Goodbye, America.

Posted by: poetcomic1 at April 13, 2006 2:41 PM

Threat of personal murder is a powerful force. The 6th pillar of Islam positively emanates self-censorship.

Plus, I'd guess the staff at Comedy Central are a bunch of wussies, by the looks of them. Probably ain't a single ex-Marine in the bunch.

Posted by: Alarmed Pig Farmer at April 13, 2006 2:44 PM

Matt & Trey for President 2008 !

Posted by: Hugh De Payen at April 13, 2006 2:47 PM

Maybe they should bring Kiefer Sutherland on to the Daily Show to deliver an abject apology like the one he did for 24 after the Hooper publicly bitch-slapped Rupert Murdoch.

Be a great skit that I could laugh at, cuz I wept as I watched Kiefer's original abject apology speech.

Posted by: Alarmed Pig Farmer at April 13, 2006 2:49 PM

those people are liberals and so have no backbone! l am not surprised at this decision! the rest of the WEst are waking up, takes longer with liberals!

Posted by: Lulu at April 13, 2006 2:52 PM

not to change the subject (much) but there aren't many writers mentioning the mafia either...
the gov does not have an entry in the consitution protecting free speech... the entry reads ""the gov will not pass a law against free speech...""not much guarantee in that..and definitely no protection

Posted by: e m butler at April 13, 2006 2:56 PM

"There is nothing funny in Islam."-
Ayatollah Kockroachmaniac.

(I guess the CC/SP invertebrates got the talking points advisory from MeccA.)

As a fortune cookie once said:

"Man who censors self because of threats is like infant who performs his own bris."

Posted by: profitsbeard at April 13, 2006 2:58 PM

Michelle Malkin has the video.

Posted by: kevin at April 13, 2006 2:59 PM

Why does the title say "South Park caves" when the decision was clearly made by Comedy Central?

And for the record, South Park briefly depicted Mo in an earlier episode before the uproar over the cartoons began. The episode in question took into account both sides of the controversy, but leaned more towards anti-censorship, pro-free speech.

For those who may not catch the episode, the town of South Park (and the whole USA for that matter) prepares for a terror attack because the cartoons might be shown. They prepare by burying their heads in the sand. Cartman also threatens an executive with violence if he shows them.

Posted by: ChinCheck at April 13, 2006 3:12 PM

Bin Laden and his other bearded look-alike also make threats if the cartoon is shown

Posted by: ChinCheck at April 13, 2006 3:14 PM

there is an older episode of south park that had muhammad in it, but it was before the whole cartoon thing...I think it was the super hero club or something with Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, and others..just a tid bit of info for everyone. oh it was also the original episode where they made fun of scientology in an indirect way.

Posted by: Erik at April 13, 2006 3:17 PM

This is no surprise from Commie Central. I used to watch "The Daily Show" for its brilliant writing and fearless iconoclasticism (is that even a word?). But then almost overnight the show (and its network) turned moonbat leftie on me.
Once nearly the default channel in my house, Comedy Central hasn't darkened my screen for a even a second in quite some time.
What gets me is that the South Park episode in question ridicules EXACTLY the same kind of cowering that the network is guilty of.

Posted by: Know Your Enemy at April 13, 2006 3:18 PM

Good that they know the repercussions of exercising their rights when it really matters.

Posted by: Infidel Pride at April 13, 2006 3:24 PM

In fact Mo appeared in the opening titles of a whole series of Southpark (taking off like Superman with his Super Best Friends).

Posted by: Banjo Golly at April 13, 2006 3:31 PM

Know Your Enemy-- I fully agree about The Daily Show. It still has its moments, but it used to be much better.

As for South Park, I'm not at all surprised Comedy Central censored it, though I was reserving judgement just in case Parker & Stone were pulling our chains-- as they did with the opening, which was brilliant.

Interestingly, Al Qaeda's retaliatory cartoon could remind one a lot of the silly Claymation pablum we've seen from Hezbollah tv at MEMRI...

Posted by: Shinoliite at April 13, 2006 3:49 PM

Man, not South Park, if there is a programme you can rely on to stand up for free speech it's South Park. Even if they do take the P***.

They did the Jesus, Buddha and mohammed programme in the past, as others in this post have pointed out.

