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When ISIL was at its peak power, Nader Kawash and his friends turned to satire.
Their parodies of the Islamic State on their YouTube channel, The Weekly, garnered attention from their hometown Ottawa Citizen, TV networks and even The New York Times.
“We got threats and we got comments,” said Anas Marwah, who produced The Weekly with Kawash and fellow university student Maher Barghouthi. “Nader was right there saying, ‘We don’t care. We’re not scared of them. We’re just going to keep pushing and hitting them’.”
Kawash died in a head-on collision on Highway 7 Tuesday morning as he headed into work from his home in Carleton Place. Police say black ice likely played a role in the crash. Kawash was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 28.
“At the time, ISIS was providing a very bad image for who Muslims are. (Nader) was saddened by that and he really wanted to make a change, so he did it.”
Kawash, a Palestinian, lived in Syria before emigrating to Canada with his family around 2007. He was studying electrical engineering at the University of Ottawa when he and Marwah met. Marwah told Kawash of his idea for a YouTube parody channel.
“He was, ‘Oh. I’m in,” Marwah said. “And holy moly, he was terrific. He was so creative at bringing in ideas.”
The Weekly was modelled after satirical U.S. comedy shows like The Daily Show, with then-host Jon Stewart. It lampooned Islamist terrorism and supported things such as women’s rights in the Arab world. When the terrorist group began publishing its own video games to attract children to its violent message, Kawash mocked it in a cleverly produced video simulating the popular Grand Theft Auto franchise: Grand Terrorist Attack. Another of the group’s videos showed “Adam bin Apple” unveiling a new ISIL iPhone with a special feature to locate “infidels.”
The trio was pictured on the front page of the Citizen under the headline, Laughing at the Jihadists.
Nadeer Kawash, left, is photographed in 2014 with Anas Marwah and Maher Barghouthi on the set of The Weekly, a YouTube parody channel.
“This is the easiest way to send the message that ISIS is extremist and you can’t kill somebody just because they don’t agree with you,” Kawash told the newspaper. Though none of the three said they were experts on Islam, Kawash said, “perhaps we can cause Muslims to ask questions of those who are.”
Kawash was intensely proud of his Palestinian heritage and for the past eight years had been drummer and dancer with the Baladna Group, performing at Palestinian and Syrian weddings and cultural events in Ottawa and elsewhere. Marwah said his friend was one of the two top dancers in Ottawa of dabkeh, the traditional Palestinian circular dance performed at weddings and festivals.
“He was one of the guys who really worked hard to present the culture and the cause of the Palestinian people. It was just something from the inside,” said Abdallah Zainaldin, president of the Baladna Group.
“He was always smiling. He was a hard worker. For him it was work, family and the community,” said Zainaldin, who said he was in shock when he heard from a friend that Kawash had been killed. “It’s a great loss for Canada and the community.”
Kawash worked hard to raise money for community events, taking part in a fundraiser called Keep Us Warm to support Syrian refugees. In sub-zero weather, Kawash and a group of others stripped down to shorts and tank tops in a live webcast. A $10 donation — the cost of a blanket for a Syrian refugee — would allow one of the fundraisers to wrap himself in a blanket for two minutes.
“Nader was so talented at talking and engaging audiences,” Marwah said. “He was keeping all of them entertained while this was happening. He needed to keep people watching to get more money. He danced. He took off his shirt. He’d get down and do pushups. He was a very fit guy. I’m sure our viewership spiked when he took that shirt off!”
Kawash is survived by his father, his brother and three sisters. His mother died from breast cancer in 2015.
Nader Kawash’s funeral was held Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at the Ottawa Mosque on Northwestern Avenue, with burial to follow at the Ottawa Muslim Cemetery in Greely. His family will accept condolences at the mosque on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
Nader Kawash in his Facebook profile picture, updated just four days before he died.
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Their parodies of the Islamic State on their YouTube channel, The Weekly, garnered attention from their hometown Ottawa Citizen, TV networks and even The New York Times.
“We got threats and we got comments,” said Anas Marwah, who produced The Weekly with Kawash and fellow university student Maher Barghouthi. “Nader was right there saying, ‘We don’t care. We’re not scared of them. We’re just going to keep pushing and hitting them’.”
Kawash died in a head-on collision on Highway 7 Tuesday morning as he headed into work from his home in Carleton Place. Police say black ice likely played a role in the crash. Kawash was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 28.
“At the time, ISIS was providing a very bad image for who Muslims are. (Nader) was saddened by that and he really wanted to make a change, so he did it.”
Kawash, a Palestinian, lived in Syria before emigrating to Canada with his family around 2007. He was studying electrical engineering at the University of Ottawa when he and Marwah met. Marwah told Kawash of his idea for a YouTube parody channel.
“He was, ‘Oh. I’m in,” Marwah said. “And holy moly, he was terrific. He was so creative at bringing in ideas.”
The Weekly was modelled after satirical U.S. comedy shows like The Daily Show, with then-host Jon Stewart. It lampooned Islamist terrorism and supported things such as women’s rights in the Arab world. When the terrorist group began publishing its own video games to attract children to its violent message, Kawash mocked it in a cleverly produced video simulating the popular Grand Theft Auto franchise: Grand Terrorist Attack. Another of the group’s videos showed “Adam bin Apple” unveiling a new ISIL iPhone with a special feature to locate “infidels.”
The trio was pictured on the front page of the Citizen under the headline, Laughing at the Jihadists.
Nadeer Kawash, left, is photographed in 2014 with Anas Marwah and Maher Barghouthi on the set of The Weekly, a YouTube parody channel.
“This is the easiest way to send the message that ISIS is extremist and you can’t kill somebody just because they don’t agree with you,” Kawash told the newspaper. Though none of the three said they were experts on Islam, Kawash said, “perhaps we can cause Muslims to ask questions of those who are.”
Kawash was intensely proud of his Palestinian heritage and for the past eight years had been drummer and dancer with the Baladna Group, performing at Palestinian and Syrian weddings and cultural events in Ottawa and elsewhere. Marwah said his friend was one of the two top dancers in Ottawa of dabkeh, the traditional Palestinian circular dance performed at weddings and festivals.
“He was one of the guys who really worked hard to present the culture and the cause of the Palestinian people. It was just something from the inside,” said Abdallah Zainaldin, president of the Baladna Group.
“He was always smiling. He was a hard worker. For him it was work, family and the community,” said Zainaldin, who said he was in shock when he heard from a friend that Kawash had been killed. “It’s a great loss for Canada and the community.”
Kawash worked hard to raise money for community events, taking part in a fundraiser called Keep Us Warm to support Syrian refugees. In sub-zero weather, Kawash and a group of others stripped down to shorts and tank tops in a live webcast. A $10 donation — the cost of a blanket for a Syrian refugee — would allow one of the fundraisers to wrap himself in a blanket for two minutes.
“Nader was so talented at talking and engaging audiences,” Marwah said. “He was keeping all of them entertained while this was happening. He needed to keep people watching to get more money. He danced. He took off his shirt. He’d get down and do pushups. He was a very fit guy. I’m sure our viewership spiked when he took that shirt off!”
Kawash is survived by his father, his brother and three sisters. His mother died from breast cancer in 2015.
Nader Kawash’s funeral was held Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at the Ottawa Mosque on Northwestern Avenue, with burial to follow at the Ottawa Muslim Cemetery in Greely. His family will accept condolences at the mosque on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
Nader Kawash in his Facebook profile picture, updated just four days before he died.
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