But this hasn’t stopped “South Park” from going after Scientology, which has well-paid lawyers, or the Catholic Church, whose American adherents far outnumber Muslims. Surrendering to the phony notion that depicting Muhammad is blasphemy while allowing ridicule of other religions is hypocritical and cowardly at best. I suppose Viacom could make the not unreasonable argument that gratuitously offending a segment of its audience does not serve the bottom line. Why were Muslims rioting in Gaza and Cairo over these cartoons? Why were the cartoonists in hiding? Well, here’s why. Now, the difference between a newspaper publishing a potentially offensive cartoon and Parker and Stone going out of their way to offend Muslims is the media in the former instance had an obligation to readers and viewers to put the controversy in some sort of context. The paper’s religion reporter argued strenuously that we would alienate a swath of readers and there would be a backlash. Although the publisher was supportive, the newsroom reacted with horror. Even then, the paper only printed one of the more innocuous images. My employer at the time, the Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California, was one rare exception. Recall how most American newspapers refused to publish the Danish Muhammad cartoons a few years ago. In an era in which virtually no subject, however disgusting, is taboo on television, the very name of Islam’s holy figure is barred from the airwaves.
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No, Comedy Central bleeped the M-word: Muhammad. Do you know what Comedy Central “bleeped” out? Not the F-word, the C-word, or the Z-word - those are already on the bad list. But the position of Viacom, the media conglomerate that owns Comedy Central, MTV, and other cable networks, is sickening. South Park’s irreverence is not to everyone’s liking, I realize. If you visit the South Park Studios website, you’ll find the following: The new episode of “South Park” on Wednesday night tried to revisit this character, but with the name and depiction of the character blocked out. Van Gogh was slain in Amsterdam in 2004 after making a film that discussed the abuse of Muslim women in some Islamic societies. Revolution Muslim, a group based in New York, wrote on its Web site that the “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker “will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh” for an episode shown last week in which a character said to be the Prophet Muhammad was seen wearing a bear costume. But judging from last week’s 200th episode controversy, I knew it would be radioactive.Īn episode of “South Park” that continued a story line involving the Prophet Muhammad was shown Wednesday night on Comedy Central with audio bleeps and image blocks reading “CENSORED” after a Muslim group warned the show’s creators that they could face violence for depicting that holy Islamic prophet.
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Episode 201 was scheduled to air again Thursday night, but Comedy Central subbed in the episode from April 8. I haven’t watched the latest episode of South Park yet, and evidently I won’t be able to either until it appears on DVD or Comedy Central relents and allows the episode to rerun. “It wasn’t some meta-joke on our part,” producers Trey Parker and Matt Stone said. It came during about 35 seconds of dialogue between the cartoon characters of Kyle, Jesus Christ and Santa Claus that was bleeped out. Producers of “South Park” said Thursday that Comedy Central removed a speech about intimidation and fear from their show after a radical Muslim group warned that they could be killed for insulting the Prophet Muhammad. The decision to censor an episode lampooning the fear and hysteria surrounding depictions of Islam’s prophet, Muhammad, sets a very bad precedent. Comedy Central, the network that broadcasts “South Park,” decided this week it would be better to submit. In the face of threats and intimidation from religious zealots, do you submit or do you speak up? Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of “South Park,” speak up - often hilariously and crudely.