Surely all this shows is that if you threaten enough you will get your way.

I thought the first rule of terrorist negotiations was that YOU DON'T GIVE IN TO TERRORISTS. How many people have died because you DO NOT GIVE IN TO TERRORIST DEMANDS.

I say terrorists, because you don't see Buddhists, Christians, Hindus etc. threatening violence if you insult their religion. They would look at the insult and laugh AT you for being misguided.

Any religion that threatens death for questioning it, is a religion with something to hide.

I don't know if they can, but I hope South Park move to another station. One with some balls.

Posted by: DaveMate at April 13, 2006 3:52 PM

My only hope now is Family Guy really does do a cartoon with Mo in it.

Posted by: Mr Ape Pig at April 13, 2006 4:03 PM

This action by comedy central goes beyond unfairness. This was traitorous. For god's sake, recently, they showed an episode which depicted a statue of the virgin mary bleeding from her rectum (which I thought was hilarious). And yet they won't show a three second clip of MohoMad that depicted him in an entirely neutral fashion. This completely betrays not only our efforts in the war on terrorism, but also the principles of free speech that our Nation, and Western democracy for that matter, was founded on. We cannot just let this go. This needs to be publicised and those responsible for this cowardliness need to be held accountable. I will try to contact both comedy central and the creators of South Park informing them that I will be boycotting comedy central until they show the episode uncesored. I'm considering cancelling my DishNetwork subscription altogether, because it is the only way to really implement a full boycot. I'm open to any other suggestions as to what can be done.

Posted by: Kuffir at April 13, 2006 4:16 PM

Mr. Ape Pig, forget it. I'm sure the creators of Family Guy would do it, but I'm equally as sure that Fox would never allow it. I'm suprised they even showed the two part Saudi Arabia episode of American Dad.

Posted by: Kuffir at April 13, 2006 4:18 PM

That most "authentic" Reza Aslan, his "authenticity" guaranteed because he is the child of Iranian exiles (who apparently have allowed him to believe, or to disseminate without believing, all sorts of apologetic nonsense about Islam, and this "authenticity" is a substitute for any real knowledge of Islam, of the kind rooted in Qur'an and hadith, in the Qur'anic commentaries, in the works of the jurisconsults, received a $400,000 advance for his feelgood book on Islam (the publishing house must have thought: a real Iranian! amessage of peace! the assurance that Islam has always "been changing for 1400 years" and will "continue to change" -- its all nonsense, but how eager Infidels in America are to lap it up), has appeared several times on Jon Stewart's show. Jon Stewart is not natively stupid. But he needs to inform himself about Msulim apologetics, which can only be done if he informs himself first about the tenets of Islma. He could start with "Why I Am Not a Muslim" and "Onward Muslim Soldiers and "Islam and Dhimmitude" and "The Myth of Islamic Tolerance" and "The Legacy of Jihad" and go from there. Once he's done, he's unlikely to invite the smiling amiable altogether misleading -- possibly out of real ignorance -- Aslan -- on again. One hopes.

Posted by: Hugh at April 13, 2006 4:29 PM

Mr. Ape Pig--

Given Family Guy's propensity to show flashbacks of alleged "ancestors" of Peter Griffin (Ulysses S. Grant, Ponce de León, etc.), they'd have an easy angle there.

Pretty much any of their male characters could make a splash as "Muhammad," though, if they chose that route... Maybe even Mayor Adam West. ;)

At any rate, I'm sure Seth MacFarlane and the rest of the Family Guy writers (manatees or not) will have a field day responding to South Park. That should make for some fine Sunday evening viewing!

Posted by: Shinoliite at April 13, 2006 4:31 PM

Someone got it right, calling them "Comedhimmi Central."

Posted by: Seymour Paine at April 13, 2006 4:45 PM

I've been educating my kids with my own little cartoon strips featuring the paedophile prophet(sbuh) as 'The Turbanator'

Posted by: wakeupmorpheus at April 13, 2006 4:47 PM

please Contact Comedy Central and let them know your digust at their dhimmitude!

http://www.comedycentral.com/help/questionsCC.jhtml

Posted by: Trupolitik at April 13, 2006 5:04 PM

'please Contact Comedy Central and let them know your digust at their dhimmitude!'

