The best part of “Allah Made Me Funny” is seeing Muslims in the audience doubled over in laughter as familiar comedians poked good-natured fun at their faith, their customs, their families and their challenges in the not-so-humorous post-9/11 world.

These years have not been easy for Muslim-Americans, and their joy, as the camera caught their faces, was contagious. They were comfortable and relaxed and finding a whole lot to smile about.

“Allah Made Me Funny” is a documentary that revolves around a taped performance at an Orange County concert hall by three Muslim-American comics – Bryant “Preacher” Moss, an African-American convert; Mohammed “Mo” Amer, an Arab American; and Azhar Usman, whose parents are of Indian descent.

Their stand-up repertoire is specialized, capitalizing on what they know and their experiences.

“Look at this stage ... this is a lot of room for a Palestinian,” says Amer, who grew up in Houston.

He tells of his family's woes in the bumps and grinds of these times. His brother is a pilot. Imagine what that is like after Sept. 11, 2001, he says. Another brother is a biochemist. Imagine what that is like after the anthrax scare.

And he has a young nephew named Osama, whom he took shopping recently. “We got to Wal-Mart, man, he's 9 years old. He's running away. I can't call him” (by name). Amer makes the gesture of someone cocking a shotgun. “That's all I need is Dick Cheney coming out of aisle 13.”

DETAILS “Allah Made Me Funny” Rating: Not rated When: Opens today Running time: 1 hr., 23 min. ½

Usman, who was born in Chicago, got laughs recounting what it's like for a Muslim worker to ask a non-Muslim boss to take off Eid, a major holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

Since much of the audience knows that the date of the holiday traditionally depends on the last-minute sighting of the new moon, they get it when the worker can't tell the confused boss exactly what day he needs to be gone. “I have no idea,” says Usman, mimicking the Muslim employee. “Could be Tuesday. Could be Wednesday. Maybe Thursday.”

The documentary is based on the threesome's comedy tour. It is not rated, and the routines are scrubbed of the off-color humor that cropped up in a similar PBS documentary, “Stand Up: Muslim-American Comics Come of Age.”

While “Allah Made Me Funny” runs less than 90 minutes, it still feels like a long time. It's difficult to carry the momentum for a show that's mostly someone standing in front of a microphone, complicated by the reality that many of the jokes land outside the understanding of a general audience.

But then the camera cuts to the laughing people in the seats, many in hijabs and kufis, and we're reminded that this film is as much an outlet as it is an outreach. That alone may be worth the price of admission.