemporary-stories/416521.html Preacher Moss Performs ‘Allah Made Me Funny’]. ''Onislam''. February 10, 2010 *The Independent on Sunday on Sunday, April 1, 2007. *India-West (San Leandro, CA), January 27, 2006, p.&nbsp;C1. *Los Angeles Times, December 12, 2004, p.&nbsp;I10. *Recorder (Indianapolis, IN), May 6, 2005, p.&nbsp;C3. *Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, WA), October 1, 2005, p.&nbsp;C1. *Seattle Times (Seattle, WA) April 14, 2004, p. H29. *The Toronto Star, May 16, 2004, p.&nbsp;15. *Weekend All Things Considered (Washington, D.C.) August 14, 2005, p.&nbsp;1.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Preacher}} Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Date of birth missing (living people) Category:African-American Muslims Category:African-American former Christians Category:Converts to Islam from Protestantism Category:African-American stand-up comedians Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American comedy writers Category:Muslim male comedians Category:Male comedians Category:Muslim comedians Category:African-American schoolteachers Category:Schoolteachers from Wisconsin Category:Writers from Washington, D.C. Category:Writers from Long Beach, California Category:Marquette University alumni Category:Allah Made Me Funny Category:20th-century American comedians Category:21st-century American comedians Category:Muslims from Washington, D.C. Category:Muslims from Maryland Category:American male comedians Category:African-American male comedians Category:Comedians from Washington, D.C. Category:American former Protestants