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http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/05/07/islam-taboo-topic-tv-...
-south-park-threats-times-square-bomb-scare/
Islam Becomes Taboo Topic on TV in Wake of 'South Park' Threats and
Times Square Scare
By Jo Piazza
FOXNews.com
Don't mess with Allah. That's the new, unwritten code in Hollywood
following the one-two punch of Islamic extremists' threats against the
creators of "South Park" and the failed bombing attempt outside the
cartoon¹s parent company, Viacom, in New York's Times Square.
In the current, supercharged climate, it just isn't worth endangering
the safety of an entire production staff or network by pursuing a
storyline that Muslim extremists might find offensive, media executives
and writers tell Fox411.com.
Aasif Mandvi, a self-described "liberal Muslim" and the "senior Islamic
correspondent" for Comedy Central's The Daily Show, said on air after
the "South Park" threats that it would upset him to see the Prophet
Muhammad depicted in a cartoon. But, he added: "Here's what's more
upsetting. Someone, in the name of a faith that I believe in,
threatening another person for doing it."
But after the failed Times Square terror attack, "The Daily Show" asked
Mandvi not to comment further on the matter, according to his spokesman.
In fact, reps for the networks and television shows reached for comment
on this article, including Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, FOX, NBC,
and CBS, either failed to respond or asked to speak on background for
fear of retribution.
And it isn't just comedians on fake newscasts who are being muzzled. One
writer for a scripted drama fold Fox411.com that in one of his show's
final episodes, there had been a minor plot point involving a Muslim
extremist. Last week it was removed and the script was rewritten, he
said.
Hussein Rashid, religion professor and religion dispatches associate
editor at Hofstra University, said he is concerned that self-censorship
will lead to a shutdown of the dialogue that must continue if people can
be brought to understand the true meaning of Islam.
"I don't think it is ever smart to self-censor," Rashid told
Fox411.com. "I am a big believer that the response to speech should
always be more speech. I think this 'South Park' episode has been good
for that conversation."
But when it comes to Islam, the conversation seems only to be getting
quieter.
Random House canceled the 2008 publication of Sherry Jones' "The Jewel
of Medina" out of fear it would incite acts of violence, and last year
Yale University decided remove all images of Muhammad from Jytte
Klausen's book, "The Cartoons that Shook the World," a book commenting
on the Danish cartoon controversy that sparked violence in the Muslim
world.
The subject has gotten so sensitive, media pros are even chilling the
conversation in forums where no one is watching.
"The writer's room has always been a safe place for jokes of any sort,
the dirtiest jokes you can think of that you could never tell in public
because your own mother would hate you," a network comedy writer told
Fox411.com. "But for the first time we feel like there is a taboo."
But religion in general hasn¹t become taboo -- just Islam. The Cartoon
Network squeaked under the radar in March when it showed a racy
depiction of Jesus voiced by jailed rapper Lil' Wayne. And Comedy
Central is developing "JC," a half-hour cartoon about Christ wanting to
escape the shadow of his "powerful but apathetic father" and live a
regular life in New York City.
One show recently appeared willing to go out on a limb. The April 27
episode of the CBS series "The Good Wife" featured a storyline in which
a newspaper editor was killed for publishing an editorial cartoon
showing the Prophet Muhammad being searched by airport security officers.
But that episode was written and filmed before the "South Park" threats,
and it aired before the Times Square terror scare. Whether the same
script would be written today is an open question.
"[A] liberal democracy depends on the principle that each person is
entitled to hold and express his or her own beliefs," said Svetlana
Mintcheva, director of the Arts Program for the National Coalition
Against Censorship. "The failure to stand up for free expression
emboldens those who would attack and undermine it."
How will this affect fiction novels that are about the War On Terror and the fight against Al-Qaeda? How will writers like Vince Flynn, Daniel Silva, Alex Berenson, Stephen Coonts, etc. be affected?
-south-park-threats-times-square-bomb-scare/
Islam Becomes Taboo Topic on TV in Wake of 'South Park' Threats and
Times Square Scare
By Jo Piazza
FOXNews.com
Don't mess with Allah. That's the new, unwritten code in Hollywood
following the one-two punch of Islamic extremists' threats against the
creators of "South Park" and the failed bombing attempt outside the
cartoon¹s parent company, Viacom, in New York's Times Square.
In the current, supercharged climate, it just isn't worth endangering
the safety of an entire production staff or network by pursuing a
storyline that Muslim extremists might find offensive, media executives
and writers tell Fox411.com.
Aasif Mandvi, a self-described "liberal Muslim" and the "senior Islamic
correspondent" for Comedy Central's The Daily Show, said on air after
the "South Park" threats that it would upset him to see the Prophet
Muhammad depicted in a cartoon. But, he added: "Here's what's more
upsetting. Someone, in the name of a faith that I believe in,
threatening another person for doing it."
But after the failed Times Square terror attack, "The Daily Show" asked
Mandvi not to comment further on the matter, according to his spokesman.
In fact, reps for the networks and television shows reached for comment
on this article, including Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, FOX, NBC,
and CBS, either failed to respond or asked to speak on background for
fear of retribution.
And it isn't just comedians on fake newscasts who are being muzzled. One
writer for a scripted drama fold Fox411.com that in one of his show's
final episodes, there had been a minor plot point involving a Muslim
extremist. Last week it was removed and the script was rewritten, he
said.
Hussein Rashid, religion professor and religion dispatches associate
editor at Hofstra University, said he is concerned that self-censorship
will lead to a shutdown of the dialogue that must continue if people can
be brought to understand the true meaning of Islam.
"I don't think it is ever smart to self-censor," Rashid told
Fox411.com. "I am a big believer that the response to speech should
always be more speech. I think this 'South Park' episode has been good
for that conversation."
But when it comes to Islam, the conversation seems only to be getting
quieter.
Random House canceled the 2008 publication of Sherry Jones' "The Jewel
of Medina" out of fear it would incite acts of violence, and last year
Yale University decided remove all images of Muhammad from Jytte
Klausen's book, "The Cartoons that Shook the World," a book commenting
on the Danish cartoon controversy that sparked violence in the Muslim
world.
The subject has gotten so sensitive, media pros are even chilling the
conversation in forums where no one is watching.
"The writer's room has always been a safe place for jokes of any sort,
the dirtiest jokes you can think of that you could never tell in public
because your own mother would hate you," a network comedy writer told
Fox411.com. "But for the first time we feel like there is a taboo."
But religion in general hasn¹t become taboo -- just Islam. The Cartoon
Network squeaked under the radar in March when it showed a racy
depiction of Jesus voiced by jailed rapper Lil' Wayne. And Comedy
Central is developing "JC," a half-hour cartoon about Christ wanting to
escape the shadow of his "powerful but apathetic father" and live a
regular life in New York City.
One show recently appeared willing to go out on a limb. The April 27
episode of the CBS series "The Good Wife" featured a storyline in which
a newspaper editor was killed for publishing an editorial cartoon
showing the Prophet Muhammad being searched by airport security officers.
But that episode was written and filmed before the "South Park" threats,
and it aired before the Times Square terror scare. Whether the same
script would be written today is an open question.
"[A] liberal democracy depends on the principle that each person is
entitled to hold and express his or her own beliefs," said Svetlana
Mintcheva, director of the Arts Program for the National Coalition
Against Censorship. "The failure to stand up for free expression
emboldens those who would attack and undermine it."
How will this affect fiction novels that are about the War On Terror and the fight against Al-Qaeda? How will writers like Vince Flynn, Daniel Silva, Alex Berenson, Stephen Coonts, etc. be affected?