John Avalon has written “Stand with South Park!” in reference to Comedy Central (again!) cravenly censoring Mohammed out of the show while leaving all other caricatures and criticisms untouched, and an Islamic group making threats against the lives of the show’s creators.
Don’t screw with South Park – and don’t ever try to intimidate us into accepting Sharia law. That’s the message Americans are sending upon news that the comedy team of Trey Parker and Matt Stone had received a fatwa-esque death threat for their 200th episode, which featured the Muslim prophet Mohammed dressed in a bear-mascot suit. The obscure New York City-based Islamist supremacist group Muslim Revolution issued the warning alongside graphic images of the murdered Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh. Their message read: “We have to warn Matt [Stone] and Trey [Parker] that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show. This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them.” Courage is rare and it deserves to be rewarded.
Surrendering to threats of violence only encourages them to make further demands; and every surrender makes the next surrender easier until there’s nothing left to surrender. Free speech is a God-given right that some of us aren’t prepared to give up.