Turkish TV station fined

A Turkish TV station has been fined more than £18,000 for airing an episode of The Simpsons said to have ‘mocked God’ and encouraging murder.

The CNBC-E channel was fined for ‘making fun of God [and] encouraging the young people to exercise violence by showing the murders as God’s orders.

The episode in question was last year’s Halloween special, Treehouse Of Horror XXII. In one of the stories, Homer poses as God on the phone, and orders Ned Flanders to commit a series of murders, including cutting Montgomery Burns’s head off.

When Ned figures out what’s going on and confronts Ned, Homer starts burning Ned's Bible – causing the ‘real’ God to tear the Simpsons’ roof off and throttle Homer to death. The story ends with the Devil demanding God make him a coffee .

Broadcast regulators RTÜK said the story was an insult to religious beliefs, saying: ‘The bible is publicly burned in one scene and God and the Devil are shown in human bodies.’

The episode was also said to encourage people to ‘start drinking alcohol on New Year’s Eve night’.

Although Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country, there is a separation between religion and the secular government.

Published: 3 Dec 2012