South Park Episode Sparks ‘Everybody Draw Mohammed Day’

Dan Koelsch,

After over 200 episodes in 14 seasons, Comedy Central’s South Park still has the ability to ruffle feathers and create cultural chaos. In their latest episode, titled “200”, has a subplot that features the prophet Mohammed (also spelled Muhammad), the most important figure in Islamic faith next to Allah himself. The show caused quite a stir, in which censorship, threats, and word of mouth took center stage. Now, someone is trying to push even harder to tempt Muslim extremists. Find out how after the break.

The episode (and the one before that, “201”) upset many Muslims because it made fun of one of the interpretations of Islam where depictions of the prophet Mohammed are strictly forbidden. The past decade has seen some fringe groups in the religion threaten and even go through with retaliation on those who draw or otherwise animate the prophet, even if the artist is not Muslim. So, of course, one such group has done that with the South Park episode.


Comedy actually censored the images with black bars, which seemed to be part of the joke. However, showrunners and creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have said they didn’t intend for it to be censored, and weren’t happy. The issue has (as it usually does when it comes up) sparked the discussion about religious beliefs versus freedom of speech, among other things. Jon Stewart even weighed in on the subject last week.


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Now someone is taking the issue one step further by trying to create a “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day”. The day is being organized on Facebook, and is planning to fall on Thursday May 20th. The group behind it is called “Citizens Against Citizens Against Humor” or CACAH (tee-hee), with the intention of promoting our First Amendment right to free speech, which includes art. There are over 5,000 confirmed guests, and while some of the images on the page are easily trying to be offensive, the organizers insist that their intention is not to offend. Check out their flyer below.


What do you think about all this craziness? Who’s in the wrong here? Was Comedy Central being too cautious (read: wussies), or did Parker and Stone really go over the line? The show has a abrupt way at making social commentary, but many people only see the “abrupt” part of the equation.


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Comments (10)

  1. The deal-breaker was that network censored the entire moral of the story that the character Kyle delivered at the end of the show. It was about not giving into fear, and the irony was enough to piss of the show’s creators and make them deliver a statement on the issue.

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  5. I love the artwork and your concept. I hope we may copy it with appropriate representations of your original design. I would like the back of the “T” to say “Don’t Fuck with our Cartoonists”.
    This is to express our right to free speech and, also, to stand up against cowardly veiled threats of death.

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  7. 8 La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). It is He Who gives life and causes death – your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.
    9 Nay! They play about in doubt.
    10 Then wait you for the Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke,
    11 Covering the people: this is a painful torment.
    12 (They will say): “Our Lord! Remove the torment from us, really we shall become believers!”
    13 How can there be for them an admonition (at the time when the torment has reached them), when a Messenger explaining things clearly has already come to them.
    14 Then they had turned away from him (Messenger Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم) and said: (He is) one taught (by a human being), a madman!”
    15 Verily, We shall remove the torment for a while. Verily you will revert (to disbelief).
    16 On the Day when We shall seize you with the greatest seizure (punishment). Verily, We will exact retribution.
    17 And indeed We tried before them Fir’aun’s (Pharaoh) people, when there came to them a noble Messenger [i.e. Musa (Moses) عليه السلام],
    Al-Quran (59)

  8. 34:28 And We have not sent you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most of men know not.

  9. Say: “If the mankind and the Jinn were Together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.”
    ( سورة الإسراء , Al-Isra, Chapter #17, Verse #88)

  10. 6:20 Those to whom We have given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) recognize him (i.e. Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم as a Messenger of Allah) as they recognize their own sons. Those who have lost (destroyed) themselves will not believe.
    (Al-Quran)

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