HBO Max Will Not Air Five Episodes of “South Park” Due to Prophet Muhammad Imagery

Three of those episodes had already been pulled from other streaming services

South Park
Five episodes of the long-running cartoon will not be on HBO Max
Comedy Central

Five episodes of South Park will not be available on HBO Max due to controversial depictions of Prophet Muhammad.

According to a report at Deadline, the episodes in question were never actually available on the new streaming service. The series, which has now run for 23 seasons, was licensed to HBO Max from South Park Studios by ViacomCBS.

While not explicitly banned in the Quran, there is a widespread Islamic belief that any depiction of Muhammad, a prophet of Islam, is forbidden because it promotes the sin of idolatry. This belief includes drawings, statues, cartoons and the like.

In 2010 South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were both threatened after a 2010 episode depicted the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit. At the time Comedy Central removed the specific references and later pulled the episodes.

The episodes missing now include “Super Best Friends” (season 5) and “200” and “201” (season 14), which were already unavailable on a previous streaming deal with Hulu and not on the official South Park website. HBO Max will also not air “Cartoon Wars” parts 1 and 2 (season 10) but those are still on the the cartoon’s official site.

Somewhat related, HBO Max just returned Gone With the Wind to the streaming service, although now with a four-minute disclaimer, after pulling it a few weeks ago.

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