News from Civsy, based on human monitoring, generative AI tools and retrieval-augumented real time data searchAwk.word presents itself as the first underground stand up comedy platform in the region, aiming to disrupt the comedy scene through free speech, raising sociological awareness, pushing limits and fostering change. For seven years the platform has carved out a fragile space for comedians to address Lebanon’s social realities with a frankness rarely seen in mainstream media, at a time when deep economic collapse and political deadlock have intensified both public discontent and official sensitivities. Awk.word’s stages have become informal forums where everyday frustrations with corruption, inequality and failing institutions are articulated through humour, reinforcing the role of comedy as a barometer of freedom of expression.
The cancelled Saida show
In April 2025 Awk.word planned a seventh anniversary tour, bringing seven stand up comedians to seven cities across Lebanon, including Saida, Tripoli and several inland towns. The tour was framed as an attempt to decentralize cultural life, reaching audiences outside Beirut while insisting that comedy, dissent and critical reflection belong in all parts of the country. The first show was scheduled for Saturday 12 April at Ishbilia Theatre and Art Hub in Saida, with a performance promoted through ticketing and social media platforms. Shortly before the event however, Ishbilia’s managing team received a phone call from the General Security, which inquired about the show and relayed alleged threats and objections from local actors. Despite the fact that Awk.word’s tour held a valid permit issued by the Directorate General of General Security, the theatre decided to cancel the performance, demonstrating how administrative authorisation can be overridden by informal pressure and security concerns. This indirect intervention operated as a form of prior restraint and sent a chilling signal to other venues considering hosting controversial artistic content.
The case of Nour Hajjar
The tension between Awk.word’s mission and Lebanon’s security and religious establishments had already been illustrated by the case of stand up comedian Nour Hajjar, one of the platform’s regular performers. In 2023 Awk.word screened two of Hajjar’s shows, including one recorded around five years earlier, after which clips circulated widely online. In August 2023 Hajjar was detained for around eleven hours over a recent joke about Lebanese army soldiers whose deteriorating financial conditions force them to work as delivery drivers, a line that was interpreted by authorities as harming the reputation of the military institution. Within a week he was summoned again to military police barracks, where proceedings shifted towards accusations linked to religion. A complaint filed by Dar al Fatwa, Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim authority, targeted an older joke and led to further questioning and a pledge imposed on Hajjar not to insult religions. These overlapping legal tracks, mixing military jurisdiction and religious offence, exposed how loosely defined offences such as disturbing civil peace or insulting religious symbols can be used against comedians.
Acquittal and remaining pressures
In December 2025 the Permanent Military Court in Beirut acquitted Nour Hajjar and Awk.word head Dany Abu Jawde of the charge of harming the reputation of the military institution, after prosecutors had relied on Article 157 of the Code of Military Justice. The ruling was an important affirmation that critical commentary on the army’s socio economic reality should not be criminalised. Yet the lengthy proceedings, combined with the use of military courts for speech offences, exemplify how legal processes themselves can operate as punishment, deterring others from engaging in similar forms of satire. Together with the cancellation in Saida and subsequent pressure in other cities during the anniversary tour, these developments underline a pattern where stand up comedy is tolerated only as long as it does not seriously question the authority of security institutions or religious establishments. The Awk.word and Hajjar cases therefore remain key indicators of the shrinking and contested space for artistic freedom in Lebanon.
References
In Lebanon, even jokes can end up in court.
Awk.word, a pioneering underground stand up comedy platform, set out to celebrate its seventh anniversary with a nationwide tour, taking comedy and critical reflection beyond Beirut. Instead, a cancelled show in Saida, following pressure from General Security, exposed how quickly artistic expression can be shut down when it is perceived as a threat.
Comedian Nour Hajjar’s case goes even further. Detained twice in 2023 over a joke about army soldiers working as delivery drivers and an older routine deemed offensive to religion, he faced overlapping proceedings before military and religious authorities. In December 2025 the Permanent Military Court finally acquitted Hajjar and Awk.word’s head, but only after a long and intimidating process.
These incidents show how stand up comedy in Lebanon is tolerated only up to the point where it questions security institutions or religious establishments. What happens on stage is no longer just entertainment, it has become a test for the future of artistic freedom and free speech in the country.
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SMEX, “Arrested Humor, Nour Hajjars Case,” 4 September 2023, https://smex.org/arrested-humor-nour-hajjars-case/
Global Voices, “Arrested humor, comedian Nour Hajjar detained in censorship case,” 11 September 2023, https://globalvoices.org/2023/09/11/arrested-humor-comedian-nour-hajjar-detained-in-censorship-case/
Middle East Eye, “Lebanon, popular comedian detained after sketch on economic conditions,” August 2023, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/lebanon-popular-comedian-detained-following-sketch-economic-conditions
Beirut.com, “Military Court clears comedian Nour Hajjar over army joke,” 9 December 2025, https://www.beirut.com/en/767245/military-court-clears-comedian-nour-hajjar-over-army-joke
Awk.word, event and tour promotion materials, including Saida anniversary show listings, https://ihjoz.com/events/8289 and https://awkwordcomedy.ticket-souq.com/