Thanks Trupolitik, done that now.

Posted by: wakeupmorpheus at April 13, 2006 5:18 PM

Robert S.

I suggest that you contact the writers of South Park and get the clip that was censored. Spread the clip among the anti-jihad blogs and let it be shown.

I don't suggest you show it yourself, we want to keep you around, we like your company. But if alot of blogs would show it at the same time, then freedom of speech with a show of force and all being united appears to be much better.

Some are arguing that freedom of speech doesn't mean that you can disrespect all subjects, I agree. But those that point this out are usually the ones that disrespect those things that I stand for and my country. Freedom of speech is a two way street, if you can go my way then you better expect that I can go your way. And I will.

Posted by: alaskan1000 at April 13, 2006 5:55 PM

alaskan-

When they only 'respect' what they FEAR all they really respect is fear.

Posted by: poetcomic1 at April 13, 2006 6:59 PM

No ! not Southpark aswell !

I think Wednesday from the Addams Family would have had more guts, she would have said something ! I like what she did with "Thanksgiving"

Don't hold out for Family guy though, Stu'ee and Brian are a bit lame in the new series

Posted by: Peter at April 13, 2006 7:15 PM

Our fellow poster Foehammer has a clip on his site.
It is alright to show Jesus (during Holy Week, yet) defecating on Bush etc. but buddy, no mo.
http://www.foehammer.net/

Posted by: Carolyn2 at April 13, 2006 8:48 PM

Carolyn2-- I don't know if Parker & Stone were aware of it, but what that brought to mind for me was the Iranian response of producing their own "offensive" cartoons in retaliation for the Danish cartoons of Muhammad.

There's a bit of self-parody in there as well (among several other instances in that episode), I think, as the primitive animation of the "Al Qaeda" cartoon-- as well as the content-- was highly similar to that of South Park's cartoon-within-a-cartoon, Terrance & Phillip.

For that matter, the "paper doll" nature of the animation took most of the sting out of it for me-- not nearly as graphic as the headlines might suggest. Moreover, it was presented as the work of Al Qaeda. And they're jerks like that. ;)

Also, perhaps therein lies a message about offensiveness and proportional response: No lives will be lost or buildings burned over Jesus' appearance in the episode, and that actually was in bad taste, unlike the very benign Danish drawings of Muhammad.

By the way, iTunes has Part 1 of the episode available for download for $1.99; they'll probably get Part 2 after Sunday when Comedy Censor does its last "new" airing of it.

Posted by: Shinoliite at April 13, 2006 9:47 PM

I watched South Park last night. What a disappointing ending.

Posted by: Prickzilla at April 13, 2006 11:50 PM

I can't believe Comedy Central would discriminate against islam like that. I wouldn't have thought they'd refuse to show muhammad when they have no problem showing Jesus ....

Bet that doesn't go over well with the muslim world!

:)

Posted by: beth at April 14, 2006 1:39 AM

Who says we aren't already subjected to the backward, savage law of sharia?

We cheer when the provinces of Ontario and Quebec say no, thank you, to sharia courts for some family law issues. We salute Peter Costello of Australia when he says if you want sharia, get lost. But we're actually living under aspects of it already. This, the Comedy Central surrender of free speech, and earlier, when many of our countries' newspapers declared they wouldn't publish the silly, innocuous Mohammed cartoons "out of respect".

Welcome to sharia. It's already here. Now that we've eliminated free speech, what else shall we let the barbarians destroy?

Posted by: feralee at April 14, 2006 8:02 AM

I think Matt and Trey should put their money where their mouth is. Quit working (ala the Manatees) until Com Cen shows the uncensored version of that cartoon.

The episode made a very good a point. "Either it is all funny, or none of it is"

Posted by: Mr Ape Pig at April 14, 2006 8:38 AM

I agree with Mr Ape Pig. The ball is in court of the creators of South Park. They've made the point of the hypocrasy of allowing for some people to be "fair game," while others are "too sensitive" for them. If Matt and Trey are true to their principles (if they indeed believe in the ideal that is spoken through their current South Park episode), then they ought to with-hold future "new" episodes until Co-dhimmi Central realizes what's at stake here.

