Rehman was active in several arenas and was devoted to breaking taboos and creating more openness. Since the early 2000s in general, she urged Muslim immigrants to embrace Western progressive values such as human rights and individual freedom, and that especially women should have the choice to be whoever they want to be, and to do with their own bodies as they please. Liberals sometimes complained about her apparent insensitivity towards immigrant, Muslim attitudes, while conservative Muslims claim that Shabana 'denigrates their religion'. Shabana has alleged that she received death threats, primarily from young immigrants. She later started working as a columnist for
Dagbladet in 2000 and regularly wrote for newspapers and magazines. Rehman received international publicity and has been interviewed by
Time Magazine and the
New York Times. Her shows have played for full houses in Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. She was fluent in Norwegian, Urdu and English, and has performed in German. In 2006, Shabana joined the American Comedy Institute in
New York City. == Debate ==