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Müslüm: Integration through comedy

Swiss-Turkish comedian Müslüm is using humour to raise awareness of the issues surrounding immigration in a new television series. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)

Swiss public television, SRF1, is airing new series this spring looking at the country’s comedy scene.

“MüslümTv” is one of the shows in the series. Müslüm is the stage name of Semih Yavsaner, a Bern musician and comedian of Turkish origin. The political satire programme follows anti-hero Müslüm as he tries to put together a makeshift TV-show for immigrants living in Switzerland.

Müslüm’s shows come in a time of rising tension in Swiss society between parts of society. The conservative right Swiss People’s Party in particular has a strong anti-immigration focus.

Müslüm says the mission of his show is not to be provocative but to promote integration by appealing to universal values that transcend labels like “foreigner” or “Swiss”.

The new comedy series will also feature upcoming comedians whose acts are not necessarily focused on immigration issues.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR