Censorship [sen-ser-ship] n. that act of deleting a word or passage of text in one's capacity as a censor.
Censorship has existed in its present form, in terms of hiding information and obfuscating facts, for millenia. The Eastern Bloc severely constrained all matters of "news" in the newspaper. Under Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania, weather reports always made the temperatures higher than they were to ensure people went to work every day of the year. The Communist Parties of the present (Re: China, Cuba) not only control the political, but determine what will be revealed to their citizens on the Internet. Iraq's Saddam Hussein had a more violent strategy for dealing with anyone who didn't say what he wanted posted. In Zimbabwe, being a journalist is illegal, and will get you immediately thrown into jail (an effective version of censorship). With the political stance many of these countries establish, it is easily understood how censorship has taken center stage.
Furthermore, its nothing new that religions are involved in the world of censorship either. The Catholic Church made it an inherent part of the early development of the religion. From banning books they find to be against their doctrine to locking up premier scientists of their day (ahem, Galileo) for having scientific thoughts that contradicted church teachings, the Roman Catholics have perfected censorship like a fine art.
But lately, a new form of censorship is creeping up, and its mere presence says something about the global community and fear. In the pre-9/ll world, comedy and political satire were made at the expense of anything worth mocking. Religion was encompassed within that criteria quite readily, and comedians such as Ricky Gervais and Bill Maher had no qualms about bashing it on equal grounds with politics and sex. TV shows have caught on quickly, with The Simpsons and South Park verbally abusing religion as well. You know the religion, it was easily made into a sketch, from Christianity and Judaism to tree spirits of the Native Americans.
The world of Post 9/11 is nigh onto almost a decade, and the perception of religion is changing. Christianity and the former players are still contenders in the world of comedy, but somehow Islam became terrifying to approach. Maybe it's because those following the religion can't appreciate the joke (most are intolerant to if its what they practice anyway), or maybe its because it takes on a more violent streak. Islamic extremism did make an example of the Dutch cartoonist who dared depict Mohammed (an act considered a sin in Islam) by killing him. When Comedy Central's South Park wanted to reveal the humor about the insanity of the Dutch controversy, they were promptly shut down. An American Muslim published a piece online on how Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, were "likely to have this happen to them" with an image of dismembered Dutch film director Theo Van Gogh, killed for creating a film entitled Submission which criticized the treatment of women in Islam.
It's sad that humor and hypocrisy, rife in almost every other aspect of life, has to be censored because of fear of not only intolerance but a slow painful death. It is quite easy to avoid that which offends you, for example, don't look up pornography if you are against the act. Similarly, if seeing your religious figure depicted as a cartoon character/superhero that shoots out flames offends your sensibilities, don't watch it. By creating a fearful presence around your religion, you are not propagating tolerance and acceptance, you are creating fear and loathing (and not just in Las Vegas kids). Just don't be surprised if the Americans come bombing at your local Muslim country's doorstep soon.
Douthat, Ross. "Not Even in South Park?" New York Times 26 Apr. 2010: A23. Print.