I mean, is it really okay for networks like CC to air programs that denigrate my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the intent of which can only be used to offend, but it isn't okay to mearly SHOW the cartoon image of a character that is identified as "Mohammad?" This South Park episode clearly shows CC's double-standard. They had no compulsion to show the image of Jesus (not a cartoon image) "crapping" on America, but couldn't display a simple cartoon artist's rendering of "Mohammad" giving a "salmon helmet" to the Family Guy character.

The South Park creators made this episode with that in mind, obviously. The stark differences between what Co-dhimmi Central will allow to be shown and what they will not allow is mind-boggling. Now, the ball is back in Matt and Trey's court, and I hope that they will do the right thing.

Posted by: yohannbiimu at April 14, 2006 11:04 AM

The uncensored scene is available here:

http://media.putfile.com/Cartoon-Wars-Vid

I can certainly see how that scene would have caused the collapse of modern civilization if it had been shown. Good thing the brave people at Comedy Central had the courage to stand up for the poor abused muslims and defend their prophet!

Posted by: ExpatriateDK at April 14, 2006 11:35 AM

No Mo? No balls! It's easy to poke fun at religions when you don't have to worry 'bout anybody coming to cut your effin' head off.

Posted by: MP at April 14, 2006 11:44 AM

I just listened to the Glenn Beck radio program, and his take on this, and he sides with Co-dhimmi Central's decision to censor, because of the possible danger it posed.

I also heard him admit that he "investigated" Islam after 9/11 (to find out if it was "good" or "evil"), and he concluded that Islam is "good."

I used to think that this guy was on-track, but it's rather apparent that he's on the same "Islam-is-a-religion-of-peace" track that President Bush is on. What a disappointment!

I used to think that ol' Glenn had what it took, but after listening to his justification for censoring South Park, he's really pretty shallow.

Posted by: yohannbiimu at April 14, 2006 12:35 PM

Why is anyone surprised? The very cowardice that led Comedy Central to take constant pot-shots at targets that they knew would not react made absolutely sure that they would allow their own mothers to be raped rather than give any offence to anyone who would seriously threaten them if offended. Anyone who is so gutless as to insult Christianity and Hinduism and then brag of their "courage" does not even begin to imagine what courage really requires.

Posted by: Paolo at April 14, 2006 2:22 PM

Theoretically, Muslims should be just as offended by any representation of the prophet Jesus (as), as he is one of the prophets of God, as they are about Muhammad (saw). Islam makes no distinction between any of the prophets, and so it is wrong for them to be more offended. Images of any prophet of God are offensive and blasphemy, be they positive or negative in tone. A portrait of Jesus (as) at the Last Supper or a portrait of Muhammad (saw) making Khutbah or praying are just as offensive as pictures of them in a negative light. Therefore Comedy Central (NOT the government) and the creators of South Park should censor themselves and not show images of ANY of the prophets. Though Shari'ah is a beautiful system of government and law, and I'd welcome respectful questions about it, i do NOT think we would do well to implement it in the US, as it is a secular nation.

And Allah (swt) knows best.

Posted by: bismillah at April 14, 2006 4:29 PM

"Shari'ah is a beautiful system of government and law..."
-- from a posting just above

Not exactly a beautiful system, over the past 1350 years, for all the non-Muslims in the lands conquered by Muslims, in which those non-Muslims were then offered three choices: death, immediate converson, or the status of dhimmi (in the case of the Hindus, that status was a step up from the mass death meted out, or the alternative of convresion to Islam, and was a result of the need for Jizyah to be paid for the support of the Muslim rulers). That status, one has to never forget, was and is one of humiliation, degradation, and permanent insecurity.

It is quite a grand gesture for "bismillah" above to allow as how we Infidels should be allowed to keep our "secularism" and not have Shari'a imposed. Somehow, one is not soothed, one is not inclined to be a whit less vigilant or less suspicious or less hostile to Muslim attitudes and clear Muslim tenets, when someone praises the Islamic supremacist ideology codified in the Shari'a as "a beautiful system of government and law" and then adds "i do NOT think we would do well to implement it in the US, as it is a secular nation."

Who, for god's sake, does he think he is? Whose country is this, and whose country are all the other Lands of the Infidels? Something is out of whack.

