An episode of South Park, the controversial American cartoon show, which featured a visual portrayal of the prophet Mohammed, has been screened on British television twice and can currently be viewed on the internet.
The episode, entitled The Super Best Friends, did not attract a single complaint from Muslim clerics when it was aired by Channel 4 in 2002 and 2003. The lack of protest is in stark contrast to the controversy over the recent newspaper publication of cartoons depicting Mohammed.
The episode casts Mohammed as a Muslim super-hero who joins forces with Jesus and Moses, both of whom are considered prophets in the Muslim faith.
Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the show's creators, gave each of the religious figures a set of special powers to take on a rival Church founded by David Blaine, the American illusionist.
In one scene Mohammed is shown rising in the air so he can do battle with the Lincoln Memorial, which has been brought to life by Blaine. The prophet, who is swatted away by the statue, cries: "Is it too powerful, Jesus?"
They decide the only way to defeat the Lincoln monster is to build a giant statue of John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated the real Abraham Lincoln.
Shakeel Ali, the head of the Glasgow branch of Young Muslims UK, said the lack of outrage over the South Park episode was probably due to the fact that most Muslims were not aware of it.
"Muslims see any depiction of the prophets as demeaning and this episode would cause hurt to Muslims wherever it was shown," he said.
It is not the first time that South Park has used Islamic figures for humourous purposes. In an episode screened in 2000, entitled Chef Goes Nanners, the character of the chef, voiced by Isaac Hayes, changes his name to Abdul Mohammed Jabar-Rouf Kareem Ali and adopts the Muslim faith.
The show also ran an episode entitled Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants in November 2001.
The Super Best Friends, which is part of the fifth series of the animated satire, is not available on DVD or video in Britain because Central Station, the channel which produces the show, has not yet presented it for certification by the British Board of Film Classification.
