[3] Hans David Tampubolon wrote in The Jakarta Post in November 2014 that in “the otherwise lame and boring stand-up comedy scene in Indonesia,” Ma'ruf “has started what could be considered a revolution” and has raised “eyebrows with her stage appearances” because she “likes to blatantly address highly controversial issues that are usually avoided by 'popular' comics for the sake of keeping their faces on your television screens.” Tampubolon states that given her “distinctive look and growing popularity,” Ma'ruf “could have easily become a major mainstream comedic star on TV,” but because of constant demands by TV producers that she censor herself, “she opted to perform live instead, delivering her uncensored messages to preserve her art.”[1] She has said that “for her, being a comic is not about fame or money but rather about giving her audience an unforgettable experience and making them think about societal issues and those affecting them personally, even after the curtain goes down.”[1] Among her influences she has cited Sarah Silverman, Tina Fey, Margaret Cho, Roseanne, Ellen, Kathy Griffin, Robin Williams, Stephen Colbert, Chris Rock, Ricky Gervais, and Jerry Seinfeld.

[3] She has been described as having “the cheerfulness of Williams, the bitterness of Louis and...just like Cosby, she never uses swear words or profanity in delivering her messages.”[1] Much of her comedy is about Islamic extremism; she has complained for nearly a decade after the introduction of democracy, “Indonesia has witnessed a significant growth of turban-wearing, beard-growing, loud-screaming Muslims encouraging the Islam that does not tolerate women and minorities to speak up.”[2] She has said that despite her upbringing, she enjoys “American sitcoms more than televised da'wah.

I don't speak Arabic like most of my cousins, and I firmly think that ethnic purity that my community claims is nothing but hallucination as we are all actually mixed blood having been living in Indonesia since the Colonial Era.

In fact, it may also hurt our religiosity as I believe Allah created us free and equal and will not judge us, except for our obedience and devotion to Him.”[2] Still, she wears a veil because she considers it liberating: it “counters impossible beauty standards.

Her use of the veil is also a way she resists the gravitational pull of the fashion industry, allowing her to focus on issues of justice, violence and equality.”[3] Ma'ruf was awarded the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent at the Oslo Freedom Forum in May 2015.