“Whoever curses the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) – a Muslim or a non-Muslim – he must be killed and this is the opinion of the general body of Islamic scholars.” And so the non-Muslims knuckled under readily. Free Speech Death Watch Alert: “‘South Park’ vs. the sword: Comedy Central has given violent fanatics another victory over free expression,” by Frida Ghitis in the Philadelphia Inquirer, April 30:
….Quoting Islamic scholars, Revolution Muslim explained, “Whoever curses the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) – a Muslim or a non-Muslim – he must be killed and this is the opinion of the general body of Islamic scholars.” […]
What we learned from the South Park event, however, is just as troubling. In the face of threats, the bosses at Comedy Central folded like cheap TV trays. Comedy Central heavily censored the cartoon, granting such blackmailers exactly what they want.
Forget land of the free, etc. The channel gave up without even considering a fight. […]
Theo Van Gogh, whose antics occasionally resembled South Park’s in their tastelessness, discovered that his pen was no match for a killer’s sword. And yet, the pen – the keyboard, the comedian, and the editorial cartoon; Bart, Cartman, Kyle, and Kenny – actually holds enormous power. To win, however, it needs its backers to show backbone. Too bad South Park’s have none.
Indeed.