Posted by: Hugh at April 14, 2006 10:25 PM

Since CAIR loves to bitch about anything tehy find offensive , the best way to get SP to show MO in a comdic light is to reverse the issue.

Hooper only needs to hear about a TV that declares ahead of time that it refuses to use a Mosque or images of Muhammed in ther episode because it promote Islam in front of millions of viewers
Hopper will take the bait since he isn't too swift and CAIR will demand Muhammed and a Mosque be in the TV show as part of confronting Islamophobia by westerners trying to inflict their religion on others.

NO ISLAM - KNOW PEACE

Posted by: ala-sux at April 15, 2006 4:00 AM

At the time of Van Gogh's murder and a long time before that, I wrote that the murder of Van Gogh and other such incidents was not just the murder of an individual but an attempt to silence free speech. To an extent that has succeeded, as the panic in the West over pictures of mohammed indicate. A year ago this FEAR was not acknowledged - it was there but no one wanted to admit it.

Our freedom to criticise without fear is now compromised by PCness on the one hand, and fear of being casually murdered by a muslim living on Benefits in our lands. Why are we using cryptic names in our communications on blogs? Why do we deem it as necessary, that we have to hide our identity as if we were spies in WWII Germany?

Fear is the most disabling emotion in a human or a society. It paralyses the mind, then the spirit, and then finally paralyses the body. There is no emotion as deadly to the human condition as fear. A fear that is unaknowledged but still present is the worst thing that can happen.

Therefore, this frank and open admission by Comedy Central is a big step forward. The more the media and others acknowledge that they, and we as well, are living in a climate of fear, the sooner we will be able to do something about it.

Posted by: DP111 at April 15, 2006 9:40 AM

Here is the body of the email I have sent to Co-dhimmi Central:

You are cowards, plain and simple. You have allowed the possibility of violence to violate your standards. There is NOTHING you can tell me that will remove the stain upon your so-called "track record." Your hypocrasy and double-standard is appalling. You will denegrate anyone as long as you're "safe" to do so. You will display Christianity as some sort of joke and even a danger to society, but when it comes to a REAL danger, you will fold completely. You have submitted to the Islamists. You are "dhimmis," plain and simple.

Also, there is nothing "responsible" about your choice. Matt and Trey dared you to show one "holy" image over another, and you caved. You decided to show the dengration of one over the other, even though the image of "Mohammad" was just that, the representation of the so-called prophet. Rather than to merely show "Mohammad," you decided to show Christ "crapping." Are you brave for showing this? No, your decision to show one over the other shows your pathetic cowardice. Your "sensitivity" in this matter is disgusting.

The creators of South Park made their point, that Co-dhimmi Central will wuss out when it really comes down to an important issue of free speech. Apparently some speech is more "free" than others. Your justification for your censorship sickens me. I will continue to watch South Park, since, as far as I'm concerned it is the ONLY program on your pathetic network that's worth watching. I sincerely hope that this issue will haunt you for years to come.

Posted by: yohannbiimu at April 15, 2006 2:51 PM

I just got my response letter from Comedy Central. It was a non descript letter they sent to everyone.

They should be ashamed. I wrote back and let them know I would not allow that channel to be watched again.

Posted by: freewoman at April 15, 2006 3:16 PM

While I'm inclined to agree with the disappointment expressed towards Comedy Central, I have to wonder about what I would have decided were it my decision to make.

Obviously the brave thing to do would be to show the images. But what if I made that decision and some staffer, secretary or technician was murdered as a result? Do I have the right to make a decision that could very well cost the life of someone else in the organization?

If I decide to show the images on my blog -- and I would, if I had a blog -- that's one thing; but when it could bring the sort of violence that Muslims commit when offended against some shmoe in the mailroom, that's quite another.

I'm glad that CC at least acknowledged that they censored the images out of fear of violence, and not phony "respect for Islam".

Posted by: Darrell at April 15, 2006 11:14 PM

Ok, the Ahlul-Kitaab (people of the book) needed to pay Jizyah simply because they did not need to pay Zakah, nor did they need to serve in the military. Zakah, as some of you may know, is a tax levied on Muslims only. So with only part of the population being taxed at all, regardless of their ability to pay, how was a government supposed to run???

Posted by: bismillah at April 16, 2006 7:35 PM