Muhammed on South Park

[linwood]

good story.
any reason why mocking what's divine for Muslims while there are wars going on in Muslim nations and Muslims are actually getting killed by mostly USA? any reason?

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Quite honestly because it`s funny.

 

[.lava]

Southpark is doing exactly what it means to. Its drawing out the hatred. Its unveiling the true colours of some muslims. They've proven their point.

They knew of all the religions, they'd get the extreme reaction from muslims and it worked.

Do you think these people care how much Islam hates them while they're rolling in piles of money after 90% of the western world laughed at the episode?

This isn't about peace or war, its about making a point and the southpark boys did it well. They got exactly what they planned, a sour reaction from Islam.

yes, sour reaction from certain mentality, of course...actually that would be the same mentality that's been highlighted in Western nations almost for a decade now and used as a propaganda to support war and America's existence in Middle East. though i would disagree with you because i think this is about peace and war, Darkendless, in a world like this (internet + gossip) it is related. no need to send death threats, no need to mock people back...etc but also no need to make over billion people have negative emotions for entire Western society just because a few guys want to make good money out of it. seriously, friend, more hatred, more rage, more revenge, basically more of anything that's negative is not even the last thing we need today

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[*Anne*]

no need to send death threats, no need to mock people back...etc but also no need to make over billion people have negative emotions for entire Western society just because a few guys want to make good money out of it. seriously, friend, more hatred, more rage, more revenge, basically more of anything that's negative is not even the last thing we need today

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Overall, I agree with you.

 

[darkendless]

yes, sour reaction from certain mentality, of course...actually that would be the same mentality that's been highlighted in Western nations almost for a decade now and used as a propaganda to support war and America's existence in Middle East. though i would disagree with you because i think this is about peace and war, Darkendless, in a world like this (internet + gossip) it is related. no need to send death threats, no need to mock people back...etc but also no need to make over billion people have negative emotions for entire Western society just because a few guys want to make good money out of it. seriously, friend, more hatred, more rage, more revenge, basically more of anything that's negative is not even the last thing we need today

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What if Southpark wasn't made in America? Would that change. What would the case be if Southpark was made in New Zealand, a country who feircly rejected sending troops to Afghanistan other than in a non-combatent role?

Its just harmless humour, its not anyone's fault that these extremist muslims are full of their own self importance so much that they have to react with violent threats. Its these extremists fault. Because of them this happened. If muslims entirely didn't react to Southpark then the creators wouldn't do it because the reaction would not satasfy their satire.

My point is that southpark doesn't care who they offend as long as they expose global issues with satire and make people laugh. They've done it. Most of us thought it was hilarious and as a bonus some idiots came out and threatened them with death.

If you ask why did they bother: because its hilarious. Its a joke. Muslims are not so special as to escape the satire of southpark. Its a cartoon, its not politically charged. Its comedy.

 

[.lava]

But it's not really mockery, at least not mocking the prophet. They were addressing a stance, a double standard. They do tackle serious issues on the show you know. They use humor and satire to make points. They weren't insulting Muhammed. If they were insulting anyone...it was extremists.

Mohammad SAW, Qur'an and Allah are our soft spots, Draka. this is not going to change. we value certain things more than our lives. Mohammad SAW is one of them. yes, none of what we hold as divine and precious is untouchable. everybody knows that. you can mock, you can insult, you can do whatever you want to do. i know it and how i perceive it is different. does not matter what intention these guys have or does not matter they draw bear costume instead to show certain amount of respect to Muslims which i doubt sincerely or to avoid certain reactions. no Muslim would laugh about it. no Muslim would change his mind and get used to it. this is a fact you need to see. by sending death threats, by giving all the violent and also childish reactions, it is some Muslims who make mockery of Prophet (or Islam for that matter) more and more attractive to certain Western people, this is another fact. who's gaining what, exactly?

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[*Anne*]

this is a fact you need to see. by sending death threats, by giving all the violent and also childish reactions, it is some Muslims who make mockery of Prophet (or Islam for that matter) more and more attractive to certain Western people, this is another fact. who's gaining what, exactly? .

So you're saying it's a vicious circle?

 

[.lava]

So you're saying it's a vicious circle?

not exactly my point but yes, it is a circle. our sensitivity is being abused by Western people. for example a few years ago some so-called artist wrote names of all Prophets on donkeys and exhibited them. i could not even call it art because there is no creativity in it and no talent was showed at all. though he was on the news as if he made something magnificent. i think it is ridicules and it is actually degrading art itself. i am saying it just to give an example, nothing more really

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[*Anne*]

I don't know if it matters at this point, but for the record, I am sorry you and many other Muslims were offended. Through these conversations, I'm starting to realize that I'm very blasé about irreverent humor.

While I will always argue for freedom of speech, I admit that just because you can say something doesn't mean you should.

 

[.lava]

What if Southpark wasn't made in America? Would that change. What would the case be if Southpark was made in New Zealand, a country who feircly rejected sending troops to Afghanistan other than in a non-combatent role?

i think all the non-Muslim nations would announce mockery as free speech. maybe New Zealand, as a government would not do that but individuals could. though masters of this kind of mockery are mostly European people.

Its just harmless humour, its not anyone's fault that these extremist muslims are full of their own self importance so much that they have to react with violent threats. Its these extremists fault. Because of them this happened. If muslims entirely didn't react to Southpark then the creators wouldn't do it because the reaction would not satasfy their satire.

yes, i agree. if weak reactions were not given in the first place, this mockery would not repeat over and over again. now that they know there would be some who would send death threats all over and some Muslims would walk on streets demanding deaths for those who insult Prophet, they just push the bottons whenever they feel like it. is this humane? i disagree it is harmless. any act or decisions put one more brick between us and peace is an harmful act to me. those who would execute these guys might be extremist people. but mockery of divine do break hearts of all Muslims.

My point is that southpark doesn't care who they offend as long as they expose global issues with satire and make people laugh. They've done it. Most of us thought it was hilarious and as a bonus some idiots came out and threatened them with death.

If you ask why did they bother: because its hilarious. Its a joke. Muslims are not so special as to escape the satire of southpark. Its a cartoon, its not politically charged. Its comedy.

as i stated earlier, some facts would not change, ever. we don't joke about it and we would not laugh at a joke that mocks Prophets (or God). just like they couldn't joke about a death threat. they had to take it seriously because they value their own lives. the point you might be missing is, their lives may be the most precious thing to them but for us Mohammad SAW is more precious to us than our lives

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[.lava]

I don't know if it matters at this point, but for the record, I am sorry you and many other Muslims were offended. Through these conversations, I'm starting to realize that I'm very blasé about irreverent humor.

While I will always argue for freedom of speech, I admit that just because you can say something doesn't mean you should.

you're lovely person. thank you for mentioning it. but it is not that easy to offend me personally. i don't feel hatred or rage towards them. i just feel helpless, again. to me, anyone who mocks Prophets and God are like blind people throwing themselves into fire. i can't hate them. if they really knew what they are doing, they would not do it. so i feel sorry. my main concern is about all of us though. it is so easy to destroy but it is so difficult to repair and build again. just one silly cartoon episode and now there's a wave of anger moving all around the world. why? to laugh for a few minutes? who needs that if it's going to be followed by millions of negative thoughts? what positive thing could come out of it? absolutely nothing, nothing positive

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[Revoltingest]

you're lovely person. thank you for mentioning it. but it is not that easy to offend me personally. i don't feel hatred or rage towards them. i just feel helpless, again. to me, anyone who mocks Prophets and God are like blind people throwing themselves into fire. i can't hate them. if they really knew what they are doing, they would not do it. so i feel sorry. my main concern is about all of us though. it is so easy to destroy but it is so difficult to repair and build again. just one silly cartoon episode and now there's a wave of anger moving all around the world. why? to laugh for a few minutes? who needs that if it's going to be followed by millions of negative thoughts? what positive thing could come out of it? absolutely nothing, nothing positive

I understand. Just as you can't hate people who unknowingly throw themselves into fire by mocking the prophet of a god,
I also can't hate the faithful for calling me an infidel for not believing in their non-existent god. Some of my own friends
& family suffer from such religious delusions. I tolerate them, & they tolerate my non-religious delusions.

