South Park episode censored after Muslim group's warning

It might not even be safe to call them bastards.

"After receiving a 'warning' from a radical Islamic Web site following their Prophet Muhammed parody on 'South Park' last week, Trey Parker and Matt Stone aren't taking any chances," the New York Daily News reports.

"On Wednesday's episode, the prophet was referred to only with a 'bleep' sound and his image was blocked out with the word 'censored,'" the paper notes.

At the South Park Studios website, a message was posted that notes, "After we delivered the show, and prior to broadcast, Comedy Central placed numerous additional audio bleeps throughout the episode. We do not have network approval to stream our original version of the show."

The New York Times adds, "On Thursday morning, a spokesman for Comedy Central confirmed that the network had added more bleeps to the episode than were in the cut delivered by South Park Studios, and that it was not giving permission for the episode to run on the studio’s Web site."

The New York-based Revolution Muslim group on Wednesday issued a "call to protest," after long-running cable television show "South Park" portrayed the Prophet wearing a bear costume, CNN reported.

The website was largely unavailable Wednesday but a CNN report said the statement was posted alongside a graphic photo of slain Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was murdered by a Muslim extremist in Amsterdam in 2004.

The statement posted the address of "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker's Los Angeles production offices, CNN reported.

"We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo van Gogh for airing this show," the group said. "This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality that will likely happen to them."

A spokesman for the group denied the statement was an incitement to violence.

"Revolution Muslim only wants those offended to be able to voice their opposition by letters to the show's creators," a spokesman told CNN.

"South Park," which follows the surreal and often profane adventures of four schoolchildren in a fictitious Colorado town, has regularly lampooned religions during its 13 years on the air.

Cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammed in Scandinavian media outlets in recent years have led to violence and plots to murder those responsible.

In 2005, Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten published 12 drawings focused on Islam, several of which were seen as linking the religion and the Prophet Mohammed to modern terrorism and suicide bombings.

The cartoons led to angry protests by Muslims worldwide, leaving dozens of people dead and causing major damage to Danish embassies and other facilities.

(with AFP report)