Why Can't Muhammad be shown on TV?

We can't deport someone for being jackasses. If we could, about half of the US would on the next boat out. However, there is no place in our society for people who threaten violence because someone else says something they don't like. This isn't Pakistan, or Afghanistan. This is the US. We have a long history of free speech, free expression, and free press. I hold those things to be the Holy Trinity of our society.

The minute we start letting tin-pot tyrants scare us into censoring ourselves, then we've handed over the liberties that our ancestors provided for us. We have failed to preserve the democratic spirit that we prize. As one NY Times columnist pointed out, we should be grateful that the would-be dictators are marginal in strength because if we censor ourselves and surrender our liberty over this little bit of grumbling, then it shows there is enough rot in our institutions that a tyrant with real strength can cause real damage.

EDIT: "deport us are silly and racial remark, you can to jail for it"

Actually, no you can't. Unlike some other places that I will not mention, *this* country affords you the right to be a racist jerk. Racial slurs are protected speech. You don't go to jail for it, even if people don't like it. And since when is a religion (Islam) a race?

The Buddha was depicted snorting cocaine. You didn't see Buddhists getting bent out of shape about it. Islamic rules apply to Muslims. The rest of us aren't Muslims, and we are not bound to give respect to Islam over and above respect to other religions. Other believers love their respective founders as much as Muslims love Muhammad. We just don't expect people who don't believe as we do to conform to our religious rules. That's what being in a free and open society is all about.

Family Guy Prophet Muhammad

misunderstandings in doctorines and/or interpretatons of religious texts and bad timing.

When a group of people are hated on for a while, they eventually set a limit. One such limit is depicting Muhammad in any obscene way.

Ya, Family Guy makes fun of God, South Park of Jesus, but if someone showed pictures of Jesus giving out cyanide shortly after the Jownestown Massacre (the one in Guyana) where a Christian cult leader poisoned his (mostly female) followers, then it would also be in bad taste.

In the name of God the Most Merciful and Most Beneficent

Just to correct your edit, He is not our Religious idol, in fact calling him an idol is an insult to both the religion and the Prophet.

The drawing of Muhammad, peace be upon him, is not allowed by his own words. He stated that the people should not draw him or create any impressions of him, because that is how polytheism and idol worshiping got started. Another statement says, do not do to me as the Christians have done to Jesus, peace be upon him.

That being said:

The biggest reason that Muslims get upset about the depictions of Muhammad, peace be upon him, is that they have a great love and bond with him as we are required to learn about him and his life. The people who depict him, do two things, they ignore his request not to be depicted, but they also depict him in bad light. People who are ignorant of Islam and it's teachings, assume that Islam is a violent religion. Therefore, the Muslim community doesn't want him depicted, and more over they don't want him depicted as a violent man, when he only preached peace.

It amazes me however that all other religious communities are indifferent when their religious leaders are drawn. Jesus, may peace be upon him, is constantly depicted on television and this is also an insult to Muslims, who believe he is one of the greatest Prophets. There are cartoons, such as Family Guy and South Park, that not only depict Jesus as an "idiot" and constantly poke fun at him, they also make depictions of God.

Why is it that only Muslims speak out when their religious leader is depicted in bad light? Christians claim to love Jesus with all their heart and they allow him to be depicted in bad light. Moses is also depicted in bad light, as with all other religious leaders.

To answer your other question about intolerance; the Muslims are not intolerant to western society, if they were they wouldn't want to live in the USA. It is western society that is Intolerant towards the Muslims. If western society was tolerant, they would accept the fact that we don't want our Prophet to be depicted.

Idolatry is a sin in Islam - according to Islam, those who draw pictures of living creatures will be told to breathe life into their creations.

IF a country is aware that members of a certain faith will find the physical representation of a highly regarded person offensive, why create it? It has nothing to do with freedom of speech and more to do with offending the sensibilities of a group of people. What kind of art is being created through the satirization of religion anyway?

In Islam it's forbidden to portray Mohammed because it's considered idolatry. In fact it was a Jewish law first--the commandment against making 'graven images'. Jews and Christians don't follow this commandment at all. In the US we have many Christians fighting to put the Ten Commandments up in courtrooms and classrooms, but they don't even follow this particular commandment.

I am not Muslim, but I believe in respecting other peoples' religion, just as a matter of principle. We have freedom of religion in the US, and to me what that means is that -you- have a right to the religion of your own choice and so do others. If you expect them to respect your beliefs, then you ought to respect theirs. It's not 'freedom of -some- religions'.

South Park's two-part episode was a rehash of many themes they've had before, including one particularly bad (I thought) episode about the fatwa issued against the Danish cartoonist who drew a picture of Mohammed. Even in that episode they didn't try to show a picture of him, because it was actually funnier without it. In fact even in this episode, before I learned it was Comedy Central, not the show's producers, that did the censorship, I thought it was funnier as it was. Nobody really knows what he looked like anyway. You think you know what Jesus looked like? He probably didn't look anything like that.

Showing pictures of Mohammed just to pi** of Muslims is like going to the zoo and poking a lion with a sharp stick between the bars. They do it just to make fun, to irritate people who they know can't hurt them. It is an act of not just intolerance but cowardice. I'm not a Muslim and I'm not defending them, I'm just stating a principle here, that in the US we have respect for ALL religions.

Yes, some Muslims are violent terrorists. Most aren't. Islam is supposedly based on love and brotherhood, just as Christianity and Judaism supposedly are. MUCH more damage has been done in the world, through history, in the name of Christianity and Judaism than Islam.

Because it is considered a taboo. and kinda rude. Muslims are not intolerant. They hold Muhammad in high regard. He was a prophet for goodness sake! It's like taking the Lord's name in vain. It's considered rude and a taboo for Christians. Comedy Central was being considerate to Muslims not show Muhammad's face on TV and say his name in vain. I also think that it is some Americans who are intolerant!

The main reason is that every image of muhammad has to be shown nude, and the dude was packing a seriously large pecker. You can't show that on TV!

Haha, just kidding. People need to ease up on their religious beliefs in America. Its called Free Speech... and comedy central should be boycotted for turning on its own views.

Because muslim fanatics threaten death and destruction. When other religious figures are lampooned the fanatic followers are outraged, yell, boycott, etc. Muslim fanatics are much more dangerous and barbaric.

They have satirized other religious figures, but no one from those religions threatened to kill the people responsible for the show.

Speech is only free when objectionable speech is allowed. Being free to spout the party line is not freedom of speech.

It is because there is a specific taboo about showing depictions of the face of Mohammad.

Just as many Christians would find a nude Virgin Mary offensive.