"D'oh" - or whatever that is in Turkish

by Salman Hameed

No seriously? A private Turkish broadcaster has been fined about $30,000 for showing a Simpsons episode that pokes fun at God. Oh c'mon. The general tone of The Simpsons has never been hostile to religion - and it's fun is often directed towards organized religion (though Lisa is definitely a good and moral agnostic/atheist). I haven't seen the episode - thought it does look good :)

In any case, here is the news item:

The Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK) has fined Turkish private broadcaster CNBC-E a total of 52,951 Turkish Liras for airing an episode of the animated sitcom "The Simpsons" in which God is shown to be under the command of the Devil, daily Hürriyet has reported.

RTÜK said the fine had been levied due to CNBC-E “making fun of God, encouraging the young people to exercise violence by showing the murders as God's orders and encouraging them to start drinking alcohol on New Year's Eve night.”

What? Violence in the name of God. Well - that is indeed wrong!

In another scene, God serves coffee to the Devil, which can be considered an insult to religious beliefs, according to the report, which explained the motive behind the fine. 

Hmm...but can't that be hospitality and a sign of magnanimity. Oh well. The Supreme Board of Radi and Television needs to lighten up a bit.

In case you want to see Homer's theology, here is a snippet from a really funny episode. Here, Homer is skipping Church to watch football on Sunday - and that leads to his encounter with God:



And after the failure of Homer's new religion, God has a chat again when Homer falls asleep during a Sunday sermon: