Jon Stewart is Leaving: Check out these 6 Hilarious Arab Satirists Instead

Jon Stewart's announcement that he is leaving primetime has created a huge, laugh-shaped hole in our heart.  Who is going to perfectly riff on the Miss Universe selfie spat ? Or ask the youngest Nobel Peace price nominee, Malala Yousafzai, if he could adopt her? Or share a vamping, shirtless #tbt video from 2001? Constantly balancing the fine-line between hard-hitting issues and being funny, Stewart was a one-in-a-million comedian.

Saying that, "This show doesn't deserve an even slightly restless host and neither do you," he announced his departure with tears in his eyes.

It has been a hard few years for satirists in general, as Stephen Colbert left the small screen last year and Bassem Yousseff canceled his hilarious show, " Al Bernameg ." But, don't think that there are no laughs in 2015 ahead. Here is a round-up of some of our favorite six Arab satirists, give them a try.

A prominent Arab satirist is London-based Lebanese architect and political commentator, Karl Sharro, who blogs at his popular Karl reMarks website . Although not as well-known internationally, Sharro has fostered a loyal fan-base, which strongly attacked New York Magazine in 2013, accusing it of plagiarizing one of Sharro's satirical posts meant to be a conversation between Al-Qaeda leaders.

Sharro's satire mocks Western misconceptions while also critiquing problems within Arab governments and societies. Speaking about the reason for his satirical work, Sharro points to the abundance of misunderstanding often circulated about the Arab region. He says that: "The best way to deal with this is by taking the extreme – run with things that are offensive to prove a point. Satire needs to be able to cut through the hypocrisy and fakeness you see around you."

Ahmad Al Basheer debuted his satirical program from Iraq, "Albasheer Show" on YouTube with broad success.

Basheer told Al-Monitor that “Iraqis are tired of the classic way of expressing their problems; this is why they find comedy a more attractive way to stay up to date with politics.” He also added, "Iraq will witness a good number of news satire programs.”

Lebanese Charbel Khalil is the producer of "Bas Mat Watan", a TV show which has caused some controversy with his portrayal of Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Khalil, like Youssef, can testify to the problems of political satire within the region. Hezbollah's supporters bitterly protested his portrayal of their revered leader by burning tires and blocking roads in several parts of Lebanon after the Nasrallah satire was broadcast in 2013, with similar protests taking place after a 2006 portrayal as well.

Fahad Albutairi got his start in comedy doing stand-up while studying in Texas. After returning to Saudi Arabia, he made a name for himself by opening for the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour and got dubbed the "Jerry Seinfeld of Saudi Arabia."

In 2010, Albutairi launched his YouTube show "La Yekthar Show," which quickly became one of the most popular YouTube channels in the KSA. Although it's difficult to criticize the government in Saudi Arabia outright, Albutairi says his program symbolically confronts socio-political issues within the KSA. He explained that "each character kind of represents a socio-political issue."

With the rise of ISIS, the terrorist organization has become a popular target for satirical programs and sketches within the region. Nabil Assaf, a writer and producer for the satirical Lebanese "Ktir Salbe Show" that has mocked the group, stated, "These people are not a true representation of Islam and so by mocking them, it is a way to show that we are against them."

Assaf added, "Of course it's a sensitive issue, but this is one way to reject extremism and make it so the people are not afraid."

While not the work of an individual satirist, the Pan-Arabia Enquirer is so funny, we decided to give them an honorable mention. With the slogan of "spreading the hummus of satire over the flatbread of news," the Pan-Arabia Enquirer publishes satirical stories mocking culture, lifestyle, news and politics within the Arab world.

Publishing stories ranging from the ridiculous to the sometimes almost too believable, the website encourages offended readers to "drop us a grammatically questionable message." Their promise is that if "you threaten us with stuff, we laugh, you threaten us with more stuff, we get scared and take it down."

With recent articles titled, "Hosni Mubarak found not guilty of ever being Egyptian president," and " Mia Khalifa forced to apologize after fourth man from left in latest video identified as Israeli," it is clear that the online publication isn't afraid of wading into the politically and culturally uncomfortable.