The controversy over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper has led the producers of The Simpsons to reconsider his appearance in a forthcoming episode. In the cancelled episode, entitled Don’t Have A Pig, Man, Mohammed was to have appeared to Homer in a dream, converting him to Islam with a promise of 770 donuts in the afterlife. The show is now undertaking a review of its editorial policies, and also its life insurance policies. 

Unfortunately, the cancellation means that Ned Flanders has again staved off being stoned to death as an infidel

“The Simpsons has never been afraid of upsetting a few people," said creator Matt Groening. "But now, to be honest, we are afraid. We want to treat the feelings of the Islamic community with respect, especially if they are feelings about fire-bombing our offices."

Groening said that the decision to produce the episode starring Mohammed was not taken lightly. “We suspected there would be an adverse reaction if we drew the Prophet,” he said. “But we had no choice. He's the only celebrity guest we haven’t used before.”

"Hiring Salman Rushdie as a writer also might not have been such a great idea in hindsight." 

The show's creator has also guaranteed Muslim viewers that he won't be depicting the Prophet anywhere else in future. “Since the cancellation, we can't just use all the rejected Simpsons ideas on Futurama anymore,” he said.

The furore over the incident has also led the Danish press to vow to tone down its coverage of controversial events. "From now on, we're really going to be pulling our punches," the editor of Jyllands-Posten said. "No more hard-hitting stories about Princess Mary's baby."

Meanwhile a fatwa has also been declared on cartoonist Michael Leunig, although on account of the insipidness of his work rather than any blasphemy.