 

[.lava]

I understand. Just as you can't hate people who unknowingly throw themselves into fire by mocking the prophet of a god,
I also can't hate the faithful for calling me an infidel for not believing in their non-existent god. Some of my own friends
& family suffer from such religious delusions. I tolerate them, & they tolerate my non-religious delusions.

note that definition of infidel is not "the one who does not believe", though it contains them too

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[JustWondering]

i was asking what's the point of doing something that would never be "welcomed" by Muslims while there's a war that kills Muslims everyday.

News Flash! - The world does not revolve around Muslims.

 

[Kerr]

It is South Park... They mock everything. I remember one episode where they mocked tolerance, which is something I care very much about. If I found it offensive I would just not watch. But I have humor, so it was not a big deal for me . I generally think that when something gets so sacred you can´t joke about it and mock it you take yourself, or maybe that something, far too seriously. In this case... Soft spot or not, I don´t think death threats are an appropriate reaction. Fact is I think this is turning out in a quite... scary... way. It is creating a double standard that is not good at all. People really need to lighten up. South Park is not mocking Muslims in particular, they mock everything. They mock God, hell, they portrayed him as some strange thing looking like... I don´t know... weird! Given that context it is not like they are targeting Islam, they are treating Islam as any other faith.

And I get the impression the people who do get so offended they send death threats are actually not getting the point of the episode at all. Have not seen it, but from what I heard it sound like this is actually exactly what they are trying to make a point about... the people who act like this are the ones the episode, from what I heard, are actually mocking. I could be wrong, though.

 

[footprints]

Well, you'd have to ask the creators of South Park for the actual answer, but I know many comedians use humor as a form of social commentary. I didn't see the episode, but it's possible they weren't targeting Islam alone...they were joking about religion in general.

I agree that it's rude to openly insult someone's deeply held beliefs, and while I wouldn't do it, I strongly support the right to do so. The free speech that gives them that right also gives me my rights to speak out when I feel it's necessary. That's why I defend it.

Believe me, I've seen plenty in print and on TV that has offended me.

Freedom of free speech has never been an issue. The creators of South Park had their free speech, then some members of the Islamic community obviously had their free speech.

I would say, in the end the right thing was done, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

 

[.lava]

News Flash! - The world does not revolve around Muslims.

OK

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[footprints]

News Flash! - The world does not revolve around Muslims.

Nor does it revolve around people who like to watch South Park, or those with an anti-Muslim agenda.

The world revolves around people of different beliefs, and wherever possible, this should be done in respect to all concerned.

 

[JustWondering]

The world revolves around people of different beliefs, and wherever possible, this should be done in respect to all concerned.

Human beings don't work like that.

 

[footprints]

Human beings don't work like that.

Human beings do work like that, well the respectful among us any way, which thankfully is the majority.

 

[Caladan]

In the Western world and other parts of the world, satire is one of our guards, it is important to slaughter sacred cows and to engage contemporary topics. if people have soft spots, you can be sure these soft spots are going to be pressed, no group of people should remain unique in an inability to be exposed to criticism, no religious or political issue should remain a lone sacred cow. the point is not even whether the South Park episdoes are tasteless or not, I dont need to like South Park in order to be alarmed that American satire is met with death threats, from a group which is based in New York!
When film directors, and artists in Europe criticized violent acts by Islamists in their work, they were killed, and some of them still live with unbarrable security measures.
This is in the West. the west does not need to meet the standards of Islamists in its own turf. we criticize religions in the west, we criticize politics, I'm sure there is not a single member on this forum that something he believes in, engages in, or holds dear to him was not put under the satire or criticisim lens, its the way our societies purify themselves and expose social problems, we do not let any issue be untouchable and above criticism. Muslims cannot expect non Muslim, or non religious people to not touch Islam, when Islam is a hot topic on the news an in world events, it is inevitable and the approach of 'hands off' is unrealistic.