Baddiel: 'South Park likes blasphemy'

David Baddiel has responded to the news that the creators of South Park have been criticised by an Islamic group.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone were warned earlier this week that they may face violence after they featured a discussion about whether the Prophet Mohammed could be shown in an episode of the cartoon.

The Guardian reports that the duo have labelled the show with the word "Censored" and beeped out any mention of Mohammed. Meanwhile, images of the prophet hidden in a bear costume were replaced with pictures of Santa Claus wearing the same outfit.

Baddiel has now dismissed comparisons with his recent film The Infidel, which is about a Muslim man who discovers he is Jewish.

"The movie never set its stall out to be blasphemous," he explained. "If the jokes are edgy, the edge they cross back and forth over is that of race and culture. It's true that this may be a way of avoiding fatwa, or indeed religious fury in general.

"Furious protesters don't come after you for jokes at the expense of people; they come after you for jokes at the expense of their gods. But I didn't keep this movie unblasphemous to avoid fatwa, although believe me, I'm glad I did. I did it because that's what suits the story."

He continued: "Now South Park, they are interested in blasphemy. They're interested in creating offence for its own sake. And bless Matt and Trey - they do offend in a very funny way. So I hope that their slight bottling-out today means that they won't have to be blessed in a more religious manner - in a more... funereal manner - any time soon."