Last night’s episode of South Park was one of those rare but shimmering moments when the show is both funny and politically relevant. At issue: Family Guy, and the cartoon portrayal of the prophet Muhammad of Islam.

First, the funny, wherein Family Guy is taken to task. The episode (along with last week’s) primarily makes fun of how Family Guy’s humor mostly derives from jokes that are completely irrelevant to the plot. To illustrate this point, they explain that the writing staff of the show is comprised of several manatees in a large water tank who pick from a pile random balls with words written upon them such as “Gary Coleman” and “Mexico.” These balls, when put together, create a random Family Guy joke. Funny, mocking, and (metaphorically) true.

Second, the political, wherein South Park reveals the persistent hypocrisy surrounding censorship. The basic plot of the episode is that Fox is refusing to air a Family Guy episode that shows a cartoon representation of Muhammad, and Kyle goes on a crusade to get them to change their minds. Layered above that is the obvious question of whether Comedy Central (i.e., Viacom) will let South Park itself portray Muhammad. The answer comes at the end of the episode, when Kyle finally convinces Fox to air the Family Guy episode. A rather mundane joke follows where Muhammad gives Peter a football helmet at his front door (I don’t remember why), but when Muhammad is supposed to appear, white text on a black screen appears stating that Comedy Central refused to allow the portrayal of Muhammad.

They then show Al Qaeda’s hypothetical response to Fox’s airing of Muhammad, which you can view below. The hypocrisy being clear: the network is too scared to allow them to show Muhammad do something as mundane as handing Peter a football helmet, yet they air the below without a blink of the eye.

Censorship = Fear: