Biography

Aasif was born in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. He moved to Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK, when he was 1 year old and lived in Bradford until he was 16 years old. He then moved to Tampa, Florida, USA, when he was 16 years old.

He and Connie Britton used to perform together in a Murder Mystery company.

Graduated from the University of South Florida, where he majored in theater.

His one-man show "Sakina's Restaurant" was the first play written by a South Asian American to be produced Off Broadway.

In November 2014, he published his first book, "No Land's Man," a collection of personal essays.

I think Islam has been hijacked by the idea that all Muslims are terrorists; that Islam is about hate, about war, about jihad - I think that hijacks the spirituality and beauty that exists within Islam. I believe in allowing Islam to be seen in context and in its entirety and being judged on what it really is, not what you think it is.

The great joy of doing 'The Daily Show' for me is that I get to sit on the fence between cultures. I am commenting on the absurdity of both sides as an outsider and insider. Sometimes I'm playing the brown guy, and sometimes I'm not, but the best stuff I do always goes back to being a brown kid in a white world.

People lament that there's no roles being written for South Asian or Muslim characters. But their parents don't want their children to go into the entertainment field. You don't get it both ways.

I'm Muslim the way many of my Jewish friends are Jewish: I avoid pork, and I take the big holidays off.

I was born in India - but never really lived there.