Old News
Something odd occured to me today. This is for those of you who watch the news, read, or pay attention at all to the world not directly in front of them. Do you recall all of the uproar over the political cartoons printed in Europe depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad? If you don't know what I'm talking about, go ahead and click here to get yourself up to speed.
If you would like to see the actual cartoons in question, click here
Anyway, after the cartoons were printed, and then reprinted all over Europe, some Muslims protested, rioted, and killed people because it is considered blasphemy to actually depict the prophet Muhammad; one is only permitted to write his name (that's the Cliff's Notes version). The thing that occured to me is that back in 2001, South Park depicted Muhammad in an episode about the "Super Best Friends", a playful take on the Super Friends. Never seen the episode? Here is a picture. That's him behind the Buddha and next to Jesus (the others pictured are Krishna, Joseph Smith {founded Mormonism}, Lao Tsu {founder of Taoism}, and Sea Man at the controls - Sea Man is there to parody Aqua Man, who was utterly useless).
So why is it that printing political cartoons in the name of free speech causes muslims to riot and kill, but using his image for comedic purposes on one of the most vulgar shows on American television is apparently okay? Opinions?